Manos pa'rriba medicos!

Got a phone call from Reve bajista Aisar saying they had a gig at a medical school and if we wanted to go, to meet him immediately at Parque Central to take the guagua with the band. We got hassled by jineteros while we waited, of course, as Parque Central is actually Jintero Central. Where are we playing? the trombonistas asked us while we waited for various musos to arrive. Then we got in the old jalopy and headed out. Way out - we passed the Tropicana, then the buildings got more decayed and crumbly and the banana trees got more pervasive. Until finally we arrived at the Faculty of Medical Science just as the heavens opened and a tremendous storm began.
We were greeted like stars (because the people we were with were stars) and led into a closed off, air-conditioned room with drawn blinds and boarded up windows, where tables had been laid with sausages, fetta style cheese, pineapple, and some very pretty purple bougainvillea blooms. Everyone that had been on the bus tucked in, but we were short four musicos, plus Elito himself. So afterwards, we sat around and chatted, and chatted, and chatted; while the rain poured down. Many topics were covered: Manolito’s latest disc, the amount of people at the recent Tribuna gigs; their crazy fans; Pupy’s recent line-up changes; Barack Obama.
Slowly the missing musos arrived, but not all of them. We had arrived about 3pm. By 6pm, the band still hadn’t played. The sonidista was pumping out recorded music - Alain Daniel, Manolín, some reggaeton, a bit of bachata. We were waiting now for Pachi, then when he finally arrived, Elito left the city (ay dios mio!) to come to the gig. So that was another half an hour waiting for him to turn up. Of course the rum had come out a couple of hours earlier, but there was only so much of it, and no one was really the worse the wear.


So finally, about 6.30, Elito arrived and the show got under way. It was a lot of fun - students dancing, with stethoscopes swinging around their necks - and you should see what those chicks wear under their white coats! The band played for just over an hour, which I thought was decent - no Sancochar boniato, but plenty of good stuff, and the crowd loved it. They put on a great show considering the circumstances, although Elito wasn’t very energised - which didn’t really matter as the others made up for it.
The sky grew grey and it threatened to rain again, but it didn’t. After they closed with Se sigue comentando, we were treated to chicken and rice, then got back in the jalopy to come back into town. In Diez de Octubre (still a fair way out of town), the bus broke down. We all sat in it, while the driver tinkered with it, before he finally botado the lot of us and we all fought over the few available taxis in the calle.
It was a hell of an adventure.
I was hoping to get some rest before seeing Havana D'Primera, but we had an interview to do with Aisar (look for it soonish at timba.com). He is very smart and articulate and had lots of interesting things to say (some of them not for publication). They are playing Salon Rojo tomorrow night, but first, in the Red Room, was the regular Havana D’Primera peña. Yay.
It’s only been a week since I last saw them play but it seems like ages! The star studded event consisted of the usual faranduleros (the guys from Angeles de la Habana) with the latest addition to the farandula (Samuell Formell), some singers from Sexto Sentido, and a couple of guys from Gente d’Zona. Phew!
Great gig as usual, Alexander trayendo el alegría, como siempre. Cameos from everyone present (except the ladies). I’m too tired to say more: just know that everyone loved it. Alexander is talented and charismatic and kind and makes everyone in the house happy. Amen.

Hombres pa'l Cafe

So just as well the last Pupy concert I saw was such a blast, because it’s more than likely to be the last Pupy concert I will see. As many of you reading probably know by now, singer Pepito and trompetista Chocolate are no longer with the group. They could have played without Chocolate, but it would have been pretty difficult to play without Pepito, and so today’s gig at Miramar was cancelled and also the matinee at La Tropical, which was planned for this Sunday (damn you Pepito!), I discovered once Duni had got out of bed this afternoon. (Charanga Latina took their place at Miramar.)
But the bigger problems for Pupy are: finding a replacement for the imminent tour of Europe, and what to do about the CD, which was ready for release and features Pepito on half of the songs.
For the first, he is considering two singers that I know of (and possibly more that I don't), but I'll wait until I have something solid before I report further.
The suspended concert left a hole in my schedule, so I decided to go and see Combinación de la Habana, who have some pleasant enough salsa songs on rotation on Disco Fiesta.
The band had already started and Cafe Cantante was jumping when I arrived at 7.15, but I don’t think Pupy’s cancelled concert had much to do with it - it didn’t really seem like his crowd. The average age seemed to be about 15 - for the chicas anyway. (I’m not exaggerating - there was even a girl in her school uniform.)
The songs on the radio are of the timba/salsa variety, but the 14-piece also plays a bit of salsaton (a bit too much for me) and a bit of timba lite (always too much for me). But the harmonies were good, though the undernourished metales (two trumpets, one trombone) were out of tune for most of the set.
They lost me for a while with a coro that was a response to Tanya and Bamboleo’s La que manda soy yo that went: los hombres pa’ la calle y las mujeres pa' la casa. That might have been slightly amusing if it weren’t actually a reality here. The girls didn’t care - they were despeloteando like mad. I suppose they don’t need to worry about that yet - that’s all in their future.
When they did a Charanga Habanera-style pop salsa thing, I started to get bored, but they followed it up with a version of Michel Maza’s El loco de la mata del coco. The lead sang it well but the musos struggled, and the song lumbered, unlike the original which fairly canters.
They’re young - “undercooked” - is how MFF described them as we walked across the Plaza de la Revolución to get a taxi. But right now, they’re working hard and seem to have found a place in the scene. They’ll keep it if the girls don’t leave them behind when they grow up.

