Si tú no baila' con esto
Tú no baila' con na'!
Pupy y los que Son Son
Casa de la Musica, Galiano
So. Pupy rocked. Maybe they weren't tired last time - maybe I was tired (I was jetlagged). Whatever. Again the horns were down in the mix. Jeez - those hornlines so rule; it's a crying shame when you can't hear them. The band was on fire though. They have this new super funk going on - chunky grooves in their trademark minor keys. Smokin' stuff. When they're not funkin, they are sooo soulful. Manolito is more soulful than he used to be too, I think, but his is like Motown. This is more like Stax - like Ann Peebles. Tough, but relaxed. Bummed out, but in a "let's party anyway" way.
They opened with Que Cosas Tiene la Vida - ow! That song is terminally kickarse (when Pupy does it anyway). Another favourite, Buena Gente, followed - that song is like a smack in the mouth. But in a good way. It has a new supergroove on the end which is well-wickid. Love it. Also in the set: Dicen que Dicen, El Gato Amaga y no Araña, Timba a Pogolotti - awwww. Never get tired of that one. La Borrachera - man, by the time they played this one, I was tired, but I couldn't stop dancing! (And isn't that just about the best feeling in the world? To be in a situation where you're exhausted but the music is so good, so good, that you can't stop. I wish every day were like that.) Mandy sang La Bomba Soy Yo, which I love, but it had three solos in it (at least two too many). He also sang another cool song I didn't recognise that has another supergroove. The world's oldest rumbero (ok, maybe not - I know it's a big call) got up for a shimmy in the closer (Pogolotti) and there was much talk on the stage about el dia las madres - and quite a few in the crowd too - it was a different audience, compared to, say, last night. Quite a few Cubans, but homier than usual - Cubanos para los Cubanos. If you know what I mean. It was nice.
Nosotros somos de Cuba.
Well I'm not. But they were.

© Gabriel Wilder 2006