Havana D'Primera, Salon Rojo

The place wasn’t as busy as last week - the upside of that was less aged extranjeros with their ripe Cubanas. The down side was that I just wished there were more people to enjoy the show. But as it became obvious that whoever had reserved the tables down the front wasn’t going to show, the people that were spread out at throughout the venue moved closer to the stage till there was a bunch of us, and the band, and it was kind of like a little party.
Samuell Formell was in the house, and after he got up for a little timbales solo - complete with strobe lighting (it’s a wonder he didn’t have a fit) he joined the posse at the table of the tremendo farandulero from Angeles de Habana at the foot of the stage. Samuell was very merry indeed and I even saw him do a little despelote with a young lady.
The guitarist I had seen play with the band the first week, but who had been missing the second, was back, and there was a new corista, a chica in green spike heels. Also: a new bongocero. Don’t know what happened to the cute tubby white guy.
They did three tropical songs - I actually like one of them (Historia verdadera - it’s full of catchy coros, one of which goes: Ay por dios/que boberia/si en la calle hay una pila de Marias) but I’ve no idea how to dance to it. There was a couple dancing casino to it but it didn’t really work - it was too fast. The guy was keen but the girl was a bit confused. Later on he asked me to dance casino - to reggaeton. I hate to discourage anyone from dancing casino anytime, but one has to draw the line somewhere.
After the show Alexander walked right up to me and said hello and gave me a kiss - I’ve never met him before. A killer trumpet player, purveyor of happy songs, and a kiss after the show as well. Can’t argue with any of that.
After the band finished, the whole area in front of the stage was full of musos all milling around drinking and hanging out. It reminded me of the Manzil Room in the '80s: a deadly hangout in Sydney where the bands had to do four sets a night and it was customary to be there until after the sun came up. I was once found myself there at 7.30am on Christmas Day. Of course in those days we didn’t have reggaeton, and here we do, and the cansancio combined with that belting rhythm (soon superseded by the belting rhythm of house) drove me from the Salon into the shouts of “taxi! taxi! taxi!”

Pupy y las guaguas

[pic to come when I can bloody upload it]

It was another glorious yet criminally short set from Pupy y co. Man he’s doing my head in. I mean, better than nothing, but bloody hell, all that effort to get out to Miramar and then it seems like seconds later you’re back out on 31 flagging down transport (much easier now there are so many more buses - it’s the P-5 to get back to Vedado/Centro - 40¢MN or if you haven’t got MN, 5¢ CUC will do. The parada is just past the intersection that takes you to Teatro Karl Marx) to come back to Centro. Makes the two-hour Cotorro set seem like a marathon. Maybe I’ll have a chance to catch another gig like that before I go.

It was a bit light on for an audience - not sure why. Son Yoruba were on at Galiano - I wouldn’t have thought they would have made much of a dent. Didn’t catch who was at Cafe Cantante. It isn’t usually a big name on a Tuesday. Unless Van Van have slipped back into town without my knowledge. Quite possible and that would explain it. Though I suspect they would have mentioned such an event on Disco Fiesta.

During Calla Calla I saw Jannier, formerly of Pupy, now singing with Havana D’Primera, lurking in the dark part of the Casa previously occupied by Norberto. He told me Alexander and the group are leaving for Europe June 12, and that the disc is not finished and not likely to be finished before they go. I heard a new song on the radio yesterday - I guess they’re doing it bit by bit. Like the other guys in the group, he seems pretty excited to playing in the band. They definitely have a fresh vibe about them. I will have more to say about them tomorrow after I see them tonight at the Capri.

Pupy leaves on June 20, so it looks like I’ve timed my departure (June 8) reasonably well, though I have realised I probably won’t see any gigs at Morro this year as I think they start in June - and the first June Saturday is the 7th (I leave 3am June 8). That’s a shame. The last two years the concerts at El Morro have been a highlight.

I have three more weeks in Havana and I’m starting to think about leaving! That always happens: the first three feel like three months; the last three feel like three minutes. Así es.