Marketing la musica

Last year, the release of Trabuco’s Hablando en Serio was a private affair - it was held at Casa de la Musica at Galiano, but only open to invited guests. This year, anyone with $10CUC or $150MN could attend the gala event at the same location, featuring performances from both Trabuco and Revé, which seemed like a pretty good deal.
There was a queue out the front when we arrived around 6, but it was just the usual one formed by them letting people in poco a poco, so as not to clog the entrance. Inside it was pretty full, but not completely packed. We were greeted by some young ladies in red Trabuco t-shirts who were handing out posters to everyone who entered. El Chino greeted us a few steps later and led us down to the side of the stage where the band was hanging. Everyone was in very good spirits.
The floor show started. A group of pretty girls, chosen for the length of the legs, rather than what they could do with them, teetered around the dance floor on spiky gold heels. They were dressed head-to-toe in black (something that seems de la moda right now in Havana) and they were the Buccanero girls. The MC bellowed as he extolled the virtues of the beer, then hosted a dance competition, which was won by timba geek Lionel and his lovely wife (it was their second win in Havana this year).
Then the dance floor was cleared for Trabuco to gather on the steps and the Casa’s regular MC did a spiel and the some other scantily clad young ladies came out and gave them copies of the disc - quemados, by the looks of things, but I can’t be certain, as I didn’t get to see one close up.
Then the curtain rose and they ascended to the stage, opening once again with La boda de Belén, which I am absolutely not going to complain about, because it is such a great song and I am so thrilled to see them doing it.
As with Friday’s Tribuna concert, Andy Montañez joined them for a handful of songs, after which they continued with a pretty similar set. The Buccanero girls joined them sporadically for some desultory moves - a slight shimmy here; a little butt-shaking there; but it was pretty clear that they had at no point been chosen for their dancing experience. In that respect it was pretty much like any marketing do anywhere in the world.
The place was full of stars: Elito of course, as the band was playing after, joined them on stage, briefly, as did David Calzado, dressed in a pink t-shirt (while the chicks are going for black, the guys seem to be going for pink - one of the guys in Reve’s band the previous week had been dressed head-to-toe in it, from his baseball cap to his jeans. “It’s the new white,” commented My Fellow Farandulera.). Manolito started playing the tumbao from Me sube la fiebre, and Calzado looked momentarily confused, as if he didn’t recognise it. (Not surprising really - it’s a world away from the Charanga of today.) He took his Buccanero showbag and left. [I have a picture but, ya tú sabes - I can't get it to upload right now.]
Noro was wearing a jacket with no shirt underneath; his taut abdomen gleaming with sweat. Not that I noticed. With his arrival, Mayami now seems to have taken on elder statesman status. In theory, that task should fall to Amaray, who has been in the band much longer, but he will always be an imp and so, it seems, Mayami feels he has to do the lion’s share of the serious work. He does a good job but he doesn’t look that thrilled about it.
I was still feeling poorly, so there wasn’t much dancing for me. Not for Trabuco anyway. They wrapped about 8.30, about the time that a matinee would normally finish, but there was still Revé to come. There were a bunch of other things on at that time that I would have liked to have seen: Vania next door at Teatro America, Klimax playing at the tennis courts on Calzada in Vedado, but because there were two bands, and a lot of marketing malarkey, Revé didn’t get on stage till 9, and I had already missed a chance to see them once in Havana. Y cuando suena el Charangón ... pa dentro pa la Casa!
So on they came and they were an absolute montón of fun. Lionel took me for a spin during Jonrón which I thought would absolutely do me in. There was Mi salsa tiene, A sancochar boniato (I am so relieved that seems to be a staple of their set, as it's a favourite of mine and sounds great live), with solos from both Manolito and Miguelito - some of Trabuco had left, but most of them stayed and really got into it.
During El dinero, which is probably one of the lesser tracks off the album for me, a chick with pigtails got up for a monologue and some guias. Didn’t catch her name, which is probably just as well given what I am about to say: it would have been nice if she had sung in tune.
The Buccanero girls were on and off the stage; and it was a shame the metales were completely obscured by the enormous inflatable Buccanero can. I saw the MC, who had spruiked the brew so furiously and was wearing a Buccanero t-shirt, drinking a Cristal. The next night at Van Van he was wearing a Cristal t-shirt. I suppose it doesn’t matter - it’s not like they’re actually competing for market share or anything. Or are they?
Revé finished a bit after 10 - the session was going till 11 and I thought there wouldn’t be anyone playing there for the night, but Aisar, Revé’s bajista, told me that they were playing there again at 12. Holy crap. I was completely wiped. It was off to get something to eat, take my medicine and hit the sack for me.
Here’s some advice: if you’re going to get sick in Havana ¡don’t get sick the week of Cubadisco!

