I Went To See A Band...

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Finally, the main event was a rearrangement of Mas' drumkit into a smaller but more eclectic setup, allowing room for a pair of samplers for Lida, and an electronic drum for Chancha.
Lida came out in full Lida Regalia- she is well known for her modern takes on traditional Afro Columbian and indigenous South American womens clothing, but filtered thru a post goth, magic unicorn, rainbow queer sensibility- its always amazing, over the top, and the opposite of Taylor Swift's "no pants Vegas chorus girl" look.
which is not to say Lida is above the occasional twerk...
She began playing just with Mas, who has a particular style for her songs that is more afro caribbean/ andean, folk funk, with lots of bells and chimes and a bit lower volume level than his solo work.
She has several hit albums of repetoire to draw from, going back to her debut album in 2010, Color.
She is political, feminist, and fearless, and draws on all her influences, from Columbian folk songs to hip hop and chicha.
She is queer, a mother, always funny, and refuses to sing in English, period.
She is herself, a very strong personality, and unlike most pop music today, and she just keeps getting more popular.
The audience responded to the first few notes of most songs, obviously having listened to her songs many times.
And she rocked, bounced, danced, and her vocal range is large and diverse, she sings all over the place.
Within a couple songs, Chancha came out, and using drum sticks, triggered all kinds of samples and beats, starting with a song they did together, but always a member of the band, adding complexity and response to the long term relationship both personally and musically between Pimienta and Mas Aya.
It encompasses all of the varied musics of the african diaspora, its all over the map, and yet it all coheres into a great set.
We loved it.

Here is one song they did, which was a Chancha/Lida collab.

this is another side to her, playing with a well known Columbian group, Sexteto Tabala.

 

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Her Tiny Desk Concert is great, because it shows her range and personality.

 

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In March, Axel Krygier did a series of five Friday nights at Congo club. I managed to see 4 of them, and each had a different guest artist jamming with him, so each was very different. I never got around to writing about each one, as I ended up buying and renovating a new apartment in February and March.
BUT-
He is doing it again- a series of nights at Congo, in Palermo, on June 13, June 20, and June 27. There will be a different guest performer each night.
Its a small, intimate club, with snacks and drinks, and each show will be great in a different way, because all the best musicians love to play with Axel.
If you buy in advance, its 23,000 pesos for two tickets.
Highly recommended.
Axel has been a pillar of the Argentine music community for over 30 years- he has played with everybody, and recorded a lot of albums, written tangos, operas, librettos for musical theater, soundtracks for tv shows and movies, and toured the world.

Compra tus entradas para ONGAKU SESSIONS

tickets.congoclubcultural.com.ar

 

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It been a slow start to my musical season in Argentina.
Lots of work to do on our new apartment, and a quick trip to Tucuman, means even though I have been in Argentina 2 weeks now, I have only made it to one musical event.

We went to a really nice,civilized and adult show in the Salon de Honor at the CCK
( I refuse to call it whatever libertarian name the wig with a chainsaw has comeup with- he didnt build it, the Ks did)
The Salon is original, from 1928 when the building was built, a medium sized room with tall ceilings, beautiful woodwork and massive chandeliers. The acoustics are good, and the CCK has good sound systems, so the couple hundred people it seats all hear the music.

This was part of a 2 day series of poetry, art, and music at the CCK, and we went to see my perennial favorite Axel Krygier do a show with Isol Misenta, 2 great musicians I have been following for 2 decades.


The room is intimate and comfortable, the CCK has provided a nice Steinway, and the two of them have worked out versions of songs of each of theirs, along with a cover song or two, as well as Isol reading poetry from a recent chapbook.
I first heard of her in the late oughts when I bought CDs by the band Entre Rios, which she was the lead singer of until 2005. I never saw her live with them, but the records are great.





In 2013, I saw her do an improvised performance at Malba based on the work of Lilliana Porter, which I was reminded of when we went to seethe recent retrospective of Porter which just closed last week. That show was the band Sima, which is Isol and her brother Zypce, and I enjoyed it a lot. I actually wrote about it here, a mere dozen years ago.

Previously she had a project called The Excuse where she sang soprano in a band that played 17th and 18th century Musica de Camera.
And she was briefly in a Chicago band called Alsace Lorraine, and is featured on their album Dark One.

However, she is most known for her 2 dozen or so Childrens Books, her work as an illustrator and cartoonist, including 5 years of regular Clarin cartoons, and her poetry.

Axel Krygier I have written about extensively, he is a maestro who plays, composes, and performs all kinds of music.
When he is playing a good grand piano, he loosens up and gets magnanimous in his playing, sometimes sounding classical, sometimes jazz, sometimes a bit reminiscent of Allen Toussaint, the late great New Orleans pianist and musical genius.

Isol's vocals were light and well placed, on Axel songs, more forward and wide ranging on her own compositions.
Reading her own poetry, she is arch, or ironic, happy or weary, her reading voice is really enchanting, and she certainly could be doing voiceover work if she chose.