Salsa Mayor - segunda vez

So the streets were lleno with borrachos for Mother’s Day and the few taxis there were didn’t appear to be picking anyone up, so I didn’t really like our chances of getting out to Miramar to see Salsa Mayor; and even though I kind of wanted to see them, I was feeling a bit half hearted about it. But it was a case of, well, we’ll go down into the street, and if we get one, we go, and if we don’t, we come back upstairs. So we did, and we got one after not too long a wait, and off we went.
It wasn’t as well-attended as the matinee, but there were quite a lot of people for a late Sunday night on Mother’s Day, with more Cubans than is usual for a night gig, and most of the tables full. The door charge was the same as the matinee, which was welcome, but a bit odd, I thought. The DJ was playing Sandunguera when we walked in - also a bit unusual - but reverted to the usual reggaeton soon after. Thankfully the band came on not long after that.
The crowd was not really into it - only one or two couples danced casino and only for a couple of songs, and the space directly below the stage had only a handful of people in it. This may have been why they only played for an hour.
I’m revising my opinion of the singers from yesterday: yes, they perform with a lot of enthusiasm and energy, but vocally, they can’t hold a candle to the cantantes of last year, particularly Ricardito and Norberto, who were both very strong singers. Nor are any of them as pretty as Noro (seems I have been spelling his name wrongly) - Pavel and Pepitin are both simpatico and put on a good show - their commitment is compelling - but hearing Pavel sing Anda pégate it’s obvious there is a vast gap between his vocal abilities and Ricardito’s. The strongest singer in the bunch would appear to be Yasser (?); but even he is nowhere near as good, vocally at least, as Norberto, though he is much more outgoing (Norberto was a little timid on stage) - in fact, he is something of a show pony, which is a little offputting. Next stop for him: Charanga Habanera.
The band sounded good again, although the metales were not quite as tight as yesterday. The set was similar, though much shorter and in a slightly different order. Although I enjoyed it, I was glad when it was over, and we could go out into the stifling 2am heat: it’s like someone flicked a switch here - it was quite mild until Friday, then boom! Suddenly we are suffocating.

There is Pupy tomorrow and Paulito at Cafe Cantante for a matinee on Wednesday. But the gig I’m really looking forward to - apart from Alexander on Wednesday and probably Thursday too - is Revé on Sunday at La Tropical. It will be a madhouse. But I would be mad to miss it.

Llegó la máquina de Cuba

After last night’s discouraging report - sorry for the downer - it’s nice to have something positive to post. Last Saturday I didn’t go to Salsa Mayor’s regular matinee as I had a friend arriving from Chile, plus I had my little adventure with Pupy lined up. So here I was, seeing them for the first time in 2008 with almost a complete change of musos since I last them in 07.
I got so attached to the line-up of Ricardito, Norro and Norberto last year, I was a little reluctant to see the band without them. Also, I thought the fact that Maikel changes his line-up as often as his underwear didn’t bode well for their sound: after all, the best Cuban groups have established line-ups that rarely change.
Well, I was wrong, and Maikel was right. They sounded shit-hot. Yes, I missed Ricardito, but Pavel y Pepitin did a great job and so did the band: they played hard and sounded tight; and the new songs have solid grooves and catchy coros. Maikel may have an unorthodox way of doing things but at the moment, the results certainly favour the audience.
They opened with Anda pégate, sung by Pavel, and I will say that even though I thought he did a great job over all (loved the red and orange hi-tops) I didn’t think his rendition was as good as Ricardito’s - that lad really nailed that song; then they went into Esto está. Two of my favourites. Unfortunately I got sucked into a rueda for both of those - like some kind of vortex from which you think you may never return - so I missed the young lads’ thigh pyrotechnics (can’t have everything, I suppose); but it was a pleasure to hear both of those songs. The next two were new; and both rocked, keeping me moving (solo) for their entirety. I will be more specific after I have seen and heard them more (and try and get some video too). The other old songs were Lo bello por dentro and Recoge y vete.
The band is still recording the new album, which will include a reworking of Anda pégate (but not, sadly, the glorious Ella dice) as well as a bunch of new songs.
There was quite a good crowd, especially given the price: $10CUCs/$80MN - previously it’s only been the top tier bands that charged $10 for a matinee. Does that mean Salsa Mayor is now a top tier group?
Norberto was skulking in the audience, capped pulled down low over his face; travelling incognito, it seemed. I asked him what he was doing these days, and he just said a solo project. He didn’t elaborate.
On the way back in a máquina - a very posh, big bus máquina that had the radio blaring, I heard Ricardito singing a salsa track with Son Yoruba. It was quite good. I might try and catch them while I’m here. Salsa Mayor are on again tomorrow night at Miramar, and even though the night gigs wipe me out, I think I will have to go. Unlike the lucky Europeans, I’m unlikely to ever have the opportunity to see them play in Australia, so I had better do it while I can.