Gozando en La Habana

There is a message a timba geek in Havana, out for a day faranduleando, never wants to see. It’s the one I saw tonight, when I switched on my camera to take a photo of Van Van at the Tribuna, and saw: “Images will be stored to internal memory”.
If Adalberto hadn’t been so lame at La Tropical, I would have tried to take a picture there and realised the memory card was missing, and gone home to retrieve it from the USB connector. But Adalberto was pretty flojo. And yes, I know I’m sick. And maybe if I’d been down in the thick of it, instead of up in the gods, with cigarette smoke aggravating my bronchitis, I would have enjoyed it more. Maybe. Maybe not.
What I really regret is getting there too late to see Orquesta Aragón, who had not been mentioned in the promos for the gig at all. It was a nice surprise to see them playing when we arrived, and a bit of a disappointment when they packed up about two songs later. I love charanga - such a great combo of elegant strings and multiple rhythms - and theirs is a nice, strong sound - though they lack the timba fuerza of Maravilla de Florida.
Adalberto was up on the balcón with his posse, as was Elito Revé, out for the day. This was the launch of Adalberto’s CD Gozando en La Habana (following on the heels of yesterday’s launch by Trabuco of their Control CD - I will upload that report tomorrow); and most of the songs seemed to be from that – and they were pretty underwhelming. But then Adalberto hasn’t whelmed me for a few years. They did Deja la Mala Noche, which I do like, and finished with the epic version Que tú quieres que te den, getting lasses up in the audience - the hijas of the relevant of the god to do the relevant dance. By this time the place was going off, as you’d expect, and Adalberto was already back on the balcony drinking Chivas Regal with his mates, watching his band finish of the set.
The guy on the door says this might be a regular Sunday thing for Adalberto. I’d rather see Revé there, but either way, it’s good to have big name timba/salsa/changui/charanga bands playing regularly again at La Tropical, as they seemed to be on the outer for a while. And now with more buses, it’s much easier for everyone to get there and home again.
I have been underestimating the numbers at La Tropical - it was the most packed I’d seen it so far and a guy on the door told my Kiwi friend that there were 3000 people there; that means there were probably about 2500 for Reve and about 1200-1300 for Ritmo Oriental.
After a stop at home to rest my bronchial tubes, we went down to La Tribuna for the end of Cubadisco concert. The word was that it would be NG la Banda and Van Van, but it turned out to be just Van Van, who came on about ten minutes after we got there. I was pretty happy with that. It was packed. But not nightmarish. Just lots of merry, dancing people. I was a little disappointed with the set: if they have a new album under their belts, why were all the songs old except for Me mantengo? It was more or less the same set I have seen for the last three years: Chapeando, Tim con Pop (for God’s sake, Juan, please put that one out to pasture), Despues de todo (still love it; she still does amazing improv in it), Anda ven y quiereme (still love that too); Mayito’s Prestao song (I sat down for that one); La buena (would rather hear Ven, Ven, Ven) and then - yay! - Me mantengo, which rocked. I'm loving that song, it's so damn hard. It's like timba grunge. The closer, before the tema despedida, was an old song they have redone, which is played at all the clubs here before the bands come on, that I don’t know the name of (sorry). It’s nice though.
After that, we hauled our asses up the hill, against the pummeling wind, past the Hotel Nacional, to get a cab to Galiano for Salsa Mayor’s “spectacular”. It was advertised as having dancing girls - and Vannia! - among other things. Of course Van Van had held us up, and by the time we got there, Salsa Mayor were on stage (so no Vannia for me, boohoo). The dancing girls (and a few boys) came out for Esto está, then left and changed clothes and headed home. SM had a break, and came back 20 minutes later (for reasons unknown). There were a few people there but hardly anyone on the dance floor and they couldn’t seem to get the place going. Then they got Rodney and Tanya from Bamboleo up on stage and things heated up.
Tanya told the band to stop, and told the audience they wouldn’t play another note until everyone stood up on the dance floor. And people did exactly as she said. That chick is the pied piper. She was completely in her element, surrounded by spunky young boys. She was wearing a hideous yellow playsuit that made her look like someone’s Aunty Mavis, but she got that room moving, which the band hadn’t been able to do on their own. Rodney did a very nice improv turn too actually. Maikel took the opportunity to end the night on a high and brought the curtain down with Tanya still in full swing.
It was an odd night. Shame I missed Vannia.

