have to say a few words about the babasonicos show last night at the howard (my first time there)
the show was hardly advertised and at a new venue, still unknown to many, and on the thursday preceding memorial day weekend... this is not the first time the promoters, kesta, have done a terrible job getting the word out.. it is hard to get a handle on the latin rock market in this town.. bands that are considered laughingstocks in argentina (enanitos verdes) routinely sell out venues. .. then a band that plays arena shows down there can't get people to turn out... i honestly think the poor promotion of the show played a serious role.. but I can't be sure how the show would have sold with better promotion. promoting bands from other countries is trickier i think.. since they hardly ever play here .
turnout was poor... disappointing i'm sure for the band.. they ignored it like you have to. for me it actually worked to my benefit. managed to hang out with them backstage, etc.
the venue is very posh... some of the food prices seemed a bit outlandish.. the staff was super professional and polite and even accomodating..a waitress actually took an order for another beer while i was on the floor so i didn't have to lose my spot ... nice touch probably cause business was slow...and what can you say about standing on that ground where ellington, jb and just about everyone played?
when one says a show is "awesome" , what does that mean? i GUESS it means one liked it a lot.. its a subjective appreciation..it really means nothing.
i think babasonicos has put out the best five run album of the past decade... jessico, anoche, infame, mucho and last year's a proposito... so i've been wanting to see them for about a decade and the few times they've hit the northeast its been new york.. i thought the show really delivered..classic, at least for me, after classic... the entire set list.. d'argelos is a superb frontman and the band has augmented its core lineup with long time friend carca and another guy i did not know..meaning they have six musicians plus d'argelos up there which allows them to put together a great sound.. last night it sounded superb where i was standing..
for people who don't know about babasonicos... i'd say they are one of very few "alternative" or "indie rock" bands from Argentina.. in other words they don't have much of a "latin" sound and they are different....definitely the number one band in argentina in that category... well worth checking out if you're not averse to hearing music in a foreign language.. their lps usually count with work by andrew weiss who produced a bunch of ween records including chocolate and cheese, and phil brown who engineered a bunch of classics from roxy music to bob marley has been working for them.. i think if you check out irresponsables on youtube or putita you'd get a good idea..
anyways, i'm glad i made the effort to check them out cause i doubt they'll be coming back to dc! ANd I loved it.. best show I've seen since LCD Soundsystem at Virgin Freefest