¿Cuál es tu mala leche?

I slept till 12.30 today - a bloody miracle considering the noise in Centro. Usually I am woken by the roar of buses and people shouting in the street; the broadcast of a Miami talk show screaming into an empty loungeroom next door; the owner of the house bawling out a hapless employee; dogs barking. Of course I had ear plugs in and the room shut up tight, even though it was hot outside - probably more than 30C when I got up. But oh joy, I slept like a baby. Had dinner at timba.com correspondent Martin’s house last night in Miramar - thanks for the fish, dude - and got one of the fancy new buses back. Was plagued the whole way back by a loco who spoke softly and rapidly and continuously to me, so I had to keep asking him to repeat things I didn’t really want to hear anyway (two chicas sitting beneath us kept looking at me and laughing at my plight). I was so desperate to get away I jumped off in Vedado and got a taxi the rest of the way (the bus didn’t go up my street anyway, and I didn’t fancy the long walk along Zanja at 11.30pm). The No.20 goes down Belascoain and then to Miramar, but I have yet to ascertain which part of Miramar it goes to. Would be handy if it goes up 31 (to Casa de la Musica) but I suspect it doesn’t. Trabuco were playing Galiano and I really didn’t feel like going, but about 12.30 we left the house and went down. There were many many tourists - competing dance schools actually. Once again, no sign of Amaray; who is ill with the grippa. apparently. They started with Llegó la música cubana, but after one or two notes, se fue la música cubana, as the power for all the instruments immediately failed. One of their tecnicos, who were all sporting flash red t-shirts that said: “Los que tienen control” on the front and “staff” on the back quickly rectified the problem and once again, llegó la música cubana. El Norro, with his enormous smile; Mayami and his boundless energy. But it’s harder for me to enjoy Trabuco than it used to be, and I flagged quickly. I was already tired and apart from the two frontmen, the rest don’t seem to be enjoying it much either. They used to be full of smiles - it was so infectious. That has just gone. Partly I think because David has been removed from the front - he is so sympatico and his enthusiasm always seemed to rub off on everyone else. But maybe they’re just having a bad two weeks. Most of the songs they’re doing at the moment do not do the musos justice - I stand by previous posts that this is a great group of musicians, and I have seen flashes of it since I’ve been here on this trip: David’s glorious trilling on the flute; Nicolas’s beautiful violin playing; Riverón’s genius on the skins; but they have a lot less to do than they used to - maybe some of the new songs are still unformed. I don’t know. One of Mayami’s new ones, which has the coro “Cuál es tu mala leche” just seems plain dumb really. It has a lame Calzado-style mambo and loping rhythm. It’s really only a pop chart away from moronic. One of the good new songs is by El Norro - “Bomba; soy una bomba” is its coro. The middle section features a long, long guia by Norro which, with the backing that builds underneath, creates a compelling tension. That is definitely one of the show’s highpoints at the moment. (If these are old, can someone let me know? I’m not familiar with either and neither is on the new album, so I’m just guessing.) Things were made worse tonight by the crowds of tourists and dance teachers thronging the stage, midsong, to get photos with Norro and Mayami. Doesn’t really do much for the atmosphere. Afterwards Chino told us that they are recording “un proyecto” at Miramar at the moment. It sounds something like the Nuevas Estrellas de Areíto disc - the group is most of Trabuco but there are invitados like El Tosco etc. I’ll try and get some more details. We are going to the Salsa Mayor matinee in about an hour. First time to see them this trip. (Last night Norro told me that Ricardito now sings with Son Yoruba, but of Norberto he knows nothing.) Alain Daniel is playing a fiesta popular for a cultural festival in Cerro, but the details are hazy and we haven’t been able to confirm anything. No one seems to know anything about it, which leaves us with the option of getting a taxi to the general vicinity and seeing what we can find. Not sure I’m really up for that. Tomorrow is El día de las madres so everything is a bit mental here - the shops have been crammed with people and the streets are full of folks carrying cake. A couple of years ago there were a couple of good concerts on for Mother’s Day - but it doesn’t look like there is anything special happening this year.