Trabuco @ The Tribuna

After a week of hearing how lemon and honey would cure my sore throat/cough/respiratory condition, and doubting it, and finding that what I thought would work (time) hadn’t, I caved in and went to the foreigners’ clinic up the street from Casa de la Música in Miramar. I had never been there before, and it was very efficient and not too expensive at all and now I have drugs and hope that tomorrow I will be able to breathe properly.
Afterwards, we lammed down to 23 for the inaugural Cubadisco parade. Sensibly, they kept one side of the street open to traffic, while the flamenco dancers and comparsas danced down the other. Amazingly, it started on time, and it was quite good. The only problem: after it finished, we had at least a three-hour wait for Trabuco.
We went and had dinner at the Los Amigos paladar in the general vicinity then went to the Tribuna to find the conga from the parade still in full swing. It dispersed not long after we got there, and we sat on the steps and listened to Charanga’s latest offering (under duress, I might add), with a break to dance to Timba a pogolotti with a chap who said he used to sing coros with Michel Maza.
The wait turned out to be longer than we thought - 9.30pm arrived and Trabuco still hadn’t hit the stage. At 9.50 there was a long fireworks display for Cubadisco. Very long. I could only think of what that money would buy in terms of infrastructure. But then, we have a surfeit of fireworks in Sydney, so that’s all very well for me to say, although the crowd, what little there was of it at that point, didn’t seem very interested in them either. Maybe they have them a lot too.
At 10.30, the band finally started - and people suddenly poured in from parts unknown, filling up the space, but it didn't get too crowded - there was still plenty of room to move.
I had hoped that Trabuco’s performance here might see something of a return to the repertoire of the good old days, and I was half right: the Mexican song still got a guernsey, but so did Locos por mi Habana, which is the first time I’ve heard them play it this trip (and which is still a pila de fun). And they opened with La Boda de Belén. Oooh. What a treat. Of course, it wasn’t El Gallo singing, but you can’t have everything.
After Belén, Andy Montañez joined them for a handful of songs, which were surprisingly enjoyable; the string section using the time to guarachar as they weren’t needed for the PR-style salsa numbers. I had thought they might get him to sing the bolero from the new album, but I guess they’re saving that for tomorrow.
After he left the stage, they ran through lots of old classics and only one new song - Noro’s Soy una bomba, which, along with La Habana me llama, I think is the best of the lot (though it's not much of a song, more a jam, really). They did Control twice; which is two times too many, I reckon. But they sounded great - the singers really put a lot into it, and the actual sound system itself was top class.
The big drawback with the Tribuna, is that the barricade in front of the stage puts you miles away from the stage, but this seems to engender a nice sense of cameradie in the audience. The other drawback is that the glaring lights raise the temperature to about 100º. But we all survived. It was good fun.
Big day tomorrow: Trabuco con Revé together in a matinee. Then possibly Klimax or Vannia. Then (if I can keep going); maybe Van Van at Salon Rojo. Though word in the calle is that they are playing the Tribuna on Sunday, for Cubadisco’s closing, so in all likelihood, I will just see them there.