They did a wonderful version of Zorzal, Axel's classic song that everyone I know is sure is a 100 year old classic, but, in fact he wrote for his first album in 2005.
At the midpoint, Axel switched to the electronic keyboard, which allows him to supply voices of horns and strings, percussion tracks, and vocal transformations, and they ended on a more upbeat and dancy note.

A good time was had by all.

Zorzal- you can never have too much Zorzal. This version feature his late sister on vocals.

 

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The Excuse- Chamber Music from Buenos Aires in the early 2010s, featuring Isol's soprano vocals.

https://soundcloud.com/the-excuse-1

 

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Isol with the Chicago band Alsace Lorraine, around 2007.

 

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Entre Rios first album, from 2000.

 

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Shows I currently have Tickets for:
Sof Tot, Kaleema, Delfina Cheb, and others, including tarot card readings, at Imprenta Chilavert in Parque Patricio on friday
Blanco Teta at Niceto on the 13th
Juana Molina at La Trastienda on the 21st.

 

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Orgullo/Pride is coming up.
Next Saturday, November 1, plaza de mayo, starting at 10am and running well past midnight.
6pm events start in front of the Congresso.
Dozens of bands, all outdoors and free, including Benito Cerati, son of Gustavo, of Soda Stereo.
A wide range of types of music, some quite queer, others merely supporters.
There are usually over a dozen large decorated trucks, each with gigantic Sound Systems and a new DJ every hour or two for 12 hours, starting mid afternoon, on Diagonal Sur, and driving up to Congresso at 6.

Its been as many as a million people, some years, but its friendly inclusive and non-judgemental and safe (leave your rolex at home though) lots of families, children, young women from the conurbano with their straight boyfriends in tow, wearing rainbow glitter on their faces, and obviously, drag queens, trans rockstars, tons of gays and lesbians.
The BEST people watching, amazing outfits, hilarious costumes, and crazy impromptu performances.
Lots of street food and curbside cocktails, a big selection of merch, some quite queer, some quite normal.

Its really fun for anyone, the music is great, and you can go at noon, or midnight, and be greatly entertained.

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[Ries]

It is hard to find out who is playing, when, beyond, say, Oasis or Taylor Swift, in Buenos Aires.
I follow, on Instagram, a lot of musicians and clubs and cultural event spaces, which at least leads me to some of what is going on.
A while ago I saw two different artists I follow mention a show at the same time and place, so I bought tickets.
I had never heard of the space, Imprenta Chilavert.

It turns out its one of the worker recovered businesses that emerged after the coralito in 2001.
It is a worker owned cooperative printing shop, one of many that resulted from workers refusing to quit working when the owners declared bankruptcy in the economic meltdown.
Like many of the seco-ops, they started a cultural space in the print shop building in the early 2000s, and that space still hosts art, music, literature,and classes.
The balcony above the print floor has a PA, and a small stage made from pallets.
A group of young volunteers produce events there, and they put on this show.

I had intially been drawn in by Kaleema, an argentine DJ and musician who I knew had been living in Berlin the last few years, who I have seen and liked, and Sof Tot, one of the members of the group Femina.
But the lineup also included Delfina Cheb and Bela Zagosti, and Bianca Cabili.

When we arrived, we sat down, and the guy next to us heard us speaking english, and said, you have to meet my friend Bianca.
And so we did.
Bianca is Argentine, recently back from graduating from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and she is smart, funny, and engaging.
And when the first act got up on stage, there was Bianca, accompanying Delfina Cheb on Contrabass and backing vocals.
Cheb is a folkloric and tango singer/songwriter who plays guitar.
She has a great voice, but I must admit I was drawn to Bianca, who has charisma, stage presence, and a sly mastery of the bass.
Then, Sof Tot, accompanied by a musician who played percussion, guitar, and sang some backing vocals, and,
for a few songs, Bianca, on bass.
Sof Tot played some new material, some songs that were familiar to me,and she is always regal and elegant, with a slight unexpected nod to hiphop in her patagonian folk focus.
Bela Zugasti came out with her electric guitar, and a couple of backing musicians, and, again, a song or two with Bianca sitting in.

Finally, a set of Bianca's own music,accompanied by a percussionist and singer.

Thru it all, a throwback analog psychedelic light show by Juan Hernandez, featuring old school overhead and slide projectors, colored oil drops in liquid, and more.

A bit after one in the morning, Kaleema came on for a DJ set, her equipment set up on a massive cast iron paper cutting machine. Kaleema has a unique mix of electronic and trance, with occasional vocals, and is always good to dance to.
We left a bit early, by 2 or so, with the beat filtering out of the commercial print shop building into the dark neighborhood, a few listeners on the sidewalk smoking and bopping.


The entire evening was like being in someone's living room, with friends playing. There were home made empanadas, a small bar, and I will go back to more shows there.
And I will definitely be seeking out more performances by Bianca Cabili.
This week I missed her playing after midnight at BeBop, in Palermo, with another group she is in, Femme Soul and Jazz Five Piece Band.

Here is Sof Tot, earlier this year, with a bigger band.