Manolito - brought to you by Rexona

Such a hard choice - Manolito at Cafe Cantante - now brought to you by Rexona says the poster of Manolito with the pretty boys at the top of the venue's stairs (”Solo una pasadita ... al día”) - or Alexander Abreu at Galiano. That’s partly why I dragged my tired and sorry arse to the Capri last night; to make the Thursday choice easier. It wasn’t really - Alexander still called and I cast my mind back to last year when Trabuco did the matinee larga, starting at 8pm and wondered if I could catch an hour of Havana D’Primera then cab it up the Plaza for Trabuco. In the end we dicked around so long - I was so tired from last night’s 4am finish - that we got to Cantante with only about 5 minutes to spare before the group hit the stage (and no AA). And what a glorious start it was: La raspadura, a song I had thought I would never hear them play live again. Vocals were undertaken by Mayami and Norro only, and I thought Amaray was going to grace us with a late, diva-style entrance; then Mayami said something about how he wasn’t coming at all and I realised that in my ecstasy at Raspadura’s fabulous bloques, I hadn’t noticed there were only two mics on the stage. Whatever, after the new album, which features re-records of sappy tunes from Amaray’s solo album and the band’s last gig I saw containing same, I shed no tears at his absence and actually thought it a good sign.
Mayami and Norro were more than capable of holding the fort - both lithe, energetic, pretty and tireless. The band seemed to struggle a bit to find songs that could be sung between them - such is Amaray’s influence on Trabuco nowadays - they even played one that seemed under-rehearsed. First time I’ve heard that from a top-tier Cuban band. But mostly it was all good - Llega la musica cubana; Sacude la mata; Diablo colorao, Muevete, Marcando la distancia ... and a couple I don’t know, that aren’t on the new album either (I got some video of one that I will upload when I return). None of those that El Indio used to sing are the same without him. But, well, you know. I guess it will get easier with time. And Norro is very cute. Which you might think might make up for it but doesn't really.
Despite Alexander’s popularity with the local musos, there was still a smorgasbord of invitados - Maikel Blanco played a bit, as did two chicas, one on piano and one on congas. Obviously Alexander himself, who used to guest regularly, will no longer be doing that. Have I already said how dumb it is to have these two bands in direct competition? (Apparently when Van Van are in town, they have a Tuesday matinee at El Cafe in direct conflict with Pupy’s at Miramar. Of course that one would be a no-brainer for me.)
David Bencomo played some thrilling flute, as he does, despite now being shoved up the back with the cello and violin (it’s like a phantom charanga... you can hear it, but you can’t see it...). At one point the flute popped up and after a while I thought, that doesn’t sound like David and I peered up the back only to find Norro, Manolito and Mayami were all doing the same: it was the Japanese chica we had seen with her crew the day before in the Castellano restaurant in Neptuno. Turns out they are here recording a Latin jazz album at Egrem and she is a friend of David’s and a hot flute player to boot. Nice one.
When the lights came on I found Bill Wolfer sitting near the mixing desk drinking beer with his lovely wife Sandra. We went, with David and the Japanese chicas, down to the Malecon to enjoy the breeze and a drink until the cheesy non-Cuban salsa drove me into a taxi, all thoughts of going to see Alain Daniel banished. I was so tired today I was like a little kid on the verge of a tantrum, and I had no cardi with me for Salon Rojo’s arctic air-con and in any case I wasn’t sure I was up for it two night’s in a row at the Capri. I’m such a lightweight, I know. Tomorrow I have a full day with a Spanish class and a dance class. However will I manage?

