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Nick Morgan and crew
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Concert
Review by Nick Morgan |
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THE BAJOFONDO TANGO CLUB The Barbican, London,
April 14th 2007 |
| It’s
hotter than Buenos Aires in London. There’s
not a sardine to be had from the fishmonger’s
as the west London air slowly fills with the choking
scent of garage-rusted barbecues being torched into
action for the first time this year. On the streets
last season’s ill-fitting summer clothes are
out on display along with an alarming surfeit of
flesh, much of it an almost Dickensian tubercular
off-white. The pre-gig pizza is pleasingly piquant.
Inside the Barbican it’s hot and spicy too
- excited Spanish chatter fills the foyer. It’s
the second night of La
Linea – the seventh London Latin Music
Festival – two weeks of “new trends
and moves in the world of Latin music”. |
| Just
about to come on stage is Capitan
Melao led by Stereophonics
drummer Javier Weyler (an alliance that perhaps
celebrates the 25,000 Welsh speaking Argentinians
who live in the province of Chubut), who plays guitar
and sings, supported by guitar, tapes and loops
man Mariano Godov. |
Capitan Melao |
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Opening
song ‘Ser pos dos’ sets the tone –
spacey overlays to a soft Latin beat and dreamy
lyrics – not quite living up to the claim
of “the seduction of Bossa nova, the pain
of a Bolero, the anger of Rock”. It’s
all in the same vein – some songs better
than others – but does liven up a bit when
Phil Manzanera
(not just a Roxy Music axeman but also a leading
producer and advocate of modern Latin American
music) joins for some typically fuzzy lead guitar
on ‘Terraplan’. Pablo Giménez
provides some striking visuals in the background.
Oh and there’s a new album (there always
is), Lacrima, which you can buy direct from their
myspace
page.
It’s
a pleasing interlude, but despite the enthusiasm
of the audience it does little to deter from the
sense of anticipation that fills the hall. You
see we’re actually here to see the Bajofondo
Tango Club – “the band
that we were told Gotan Project was”, led
by ageing Argentinian rocker and Oscar winning
composer Gustavo Santaolalla (who plays the guitar
and sings), responsible for film scores such as
Babel, Motorcycle Diaries (from which he plays
a really sweet solo guitar piece), Brokeback Mountain
and Amores Perros. |
| Sitting
next to us, in something of a fluster, are Maurice
and Dot Thistlethwaite, leading lights of the Morecambe
and Heysham Tango and Crown Green Bowling Association
who’ve come all the way from the Lune peninsula
on a coach (with their dancing shoes round their
necks) under the misapprehension that it’s
a dance night. But from the initial notes of Javier
Casalla’s melancholy violin they, like the
rest of the audience, are totally won over (actually
its some sort of Stroh violin - with a horn and
resonator - with a wonderful metallic scratchy sound).
“Infectious pounding tango rhythms, almost
hypnotic visuals from Vjay Veronica Loza”
says my little black notebook after only ten minutes
or so. And so the evening went on, and on, and on.
Pretty good if you liked infectious pounding tango
rhythms, but if not you were pretty stuck. |
| It’s
a fine balance to strike between tradition and modernity
– but although they were the engine room of
the band, Juan Campodónico’s sequences
and loops never dominated either Casalla’s
playing, or the bandoneon of Martin Ferres (who
also played a wonderful solo piece) – the
instrument that possibly most defines the Tango
sound. The battle between old and new was captured
in a fine piece which saw Fernando
Santullo rap and exchange lines with Santaolalla.
And they tip their hats to the great exponents of
their art both through the carefully chosen film
and photographic sequences and samples from famous
artists - whilst not being scared to raise contemporary
issues in pieces such as Exodo II (where the visuals
deal explicitly with the huge increase in emigration
from Argentina in recent years spurred by the country’s
faltering economy). Believe me there’s a lot
going on – leaving the audience (even Maurice
and Dot) transfixed before rising to their feet
in rapturous applause at the end of each song. Did
I mention there’s a lot of national pride
on display here too? |
| “We
don't like the label 'electronic tango' because
we try to make a contemporary music of Rio de la
Plata, music from Argentina, Uruguay” Santaolalla
told the Guardian, "…in our case, it
is kind of an active melancholy. There's also power,
rawness - a savage element to tango we try to keep
alive. That connects to some of the primal energy
rock has." He’s not joking. When these
boys really get going it gets close to the Alabama
3 playing ‘Mao Tse Tung’ (that scores
about fifteen out of ten in the primal rock energy
scale), and actually I regret that we’re not
stuck in the sweaty Astoria enjoying this rather
than the rather stuffy Barbican. Or so it seemed.
Suddenly, without warning, the stage was filled
with dancers from the audience as pianist Luciano
Supervielle discarded his keyboard for turntables
and scratched through the last few songs. The doughty
Barbican stewards gave up the battle quickly. Everyone
was on their feet, and the last I saw of Maurice
he was swirling Dot round in the middle of the crowded
stage, carnation clenched grimly between her teeth.
Like them you should buy the eponymous album, and
look out for the new one which formed much of the
evening’s material, but be warned –
good though it is the disc won’t really deliver,
this is a passionate visceral experience to be savoured
live, and in case you’re wondering it’s
far more memorable than my piquant pizza. - Nick
Morgan (photographs by Kate) |
Check
the index of all reviews:
Nick's Concert Reviews
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There's nothing more down there... |
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