Mi música

I wasn’t sure I was making the right decision when I decided to go and see Alexander and Havana D’Primera yet again this afternoon - after all, I had just seen him - again - last night. And today, Trabuco were at Cantante, and I haven’t seen them much, but the performances of theirs that I have seen, coupled with the fact that they are scheduled to play (note use of the word “scheduled”) tomorrow at La Tribuna, Saturday at Galiano, for the release of their new CD and Saturday night at Cantante made me opt for Alexander. And there is the little matter of the alegría that Alexander always brings me. And he brought it again. In fact I shed a tear or two of joy during Mi música.
This live version - I would kill to get my hands on a copy (if you hear of an extranjera being arrested for murder in Havana, you will know the backstory) is astounding. The version recorded with Grupo Danson is amazing enough - I remember when I got it, I played it a thousand times. But this long, live version, with it’s slow groove, myriad new coros and Alexander singing to the heavens like a man possessed ... it’s a religious experience. People in both Cuba and Australia ask me why I come to Havana every year: this is why. Because the music takes me closer to god. And as an atheist, well I guess that’s all I’ve got.
And as long as I can keep coming here, I guess it’s all I need.
Some of Alexander’s handpicked musos have had other engagements to fulfill, and so this week Rodney Barretto is off playing with someone else and has been replaced by a chap called Jorgito, who looks very familiar, but who I can’t place. When last night’s gig finished at around 3am, bajista Cristóbal was driving to the airport to get a plane to Mexico, then to Peru, where he will play with Paulo (which doesn’t explain why PFG is on the Galiano cartelera for tomorrow night). I didn’t recognise his replacement.
But the band still sounds pretty good. The songs are so awesome and inspire such a glowing ambience ... it all sounds a bit Hillsong happy clappy I know, but when he does talk about god, it’s usually in the plural, with a reference to Yemayá and Changó, so there is a twist there.
He’s big on a groove - it’s not a funk groove, or even a jazz groove. I guess that’s what makes the sound standout from the other groups here. It’s Cuban, but it’s not something you often hear around the traps here.
A coughing fit, thanks to the respiratory tract infection I have picked up, and the cigarette smoke in the Casa, almost took me out in the first song, and I had to take it easy, but I recovered well enough. (Alaín Daniel might be out later on tonight though, his farandula smoke so much it’s like being in the thick of a bushfire.)
The second song was a new one that didn’t seem completely finished - Alexander and the coristas read the lyrics that had been written on the back of flyers for Salsa Mayor’s Sunday gig that were covering the tables (this is some kind of weird spectacular with Vania as a special guest, so I will be there with bells on), so I guess they were written shortly before the show began.
In the audience were both Tanya and Ángel - it’s the first gig Tanya has guested at that I’ve been at this year, which makes a change from last year, when she was everywhere. Both she and Ángel got up at the same time, during the second last song. When I first saw them both walk up the stairs, I thought, oh look, someone’s abuela is on stage. Why does she have that nanna hairdo? Anyway, she put in quite a good turn I thought. The usual braggadacio - she was talking about how she has the premio of the people, and they give it to her four times a week (at Bamboleo’s weekly residencies), as she ticked off the gigs on her long, sculpted fingergnails. After her monologue, she came up with a nice line for the coro: “tengo millon razones para cantarte”, beautifully sung, like all of Alexander’s coros, by his coristas, and there was a little craziness on stage with Alexander wandering around playing his trumpet and Ángel up there as well, looking a little bummed out cause Tanya was hogging the mic; though he finally he got a brief turn.
The report from Cantante was that it was Noro’s birthday, and that Maravilla de Florida’s Jelien guested on violin, but Maikel Blanco, though in the audience, didn’t get up on stage. They’re still doing the Mexican pop song. I think I made the right choice.

Pupy's monster jam

I was still sick - I missed Revé at Miramar last night but there was no way I was going to miss Pupy’s last matinee before their Canada tour. I finally tracked down some iodine for my throat, and could tie in the pick up with the gig, as I had to go to 36, not so far from Casa de la Musica.
The place was pretty busy, as I had thought it would be, with Havana filling up with visitors for Cubadisco, and there were a few musos in the audience too.
The set was more or less as it had been at the previous gigs, although the energy levels were higher from La Machucadera’s opening, with people hitting the dance floor immediately. They ramped up even further during La fiera, when Mandy’s fellow Los Ases singer Tirso (in the same clothes from yesterday) hit the stage for some guias, and was quickly followed by Alexander Abreu, who did a beautiful trumpet solo that gave me goosebumps. After that Pupy left the stage for a little while and a hyper Tirso took over on piano.
The place was jumping; the aircon was failing; but my grippa could not contain me (I’ll pay for it later, no doubt, iodine or no iodine). There was a great vibe too: a totally dickhead-free zone.
Later on Angél Bonne joined them during Calla calla. (Regrettably I will not get to see Angél play this trip as his next gig is three days after I leave.)
The closer was the full version of Timba a pogolotti (often, they start after the cuerpo, and just vamp to the end). It was about 8.45 and I saw Jindra, Pupy’s daughter and manager, standing at the back of the stage, and telling Pupy in gestures and mimes, that he could go a bit longer. Suddenly Pepito was sitting comfortably at the side of the stage, and Mandy and Tirso were going head to head in the centre.
I’d love to tell you I understood everything that they said, but sadly I did not. And I had already been told once to quit filming so I can’t show you either. Needless to say, it was the classic battle of the cantantes - the crowd stopped dancing, and gathered at the foot of the stage to watch and listen; the musos were laughing; Mandy and Tirso were attacking. The fluoro lights came on and still they battled - Tirso would not be stopped - even physically pushing Mandy’s mic away from his mouth so he couldn’t be heard (I’m sure he should have got a red card for that). I turned to Alexander and said, Tirso is never going to shut up. He said: Nunca.
But it had to end. Pupy just stopped playing; so did Osiris. I guess that’s one way to bring the concert to a close: just stop the music.
This was possibly the hottest gig (in all senses of the word) so far this trip.
Canada: now it’s your turn: ¡A gozar!