Havana D'Primera

Leonid played a matinee at Cafe Cantante yesterday. I didn’t go.
I almost didn’t go to see Havana D’Primera at the Capri either (so late), but my fellow farandulera encouraged me and off we went. Audience-wise, it was the most depressing scene I’ve seen in some time - tables filled with sexy young cubanas and their unco extranjeros. (When I saw a piece of underwire from a bra lying on the floor, it seemed to sum up the night). I didn’t realise that had become so much rarer on the timba circuit until I saw it tonight. Thankfully Alexander arrived and in my selfish enjoyment of his music I completely forgot their misery.
The band came on much later than I thought they would - about 1.45 - and the non-stop reggaeton almost did me in. But then Alexander and his group arrived and washed all my blues away.
He is a top frontman - charismatic, good with melodies and guias, a great communicator - he’s a real natural. There are no choreographed calisthenics, and yet he’s mesmerising. All this and he’s backed by a superlative band - when, at the end of the show, he asks for applause for his musicians - “los mejores de Cuba” he’s not kidding. A regular feature of his set is a drum solo by Barretto - I’m not much of a one for solos of any kind but this one is pretty good - when you’ve got all the guys in the band watching, hanging off every hit; and the pianista adding a meaty funk riff, it gets pretty hot.
Seemed to be more or less the same set as last week at Galiano - I don’t have all the songs, so I’m not yet completely familiar with them, but I think that’s right. I liked some of them even more than last week - he has mentioned the group’s album - I’m looking forward to getting that. Will try and get some details on it.
Don’t know if these guys have been booked for Europe this year, but the continent will go nuts for them I’m sure. Perfect festival band - or any other occasion really. Their music is very accessible - Cristóbal's funky bass gives it a timba kick and it has plenty of gears, but the catchy, singalong coros with the slow-burn sello I think would have quite broad appeal.
About halfway through the show some dick at one of the tables at the foot of the stage got up on the stage, picked up Alexander’s trumpet and put that holy instrument to his completely unworthy lips. For a minute I didn’t realise who he was or what he was doing - I thought: is he some invitado? Then I realised he was just a dickhead. It was mid-song and Alexander carried on singing - he gave no hint of displeasure, though he can’t have been thrilled. One of the security guys came down but the guy managed to smooth it over somehow and instead of being booted out he was allowed to continue partying.
That was nice of them.

Pupy - ¡otra!

Disco Fiesta dropped out today in the lead-up to the crucial 12.25 timeslot, when they give a rundown of who’s playing where. They give snippets throughout the two-hour program, and the main rundown can come at various times, but often it occurs around 12.30. Unless the signal fails, which isn’t that unusual, in which case you get nada. The other stations were functioning, so it wasn’t my batteries, or my crappy radio.
Anyway, today it wasn’t so important, as I already had a date: Pupy at Miramar.
When we arrived at about 7pm, there was a nice crowd - not too many, nor too few. Just enough for a good vibe and to find a dance partner, should you want one. Plenty of Cubans (didn’t catch the Cuban price - $10CUCs extranjeros). The infamous dance instructor Alexis, he of the bleached blonde bonce and the malhumour, was there with a big crowd of foreign students.

