Last night in Cuba in Sydney for '07

Moro and Yarima at Marconi last Saturday night.

The problem with having a really lovely room for your monthly Cuban night, is that everyone else wants it too. And as Christmas approaches, you get ousted in favour of corporate Christmas parties who have loads of dosh. Sigh. So this week is the last Cuban night at the Watershed for '07. It's a great tragedy, but there is no reason why it shouldn't be as kickass as the last one. In fact, I will probably DJing a bit more than usual - which has its pros (I get to control the music) and cons (I can't dance as much), so it might be even better than it usually is (if that's possible). It's always a lovely night, cause it's like a private party - in a waterside venue with a view of the city lights, and the kind of music you would play if the party were at your house. (Well the kind of music I would play if the music were at my house.) Hope to see every casino dancer in Sydney there.

Saturday night is the first of what is planned to be a monthly event at the Copacabana in Bondi Junction. It's the old BJ's - older salseros (like me) might remember the halcyon days of the late 90s/early noughties when Candela played their fabulous, mostly timba sets there every other Saturday. Man, those were the days - timba on a Saturday night! What luxury! I'm not sure what Armandito and his group have in store for us - his usual firey son no doubt, and maybe a smidgeon of timba from the DJs. One can only hope. Yarima will be there too, which is always a bonus. She put on a nice show with Moro and Fraudy last Saturday at Marconi.
Actually the whole night was great - Son Veneno pulled out all the timba/Cuban classics: Maraca's La pelea and Sonando; Trabuco's Marcando la distancia; Van Van's Te pone la cabeza mala, Manolín's La bola ... damn, I wish I could remember what else they played, but last Saturday already seems like a long time ago. All that matters is that I danced a lot and the night seemed way too short. Armandito came out and did that cracking timba song of his with the "Wakey! Wakey!" coro. Good stuff. I could have done without the pilón, but then, I can always do without pilón.

Pupy and Manolito

My two favourite groups juntos (courtesy Mucho Swing). How cool. There is a lot to look at in this – as well as to hear – there are some big egos battling it out there. There is a great bit with Pupy, standing with the singers, gesticulating at Manolito on piano, telling him how to play it. Jajaja. Then there is the competition between the singers – is the winner the one who improvises the best, or merely the one who manages to get the most mic time?

Chacón's last (Aussie) hurrah

Last Sunday was Chacón's last Aussie gig - early Monday morning he left for Blighty. It was another energy-charged show from Veneno - I had missed a couple of their gigs for various reasons, and this was my last chance to see them with Osvaldo. Although it was a Sunday and I had been working all day, I got into it - until I started to flag about midnight. The show followed the same format as the Fiesta gig, with Carlos doing a fine job of opening, with Chacón following, then Maya, Steven, Ariel, and this night, Rebecca, who used to sing with the band.


It was all good - except for the reggae stuff, which I don't mind, but not when I want to dance, and the heavy rock/ska stuff, which I do mind. I left before they finished, even though I could see that Te pone la cabeza mala was on the set list. I was enjoying myself, but I was just too bloody buggered. Below is a clip of Chacón and Son Veneno playing Circúlame.

One night in Cuba
It's not really a night in Cuba - but it's the next best thing when you're thousands of miles away in Sydney. I don't think I'm being immodest when I say us DJs kicked out the jams (I really must learn how to say that in Spanish). I played:

• Bamboleo - La tremenda
• Maraca - Sonando
• El Zorro con Ángel - Te doy mi mano
• Manolito - Respeta
• Pupy - Timba a pogolotti
• El Pikete - Seco y guardao
• Issac - Pregón del chocolate
• Rebambaramba con Michel - Soy la noticia
• Manolito - Linda melodía
• Pupy - Dicen que dicen

And probably some others that I forget. I am really loving El Pikete's Seco y guardao - really kicks ass. "Ay ay ay, que gozadera, y ahora voy a bailar con El Pikete la noche entera" - well I would if their songs weren't so damn short. And I would upload it for you to listen to if the Snapdrive player wasn't still out of action for Mac users. David played some great new stuff, including one of Ángel Bonne with Pupy. Oooh!

Anyway, thanks to all my fabulous dance partners - I came home with feet that felt like they had been stabbed and fierce tinitus. ¡Que alegría!

If you're looking for some new timba, there is some good stuff at the Música Cubana blog - new Klimax and Tirso, among others.

Last Friday, Son Veneno and Osvaldo Chacón played Casa de la Salsa at the Watershed - the band had dispensed with the hip-hop-fusion spectacular and it was a slim-downed version of the group, playing all timba/salsa. And it was excellent. Covers included Sandunguera and Bailando así, as per their fiesta gig; as well as Te pone la cabeza mala to close, which was a lot of fun. In fact the whole night was fun. I danced pretty much all night. (Thanks Caitlin!) The Chacón songs recorded with Bamboleo, Te gusto o te caigo bien and Circulame, sound great - the latter, in particular, is a fantastic slow-burner, which seems to be a Chacón specialty.
They played the next night at Club Marconi, but as I am without a car these days, and I had an early shift at the paper the next day, I didn't make it. Been out of circulation a bit so I don't know how it went. Veneno have two more gigs with Chacón - tomorrow, again at Marconi, and Sunday at the Basement, which will be the full spectacular. I advise you to catch him if you can.

