Saturday was a big day…not only was Puerto Rican diva Choco Orta headlining the festival with Austin’s own party band Grupo Fantasma but I was also dj’ing my second night at Tempo Latino. Choco worked the press on Friday: singing at the press gatherings and wanting to be taken seriously as the heir to Celia Cruz’s throne. I was only able to check out 3 songs but she clearly showed off her powerful singing voice backed by a swinging band with tight coro singers. Her old school repertoire from her recording “Ahora Mismo” included gems from the Machito and Celia songbook. She danced like a staggering woman possessed by voodoo. She was nervous and self concious on stage but turned into a dynamo as soon as the music started. I missed her fiery conga and timbales solos later in the set as I had to run to start my gig. Grupo Fantasma played a tremendous opening set..more salsafied than when I saw them at South By Southwest. Fantasma was made up of an explosive brass section, screaming guitars, fine lead vocalists and played a set that included cumbia, funk, latin rock, bolero and descarga. Vocalist Jose Galeano took the place of two missing percussionists with fire and chops behind his percussion set of timbales, congas and bongos. Eric Duffau introduced their encore by stating “La Revelacion” to the crowd and revealed that Fantasma had earned themselves a headlining spot in the future. The crowd roared with approval. I started at La Conga earlier than expected because the place was nearly packed by 12:15 am! I tore it up on my first of 3 sets before our musical guests Zulu 9.30, a reggae band from Barcelona started. Zulu 9.30 struck a chord with the partying crowd although the salseros backstage were asking me when I was going to come on. The crowd was screaming for more at the end of their set. I had no choice but to play the best music that I felt at the moment. I started with Bobby Valentin’s “Aqui No Me Quedo” and the rest was history-the entire La Conga dance floor was packed with dancers! What a great scene! I loved playing at Tempo...
Read MoreInternational Salsa at Tempo Latino 2010
Salsa music took over the main stage of Tempo Latino in all of its international flavors on the course of the following 3 evenings. Friday night’s opener, Calambuco impressed the packed Plaza De Toros crowd with their 70’s influenced salsa dura sound from Colombia. This vibrant youthful ensemble led by pianist Andres Succar gave the crowd what they wanted: a fine show with a tight band, charismatic singers up-front and an irresistibly danceable sound. Ireland’s Salsa Celtica headlined the evening with their unique fusion of traditional Irish music, afro cuban rhythms and salsa. Their instrumentation blended banjo, gaita, irish flute and guitars alongside congas, timbales, bass, piano and horn section. There were moments of explosive fire such as their live version of “El Agua De La Vida” but the novelty wore off for me by the end of the set. La Conga featured the Afro-Caribbean group Grupo Kfe from Paris whose erratic set ranged from tasteful son montuno to tasteless covers of pop salsa hits. El Molestoso dropped a totally unpredictable but tasty dj set that ranged from bugaloo to classic salsa to a Paso...
Read MoreOpening Night At Tempo Latino 2010!
The lingering rain loomed over the Tempo Latino site cleared up by the time that the opening night festivities started. The World Music night kicked off the festival featuring the acclaimed Ojos De Brujo and pop singer/songwriter Sebastian Avispa. Avispa showed that he had a strong voice but his bland fusion of pop, middle eastern melodies and flamenco was tepid, banal and boring. He was clearly out of place at this festival. Ojos De Brujo had a dynamic opening number featuring their talented flamenco dancer Susana Medina providing the fireworks that framed Marina Abad’s vocals. However, Ojos seemed musically sparse due to the absence of two of their key members: DJ Panki and percussionist Xavier Turull. Ojos lacked the spark that have made them such a sensation in past shows that I have seen. However, the action was hot and heavy at La Conga night spot with the all-female French salsa band Yemaya La Banda who turned the crowd on their heads with their smokin’ repertoire, campy costumes, dance routines and top notch musicianship. The crowd begged for more at the end of their two hour set. I opened and closed the evening at La Conga with my brand of explosive dance music that kept the crowd dancing and sweating until the wee hours of the morning! The mix was dead-on for both the dancers and the hard-to-please salseros. My first gig at Tempo Latino went...
Read MoreTempo Latino Part 2
Although Thursday, July 22nd was a rainy day in the small French town of Vic-Fezensac, the Tempo Latino festival office was a buzz of excitement. Executive producer Eric Duffau was busy coordinating his crew of paid and unpaid staff for the opening night festivities that featured the Ojos De Brujo concert in the small town’s Plaza De Toros (bullfight stadium). Duffau, a gray haired dynamo with great wit and a sincere passion for Latin music greeted my friend, colleague and fellow dj Enrique Romero “El Molestoso” and myself as the technical crew mounted the huge state of the art lighting and sound system on the massive stage that was built inside of the stadium. His dedicated crew of staff and volunteers ran around tending to last minute details before the press conference that officially opened the 17th annual edition of Tempo Latino which ran from the 22nd through Sunday July 25th . Duffau and his crew are part of an non profit association that produces the festival which has featured the creme de la creme of salsa performers from all over the world. Vic-Fezensac was taken over during these four days by thousands of salsa music lovers. The dj duties at the after hours parties at La Conga were handled by Enrique “El Molestoso” on Friday and fellow Barcelonian DJ Jacoviche on Sunday. I handled the dj duties on opening night and on Saturday night following the Choco Orta/Grupo Fantasma...
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