We timed it well - only a couple of obnoxious reggaeton songs before the band hit the stage; Bombon appearing first and hitting the skins before the rest joined him and ba-ba-ba-b-da! bailando hasta afuera! Alexis and his crew took over the floor - and I mean took over - for shines. Thanks guys. So I took some photos and boogied on the edges, away from foreign toes.
A guy walking past during Dicen que dicen took me for a spin and what fun that was. He was a fantastic dancer - best casual dance I’ve had in a very long time. Lots of tricks expertly led. Lots of laughs too. I love dancing casino to Dicen que dicen - with most of the other songs I’m happy to dance solo but that one was made for parejas. He picked me up again when Nadie puede contra eso made a welcome appearance - kickass! And we did too. When you find a great dancer you have to hang onto him if you can. Jaja.
After Calla calla and a truncated, though highly groovy version of Timba a pogolotti (no cuerpo, all jam), se acabó - criminal!
I suppose it makes sense to keep the audience wanting more. I sure do. But it seems in order to get it, I’m going to have to get on the rattler bus and risk drowning in piss.
In retrospect, it seems a small price to pay.
(Oh I say that now.)

La Forever

I had been told that Trabuco were doing a residency at Galiano on Mondays, but Monday arrived, and Disco Fiesta told me repeatedly that Combinacion Habana would be playing - not surprising after last week’s disappointing turnout for Trabuco. We (a friend of mine has arrived to farandulear with me for a month) thought about going and checking out La Combinacion, but we dicked around and decided we wanted to eat and the upshot was that we didn’t make it. Luckily, the irrepressible Lionel was interested in seeing Charanga Forever at Miramar por la noche - otherwise I might not have last long enough to see them take the stage.
It was pretty quiet out there, as you’d expect for a Monday, and for a band that isn’t first tier. There were a few people outside but inside probably not more than 50; mostly foreigners - not unusual for nights at Miramar. We got there a bit after 11.30 - mostly so I didn’t fall asleep on the lounge, and so it wouldn’t be too hard to get a taxi. And they and kept us waiting and waiting and waiting, finally going on stage, to their usual “‘espectacular” entrance, that finishes with EW&F’s In the stone, at about 1.45am.
They had a hard job getting people up - I think most people were already half asleep, and the cheesy Puerto Rican song they did, second song in, didn’t help matters. But after that, the timba blasted, and finally we started dancing.
They sounded pretty good - the same charismatic guy (pictured above) I saw with them in 2006 is still their main singer and he’s still doing a great job - as well as charisma, he has loads of energy, and sings and improvises well - I really thought a bigger group would have snapped him up by now. The other two singers are both new - one shares lead vocals - he’s also pretty impressive - the other does only coros. The metales are still a little ropey at times, but only rarely. Their sax player doubles as tecladista, which seems like a heavy workload. I guess the band has to save money where they can. Don’t know if they get a better turnout at their matinee - I can’t imagine that they do, seeing as it is Thursday - the same day as both Trabuco and Alexander Abreu. That’s some tough competition.
Lionel and his lovely Cuban wife say that audience numbers are down overall - the Bamboleo matinee on the Sunday which would usually be lleno, they said was emptier than usual. Mind you, Alexander had a very healthy crowd, Alain was very busy - at $15CUC - and Ritmo Oriental - not what you could consider a hip and happening thing, by any stretch - played to probably around 700 at La Tropica on Sundayl. Bamboleo really play a lot - four regular shows every week for at least the last year. Maybe el publico is finally tiring a little? Who knows. You could speculate endlessly on this and never arrive at a definitive answer I suspect.
But I digress.
The odd thing is that La Forever also have a flute player now, and they threw in a traditional charanga. Could have done without that. Pretty incongruous with all that blasting timba, and totally unnecessary in my book. Dicen que el amor, rearranged with a ballad intro, was the only song from the last album, Somos charangueros, which is odd, cause its such a great album. The rest were new I guess, apart from the aforementioned, and the usual “la toalla mamí” section of Nube pasajera with the calibre section of Un disparo en la mirada, with water poured over heads; then a snazzy choreographed finish y se acabó.
Energy to burn and good songs - just drop the trad stuff and they'd be ace.