We had an amazing time at the Latin Alternative Music Conference 2011! We have a few quiet moments on the plane as we fly home, so, while Zachary produces the interview videos beside me, I’m going try to collect our thoughts from this whirlwind weekend and share some of the highlights with our readers. One of the many things that stand out as I think about the last few days is the amazing kindness and openness of all the LAMC staff, the artists and other attendees. At LAMC, I felt completely accepted for exactly who I was, even though I understand only a moderate amount of Spanish and speak even less (Zachary is fluent, however, and I’m learning more every day!) We never felt as if anyone expected us to look, speak or act a certain way, which is often the case at other industry events. My new favorite band, Poncho, reminded me that enthusiasm, innovation and passion are your most valuable assets when it comes to doing what you love. So, we want to convey a big thank you to everyone we met at LAMC for making us feel welcome and a part of something wonderful!
Day 1
Wednesday evening we hopped off the plane and went right to our first event: The Latin Alternative Music Conference Indie Showcase at The Mercury Lounge. Because of plane delays, we were only able to catch Jazzimodo, Poncho and La Vida Bohème, but what a wonderful start to our trip! In my opinion, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen the willowy Paz of Jazzimodo belting out jazz, in French, on a megaphone, dancing in a designer cocktail dress, while shaking a star-shaped tambourine. The entire band mirrored the kinetic energy of the adorable lead singer and rounded out the set with a mean sax solo.
I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that the guys I thought were the roadies for Poncho turned out to be the band members themselves. That may sound like a strange observation, but we quickly realized that instead of being concerned with exuding a certain “look”, (other than wearing some sweet ponchos) the band focused all their creative energy on getting the audience on their feet and dancing. (On a related side note, I danced more this weekend than I have in 10 years. That’s the highest praise I personally can give this entire conference, as a self-avowed un-dancer.) Poncho warmed up the crowd with some great beats before launching headfirst into the eminently danceable “Are You Ready”, followed up by their new single “Please Me”, which included guest vocals by the electrifying Maxi Trusso.
The wildly talented, paint-covered members of La Vida Bohème rounded out the evening for us. It’s a testament to their amazing, engrossing music that, in flipping through my notebook, I have no notes from that set. From the guitarists acting like they were rams locking horns to the energy during the audience-capturing hit “Radio Capital”, I was drawn in completely. I don’t know much about the early punk scene, but I can imagine that La Vida Bohème, while not strictly punk musicians, certainly capture that type of happy, testosterone-driven energy of band members that create amazing music and love playing on stage together. It’s now our goal to catch one of their famous paint-slinging sets as soon as we can. Walking back to our hotel, we stopped for some late-night pizza for the perfect start to our NYC trip.
Day 2
Thursday morning and afternoon we were hard at work getting some incredible interviews with many of the talented artists at LAMC. You can see our Thursday interviews by clicking on each artist’s name:
- Napoleón Solo
Sudakaya
Mexican Dubweiser
Ely Guerra (interviewed, but technical problems with video)
No Te Va Gustar
Zigmat
La Vida Bohème
Gaby Moreno
Thank you to all the artists for the wonderful interviews and for going along so happily with our little “tarea” idea. Here’s a link to our new Clozeline ebook made with words chosen by the artists themselves and a drawing too:
One of the showcases we were most looking forward to was the LAMC Acoustic Showcase and it definitely did not disappoint! Each band or singer played two songs, which allowed us to see firsthand the stunning array of music on tap for the conference.
Ely Guerra opened with a true acoustic performance of “Mejor Me Voy”. Even without a mic, she filled the room with her amazing voice, which Zachary describes as “sweet and hot”. Napoleón Solo, the brand-new winners of the Discovery award, put on a very tight performance, with the lead singer’s enthralling falsetto charming the crowd.
Superlitio got everyone into a sweet Colombian groove, followed up by the reggae/hip hop sound of One Chot. Their music is perhaps a bit ill-suited for the acoustic format, but the talent of the band members shined through on stage, especially the one-man-band on horns. This was our second time seeing La Vida Bohème and, despite some initial sound check problems, these charismatic artists pulled out all the stops and enthralled the crowd with perfectly crafted songs filled with the sounds of bells, shaker eggs and even an old-school recorder. Their songs are wonderfully rich, with inspiration pulled from such diverse artists as Celia Cruz and the Ramones.
Cuarto Poder went next, with backup provided by La Vida Bohème as hip hop verses flowed over acoustic guitar and congas. Following them was Diego Garcia, an artist that, at first glance, was an odd fit for a Latin Alternative Conference. He is a talented singer-songwriter, undeniably, but to me, one that could be interchanged with many other artists of the same sort in the United States. This sparked a fascinating discussion between Zachary and me about what exactly “Latin Alternative” means, which then led to a conversation about the difficulties that arise when labeling any artist or music. We continued this intriguing discussion later, with a cool couple that recognized us in the street from our previous night’s overview video.