Of course tonight there is the 100% Cuban night at Watershed, with me, Mani, Nandez and AV el Cubano. Gonna dance my ass off. See you there.

At the moment I am wading through old Trabuco songs - well not so much wading through as being buoyed by - what a lot of great songs Simonet and Co have created over their seven albums. The catalyst for this new pastime was a trip to timba.com's Manolito lyrics page, where I was looking for the lyrics to one of their songs. On arrival, I discovered, with horror, that none of their lyrics were there and so, partly as community service, partly as a self-serving, er, service (the idea being that anything that exposes me to Spanish can only help improve my skills in that area), I have immersed myself in their back catalogue. I'm not doing it any methodical way, but jumping around between albums as the mood takes me, and as well as the aforementioned goals, it has had the unexpected and welcome side effect of exposing me to old gems that were overlooked, as well as a reappraisal of others. (Try listening to Marcando la distancia as if you were hearing it for the first time - it has been played so much that I had forgotten what a masterpiece it is - the orchestration alone is outstanding.)
So today I was driving my neighbours crazy by playing Linda melodía 50 times in a row and thinking how Kalunga sings like an angel (while trying to work out what the fuck he was actually singing) and how I would trade his vocal cords for Mayami's hips any day, when suddenly I get an email from Mamborama's Bill Wolfer. He has updated his blog with a post about a new song of his that features none other than Kalunga himself. The pair did some lovely work on Mamborama's last album Directamente al mambo - this one should be a treat as well.

N.B. And if anyone wants to contribute to the lyrics drive, choose your artist and get cracking. You can post them at the timba geeks group.

Fiesta Sunday

Armandito y su Trovason: "Lo que quiero es Cristal"

As a journalist, I regularly work public holidays. A couple of years ago I took on a Sunday shift as well (I get Friday off instead), so that only leaves me really free to enjoy Fiesta on Friday nights and Saturdays. But I work an afternoon shift on Sunday, so this year I went down to the Aquashell on the way to work to catch Armandito y su Trovason. These guys used to play every Thursday at La Cita, but I haven't actually seen them for about four months or so. They have had a couple of personnel changes but they sounded pretty good. The sun was blasting down onto the stage and the dancefloor, but a few of us got out there and danced to their son grooves anyway. They did a great Revé snr song (didn't catch the name). The band were all wearing Cristal t-shirts - I guess if it's good enough for Issac and Paulito, it's good enough for Armandito – altogether now: "Lo que quiero es Cristal..."
I stayed until they finished then went and got some paella and headed for the office. Came back about 7.30pm - it was dark but still warm, and the capoeira were on as a prelude to Son Veneno. I managed to get quite close to the front - it had been low tide and the Aquashell had been floating below the promenade, so seeing anything was tricky when there was a big crowd - which there always is at night. The front line was taken up by Cuban expats - I wouldn't be game enough to stand so close to the edge - one shove from the crowd and you'd be in the water - which wasn't looking so clean.
Veneno started with an instrumental opening before being joined by Carlos Velasquez, who is one of my favourite local singers. He's got a great soul/pop voice and is really cute. David Calzado should snap him up. Carlos is exactly what some of those Cuban bands are looking for - but he actually does the pop thing better than a lot of them do - and with less syrup.

Chacón with Son Veneno

After a couple of songs there was a big intro for Osvaldo Chacón - "direct from Cuba" - they left out "via London". Never mind. Chacón was all in white and was really a powerhouse. He doesn't have a huge voice, but he has a ton of energy and charisma and is a real showman. They did Mi Vicio, a great song from his first solo album which sounded fantastic. The song is a real slowburner and the tension and release was expertly done. He sang a few more – the names of which escape me, four days later – then left the stage so that Veneno stalwarts Ariel, Steve and Maya Jupiter could join the group for an energetic closer to the first set.
Another capoeira set later, they returned for their final hour. This time they started with the old vocalists, playing a diverse mix of rhythms and styles, including pop, hip-hop, cumbia and an aggressive ska, which bordered on metal. I love the big pop song they do – it's a Paradise by the Dashboard Light style epic sung by Carlos – but the other stuff isn't so much my cup of tea (or my trago de ron). They play it seamlessly and with verve, and Maya's glamour and star power is almost enough to make me a fan, but not quite.
Fortunately (for me!) Chacón returned, and with him, the timba, or the salsa or the songo or whatever you want to call it. Among his songs were Sandunguera and Irakeré's Bailando así, which I love. Tiene tremenda swing - and they captured it perfectly. Had a nice dance with a chap. Still a bit rusty on the old following. Guess I need to get out more. Then it was over. They were playing at a nearby club afterwards, but I had an early start the next day, so I left the harbour and went home.
I will go and see them tomorrow (Friday) at the Watershed. Maybe I'll be able to get some decent pics this time.