Filed under: Bands, shows | Tags: allyssa lamb, barbes, emily hurst, giancarlo vulcano, greg stare, las rubias del norte, olivier conan, taylor bergren-chrisman, timothy quigley
above: Emily Hurst, Allyssa Lamb, Taylor Bergren-Chrisman
There’s been a fairly long-running trend in the New York music scene of various admixtures of traditional and “world” musics. Often presented in venues where folks (most of whom happen to be, well, blond) might not otherwise see them, it’s useful to witness what can be done with traditional and modern forms in these contexts. But to be honest, a lot of times I find the phenomena to be reactionary or mockingly fetishistic of the cultures represented– a particularity of a social world bereft of meaning, thirstily knocking on doors, but not venturing too far. Obviously this an issue prevalent in “Jewish music” as well.
So, it was particularly nice this past Friday to go out and see a band that, without affectation or smugness, eschews all these real and imagined boundaries, playing the music they actually love with exuberance and soul, and giving tender care to the material they’re performing. Las Rubias del Norte are deeply and uncompromisingly rooted in the 20th-century music of the Americas, with particular emphasis on Tejano, Columbian, and Cuban music (though they really do span the continents). Yes, Castro may have stepped down, but his cigar still explodes.
Greg Stare, Timothy Quigley, Giancarlo Vulcano
And then there’s the musicianship of these folks as individuals and as a band. The female vocal harmonies are locked in; the rhythm section, with two percussionists and an upright bass player, feels like being inside an atomically accurate mechanical clockwork while on LSD. Meanwhile, Lamb effortlessly switches out on melodica and piano, Hurst on glockenspiel. It all gets you open with the incessant but solid dignity of Conan’s cuatro, and absurdly tasteful and magical harmonies and interweaving lines delivered by Vulcano on electric guitar.
in the shadows with his cuatro (at far right): Olivier Conan
“S/S/S (sorry so shakey)”
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David, That is the most thorough and thoughtful review we have ever received. Thank you, thank you. The girls thank you as well. The boys owe you a nice, big cigar!
Comment by Taylor February 28, 2008 @ 10:31 am[...] Las Rubias del Norte are playing at Barbès this Saturday, 3/28. It sounds like they’re going to be previewing some songs that they’re working on for their next album. Las Rubias includes Hebrew Schoolers Taylor Bergren-Chrisman and Giancarlo Vulcano on bass and guitar. [...]
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