Tirso appears

I heard on Disco Fiesta that playing with Pachito y su Kini Kini at their regular Monday matinee at Miramar would also be invitados Tirso Duarte y “su nuevo excenareo”. I felt like crap with the grippa, but thought, if Tirso has a new band, I have to see it: his last two albums were great and the last time I saw him with his own band (in 2002) it was pretty awesome.
Well a lot has changed since then. He’s been singing with NG la Banda for one. For another, he has appeared on a couple of reggaeton songs. I knew it could go either way.
We got there a little later than we expected and were greeted by the muffled sounds of reggaeton emanating from inside - this was not the sound of a DJ playing, as we were soon to discover.
On stage we found Tirso, two raperos; two backing singers; a conguero; a couple of trumpet players, bafflingly hidden in a corner; and a guy with a laptop. Gulp.
The saving grace is that the vocals were mostly sung, not rapped (or shouted); but the music coming from the laptop didn’t not sound; well, live (as you’d expect).
There was a good crowd in - and I assuming they weren’t all there for Pachito, as they greeted Tirso’s songs with applause - actual applause I tell you (and they were Cuban!) and, when he told them to get up and dance, that’s exactly what they did.
Three dancing girls in what looked like underwear appeared and disappeared sporadically (one I recognised as one of the dancers from the Capri).
A couple of reggaeton songs in, the band left the stage and Tirso sat at the piano for a virtuosic, if frenzied, rendition of Autumn Leaves. The band then returned and Tirso announced he was going to sing a song in English. It was the BeeGees How Deep Is Your Love, and it was greeted by groans at my table, but by cheers and a waving of hands at most of the others.
A couple of more reggaeton songs followed, including one that vamped on the “hospital” coro from Michel Maza’s Que hablen los habladores.
The whole experience was bizarre and disappointing, though not entirely unexpected.
The next day I saw him at the Pupy gig. He said: we had hardly rehearsed.
Really? I couldn’t tell.

Cuando suena el charangón ...

Finally the day to see Revé arrived - not that I’ve been bored waiting or anything - there has been plenty of awesome stuff to see - but still I have been looking forward to it. I was glad they won the Música bailable category at Cubadisco last night - made the gig at La Tropical more of a celebration than just a gig. I went with three extranjeros (two of whom found me through the blog) - it can be pretty hard to find a Cuban to go with you to that joint sometimes (when I told one local friend I was going he said “take a knife”. I think he said that last time I went too). As we arrived Elito was at the entrance and ushered us into the top tier where the musos hang and you are completely cut off from the hordes below. Normally I would brave the lower levels despite such invitation, but the combination of a big crowd and an encroaching grippa made me think I should play it safe and stay up with the gods. They opened with Fresquecito, the beginning of which seemed to serve as a soundcheck, but the levels were quickly fixed and the feedback disappeared. Most of the set was from the now award-winning album: El telefono, Dinero, A sancochar boniato, Jonrón, La viuda, with Mi salsa tiene and a couple of jams on some old Revé grooves. The crowd was the usual older Sunday Tropical crowd on their day out, with a few hundred more thrown in (there was probably a crowd of about 1200, though I may be under-estimating). There was lots of dancing and lots of drinking, as well as the traditional Tropical bronca, which ended in the police spraying the crowd and leading two people away, after which the music continued. As well as the strep throat, I had a slightly stressful personal situation going on, so I wasn’t as relaxed as I could have been, but it was a grand day out. The heat was stifling; the band was cooking: I danced in the sun and got burnt. French photographer Patrick Bonnard has arrived in town, so look for some photos from this gig and whatever else happens in the next week during Cubadisco at Fiesta Cubana.net. Elito said that Revé will play at Galiano on Saturday with Trabuco, but there is bound to be a few things on before then - there will be events at Pabellon Cuba all week (I’m assuming, unless that has changed) and Pupy has one more gig before their Canada trip, their regular Tuesday pincha at Miramar which will probably be great, as usual, and short as usual. (At their gig last night, Mandy really got into it, despite the fact that he had a cold - which is just a coincidence, you understand, don’t jump to any conclusions.) Then there is the usual Alexander/Alexander/Alaín triple on Wednesday/Thursday. Once it gets down to a fortnight, I’ll be anxiously counting the days and willing them to go slower. So I have to get out and see everything I can, which could be a problem with this damn lurgy. Wish me a speedy recovery.