No Te Va Gustar continued the evening with excellent on-stage chemistry that had the audience grooving to the beat of congas and bongos. Their experience and craftsmanship showed throughout their solid, consistent performance and during a great jam session on “Pensar.”
It’s hard to believe the feeling and power that comes out of the petite Gaby Moreno. This soulstress has some pipes on her, deftly turning deep growls into soft purrs. One of the coolest moments of the show was sitting next to the members of Hello Seahorse during Gaby’s set. We watched with delight as Bonnz, the percussionist of the group, created a shaker out a little bag and some coins. He then used it onstage during their performance of “Velo de novia” and “Bestia.”
A minor annoyance was the fact that some audience members didn’t pay attention to repeated requests for quiet during the acoustic sets. However, we didn’t find that the noise excessively took away from what turned out to be an all-around thoroughly memorable showcase.
I was glad that we had been seated for the Acoustic Showcase, because, while walking to the next venue, we were so wrapped up in our discussion of the night’s events, we missed our street and walked about a mile out of our way! Well, it can’t be a trip to New York unless you get lost at least once, I guess. Thankfully, we didn’t miss too much of the next show, which was held at the Bowery Ballroom.
The bands were plugged in for this showcase and we were impressed by the driving bass lines and the wall of guitar sounds of Napoleón Solo. Plus, just when we thought we’d heard the highest he could go on “Lolaila Carmona”, the lead singer drove his voice into an even higher falsetto during “Explota” – and it totally worked!
Diego Garcia won me over during this set with a unique mix of evocative cello and funky 60’s vocal phrasing. Francisca Valenzuela filled the venue with her music, using only her voice and a piano, since she didn’t have a band backing her and her guitar wasn’t working. Despite this, her powerful, playful voice captured the audience and she left the stage to cries of “¡Otra!”
Ximena Sariñana wrapped up the night for us with stunning renditions of “Shine Down”, “Normal”, a very danceable “Love Again” and ended with “Mediocre”, a personal favorite of mine.
One of the unexpected things I loved about the showcase format was the crazy combinations of artists. We could see the romantic Diego Garcia, followed by the powerful Cuarto Poder, and finish up with a bit of the soulful Ximena Sariñana. One of Zachary’s favorite things was the amazing cohesive feel the entire conference created by playing tracks by other conference artists in between sets.
Day 3
Friday was spent getting interviews from more wonderfully talented artists. You can see our Friday interviews by clicking on each artist’s name:
After a once-in-a-lifetime 10-course Japanese dinner to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary, we had a tough time deciding which event to go to next, since there were multiple bands playing in different venues all around the city at the same time. In the end, we decided to go all out and see Poncho at Webster Hall, a 137-year old venue which now houses multiple mind-boggling levels, packed with an array of people only New York can produce, all there for one reason – to dance. If you’ve ever seen the Stefon sketch on Saturday Night Live, you’ll have an idea of what it was like.
Needless to say, we had a great time dancing and, even though Poncho had some technical difficulties during their set, we were thrilled at how fun that night was.
Day 4
We got some much needed sleep in after our late night out dancing and had some great diner food while discussing our plans for that day. Top on our list was the Summer Stage event in Central Park. We rediscovered the absolute joy of walking in the Park and arrived to the stage to the sounds of Ursula 1000 sampling The Pinker Tones and salsa to a happy crowd. We were surprised by the announcement of a special guest – Amaral! Their set was short but sweet and I hope to hear more from them in the future.
Uproot Andy and Geko Jones got everyone up and moving by spinning well-crafted mixes of hits, old and new. They clearly knew their audience, combining such crowd favorites as the original “Loca” by El Cata, “Abrázame” by Los Rakas, “Vete” by Antony Santos and more.
The incomparable Rita Indiana followed and took the crowd by storm with energetic, powerful performances of “El blu del ping pong”, “Equeibol”, “Jardinera”, “El juidero”, “La hora de volvé” and more. She and her fiercely talented short-shorts dancers worked up the crowd despite the heat, even pretending like she was skateboarding during “Equeibol”. A wonderful addition to the whole experience was an amazing guy playing a güira in the audience behind us, which created a kind of live concert surround-sound.
After more crowd-energizing mixes by the DJ’s of Que Bajo?!, the hugely popular ChocQuibTown took to the stage. They created a great crowd dynamic and had the audience in the palm of their hand, singing, dancing and jumping. What an exciting way to end our trip!