Alaín - in the studio

Late in the afternoon today we dropped in at Egrem on San Miguel where Alaín Daniel is mixing his new album - finally, it looks like it will soon be out. I told him that a lot of people in the extranjero had been waiting for it. He said, "I know." Then seemed to realise that was a little immodest and added, "I hope they like it."
Despite the heat outside he looked cool in a crisp white shirt and jeans, but he always looks stylish. He and an engineer and an apprentice were mixing one of the songs on a Mac propped up on the mixing desk, using Pro Tools. It was a kind of hard timba cha-cha-cha (though technically it’s probably cha-cha-cha fusion, as they call it) called Un amigo en Madrid.
He was troubled by a bit where he sings “Voy a hablarte de Adalberto” which he felt he mumbled, and wanted fixed.
The album will have 11 songs, 10 written by Alaín, and he says he plans to deliver it to Egrem in about a month, and hopes it will be released in July. He wants to call it Marginal, but he says Egrem wants to call it Bendita Locura, after the four-track EP of last year, as they consider that to be a kind of preview of the album. I guess we’ll see who wins that battle.
If the group’s repertoire live is any indication of its quality, it’s going to kick ass. They have played together for a while now - as I suspected there have been few lineup changes since I was here last year - only three in fact - a new corista, trombonista and baterista. The group is very young - the average age is 23, but they play very well together and have very strong sound.
Alaín was preoccupied with mixing, then later, pizza, so it wasn’t really a good time to chat, but if I can, I will try and line up an interview with him before I go.

[I also spoke to Alexander Abreu today. I did a reasonably lengthy interview with him about Havana D’Primera - about the musos in the group; his goals for it and the forthcoming tour and disc. I will transcribe it before the group’s tour starts on June 12 - and if I have a break in the schedule, much sooner than that. He invited us to a rehearsal on Monday, so I will have more to report after that.]

Last night we went to see Alaín play again (I only got to see him twice last time - I don't want to make that mistake again) - the gig couldn’t have been more different from Salon Rojo. Whereas Alaín was at home there with his local farandula, the Melia Cohiba’s Habana Cafe was like a throwback to another era.
I had never been before - I have called on previous trips but was always told that there was no one playing or that it was under renovations. So here I am, on my seventh trip, going to the Habana Cafe for the first time.
We called first and were assured that the band would be on at 11pm, as Alaín had mentioned the previous night, but when we pulled up in our taxi it looked suspiciously deserted.
The entrada was $20; which included $10 in food/drink (but not the tip, which is 10%); and the place was very quiet. Foreigners at tables; old cars and memorabilia placed strategically around the ill-lit room; steps in unexpected places, designed to have you suddenly crumpling in a heap on the floor.
The band was set up at the back of the room; and in front of them on what looked like another section of the stage but was actually a raised dance floor, was a trio of athletic young lads doing gymnastic stuff. Seems to be a la moda this year.
As promised, Alaín y su grupo didn’t delay, and were on stage by 11.30.
It was the usual hard set but the vibe couldn’t have been more different to the previous gigs. Still, poco a poco, some locals arrived and by the time he got to No lo comentes - admittedly, a fair way into the set - the farandula was up and dancing. The set was the same as the previous night, with some added songs - the aforementioned Manolín track, which got the waiters dancing, a cha-cha-cha, and a ballad.
I was a little freaked out by the whole scene. The last time I have probably been anywhere like that was when I went to see Charanga Habanera at La Cecilia in 1999 and they were preceded by an elaborate and seemingly interminable cabaret; but even that had a lot more Cubans at it.
Still it was an interesting experience. And Alaín always rocks my world.

Decision ’08

Two conflicting matinees: Trabuco, possibly with Amaray, once again, or Alexander, even though I saw him last night. In the end, it wasn't so hard: I decided on Alexander, though I dunno, maybe in retrospect, I will regret it, but this time round, he's the one blissing me out.

The farandula has been sapping my strength, and I passed out on the bed from about 5.35pm and slept till 6.15 - the disco nap did me the world of good. I sprang out of bed when I heard the lady of the house leaning over the balcony “conversing” with someone three floors down in the street below.
Got dressed and raced down San Miguel, where I found Pupy’s Pepito and his wife who were also on their way to Galiano. The first person I saw when I walked in was Alexander himself.
Another band was on stage, just finishing up. Bill Wolfer’s wife raced out to meet me and led me to their table and Bill’s bear hugs. Pepito joined us and soon after Havana D’Primera hit the stage. I left them to hit the dance floor.
Much fun as usual. Lazarito Valdes joined the band for a solo; Alexander called Pepito up. Maikel Blanco was in the audience, but didn’t jam. It was very Cuban crowd enjoying the not typically Cuban music. It’s Cuban of course, but it has sprinklings of jazz and other Caribbean rhythms. But it seems to make everyone feel good.
And I don’t know what I was thinking when I complained in my first review about the length of the songs - pfhht! Mi música went for about 25 minutes - every moment of it glorious. Jaja.
Afterwards, after Bill had hobnobbed with the musicos, some of which had played with him in Mamborama, he and I and Sandra, and Pepito and his wife and Kenya, a gorgeous, tall, negrita who plays on the Cuban volleyball team, went next door to the cafe/bar which, Bill says, always smells like chicken fat.
Everyone was smoking and I thought I would asphyxiate - our soft laws that prohibit smoking - well, pretty much everywhere, make one ill-prepared for somewhere like Cuba. Pepito was complaining about musicians getting ripped off all the time - we could have been in any bar in the world. Except for the smoke. Kenya asked me if I liked Bamboleo. I said no. She said why? I said, I don’t like Tanya. She laughed and said, she’s a very good friend of mine! Oops. Jajaja. Well, I said, I’m sure she is a very good friend to you, but I still don’t like her as a singer! (BTW Tanya is advertising a perfume called “Furor”! There is a poster for it in the Casa de la Musica tienda.)
The Teatro America two doors down emptied a crowd of people out onto the street and I walked with them up Neptuno to my casa, where my fellow farandulera (MFF) reported on Trabuco.
It was a later start than usual, she said, as it was a matine larga (impossible to predict). Amaray had returned and they had a big crowd. They’re still doing that loathesome pop song - I have found out it is a Mexican song by a group called Camilla or something - it’s always on the radio here. The set was pretty much the same as recently but with Amaray’s songs thrown in: La Habana me llama, Loco por tus besos, etc. MFF said they all looked happy and El Noro was being swamped by girls as she left.

Alain and coristas

It was a double bill for us today as we had decided to catch Alain Daniel at Salon Rojo por la noche.
Absolutely packed as usual; mostly with Cubans, there under their own steam, ie without foreigners, which is great to see, and something kind of new at a night gig at a club. I mean it’s not cheap - it’s $15CUC, so unless there is some secret door deal (quite possible), that’s a lot of money being saved up and shelled out (many Cubans at Alexander too, but that is S40MN, so it’s a bit different, though obviously that is still a lot of money for some Cubans).
[Alain said that it is almost a year since he started doing this Thursday gig, which means they moved from the Thursday Las Vegas residency just after I left last year. Obviously it has been a big success for him.]
He and his young group played their usual tight, funky, cintura timba - muy fuerte. All groove and callejera lyrics. I love the way when he talks to the crowd he says, “Bueno, farandula...” The set was slightly different from the last gig, but still great. He has a couple of great slow grooves - one has the same sentiment as Paulito’s Un poquito de to’ but Alain’s is a thousand times better - a lazy groove with a nice swing.
As usual, there was nil room to dance - Trabuco’s Chino said that when they play Salon Rojo, they clear out the tables down the front so that people can dance; but whenever I have been there, they go right up to the foot of the stage (I’ve never seen Trabuco there). (He also says it’s his favourite venue to play at because it has the best onstage sound.)
The MC tonight I think was Edith, the host from the TV show 23 y L, for those who frequent Mucho Swing. Unusual - and pleasing - to see a woman in the role. The place was full of stars: Robertón; Lázaro (again); Calzado, holding court in the lobby; and a chick from the telenovela about the bomberos.
Salon Rojo is kind of happening at the moment: Friday night is Adalberto and Saturday is Charanga. Saturday week is Van Van.

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

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.