Calle 13, I’m your fan!

Do you ever have the feeling of being a little late in discovering music that other people love? I had the chance to see Calle 13 last Sunday night at the Nokia Theater in downtown LA and I was blown away by their live music y la manera como se presentaron. Gracias a Rocío Gutiérrez (on twitter at @digitalgirl_inc) por la invitación.

An adoring crowd was obviously smitten from the get go, and they knew the words to every song… aunque créanme que saberse las words to every song de Calle 13  requires clever tongue twister skills to keep up with the lyrics!

Calle 13 is made up by René Perez, Eduardo José Cabra, and Ileana, all half brothers and sister, según me acabo de enterar por Wikipedia. They’ve got one fabulous show with a full blown band, great production (lighting, awesome graphics and video) and really meaningful music, a mix of hip hop, jazz, regaetton, salsa y cumbia.

Yo confieso que soy muy pop en mis gustos musicales, even though I am a KCRW addict and get my musical influences mostly from this station. And yet it’s been a while since anybody played Calle 13 on any radio station in LA, which even René (the lead singer) acknowledged on stage.

“Estas son las canciones que no tocan en la cabrona radio…,” he said, and other pretty bold statements such as “Dejen de ver esos estúpidos programas de chismes en la televisión que sirven para un carajo!”

Plus he also requested everybody read books, in English, in Spanish, and educate themselves. This is not your typical musical act. They add lines to their songs that reference Gabriel García Márquez, so that should tell you something.

Here are a few pictures from the event (they don’t let you bring in cameras inside the Nokia Theater, so I had to use the iPhone) and a video song I believe everybody should sing to themselves just to remind yourself que “No Hay Nadie Como Tú.”   (It comes in after the advertising.)

Cántatela a ti mismo out loud and feel it’s magical empowerment…¡Arriba Calle 13!

En el concierto de Calle 13 at the Nokia Theater in LA.

¡Que Viva Puerto Rico y su talento! René Pérez from Calle 13,  from the video screen at the concert.

This girl!! Ileana has a voice that kills you. Canta padrísimo.

Y que se quita la camisa… Nice bod, Mr. Calle 13.

A captive crowd listens to the message in the lyrics.

And here is “No Hay Nadie Como Tú”

Going to the Hollywood Bowl this summer

It’s that time of year again! The truly “Angeleno” summer experience that is going to a concert at The Hollywood Bowl is here.

Tickets go on sale to the general public this Saturday. If you’ve never been, and you plan on visiting LA during the summer, this should be included in your to-do list.  Click here for a handy guide in English and en Español.

This is the way we do it in LA:

• Get a group of friends confirmed, and somebody volunteers to go buy your tickets in advance. I love the cheap seats, but if you score a 4 seat box at the Bowl, kudos amiguitos.
• On the day of the event you carpool or take the Shuttle. Parking at the Bowl es un don de Dios. It can get a bit jammed, but with a little patience you can get in and out fairly smoothly.
• Get there early in the afternoon and have a picnic at the benches or the communal area. Seating can also get crowded, but people are friendly and accommodating. Set up your table with manteles, cubiertos, cheese and wine, and bring your favorite picnic stuff. Enjoy a classic California bon vivant evening pre-concert time.

This year I am particularly excited about the “America and Americans” Festival, where “The Dude” himself, the amazing LA Phil Conductor Gustavo Dudamel will hold court over a week long series, including one night with Juan Luis Guerra and culminating with a not to be missed concert with Mr. Plácido Domingo.

También viene Juanes, with a very interesting collaboration with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, for two nights in a row. I may just have to camp out at the Bowl all throughout that week in August. Aren’t we just spoiled in Los Angeles?

Here’s a few noteworthy concerts:

Liza Minelli. Saturday August 11, 2012, 8 pm.

Gustavo Dudamel conducts Verdi’s Rigoletto. Sunday August 12, 7:30 pm.

Gustavo Dudamel and Juan Luis Guerra. Tuesday August 14, 8 pm.

Ruben Blades and Eddie Palmieri. Wednesday August 15, 8pm.

Dudamel conducts Copland. Thursday August 16, 8pm

Juanes with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Plus Fireworks! Friday August 17 and Saturday August 18, both nights at 8pm.

Dudamel and Domingo! Sunday August 19, 7:30 pm

Dudamel and Domingo. Detail from Hollywoodbowl.com

Francisca Valenzuela: I’m a new fan

“I’m half gringa and half chilena,” said Francisca Valenzuela a few nights ago as she started her performace at the R Bar in Korea Town. The good people of Sala de Espera Radio organized a pre SxSW (South by SouthWest) appearance in Los Angeles and it was a a great night for the singer, songwriter, producer and indie star. It was a double treat since the opening act was Fernanda Ulibarri, another chilena (en route to Mexico City) and she was also a great surprise. Arriba las mujeres del indie-rock!

I first heard Francisca a few months ago on KCRW and was intrigued by her music and lyrics, porque canta en español, and rarely do you hear any female Spanish indie rock being played on radio stations in Los Angeles. So when my friend Rocio Gutierrez of DigitalGirl invited me, I didn’t miss the chance. (Thank you Rocio!)

Francisca has a great voice and sings with intelligent lyrics, mostly about love, lust, life, disappointments, the what if’s… plus, she also plays her own keyboard. ¡Muy talentosa esta chava! I enjoyed the set very much. She also speaks perfect English, which is nice to hear, and that means of course that Spanglish was spoken here.

Her upcoming performance is at SxSW next week, and if you’re reading this in Austin, make sure to check her out. I have a feeling we’ll be listening more of her pretty soon.

Website for Francisca Valenzuela: www.franciscavalenzuela.com

MySpace for Fernanda Ulibarri: http://www.myspace.com/fernandaulibarri

Francisca Valenzuela during her L.A. perfomance for Sala de Espera Radio at the R Bar. March 7, 2012.

Nice show, intimate setting with Francisca.

Catch her in Austin at SxSw. Click on the image to go to the link.

Fernanda Ulibarri was the opening set for the evening. A great night for indie rock.

L.U.V. = MDNA!

It was a very good week for Madonna, in all her amazing glory.  Her Super Bowl performance last Sunday was one of the best ever. On Tuesday she announced her World Tour for 2012 (she’ll be in LA on October 10th); and according to iTunes, preorders for her new album MDNA hit the top spot in 50 countries.

Amen Madonna!

We’ll have to wait a bit for her new album, which drops on March 26th. In the meantime, here’s her latest video to get the weekend going. It’s from her new single “Give Me All You Luvin’” and it features Niki Minaj and M.I.A., because that’s how you do it in this day and age to stay fresh.

 

Even NPR practically raves on her existence: Madonna at Halftime: What it Takes to Last.

Don’t you just admire the fact that she’s been on top of her game ever since we met her back in the 80′s?  We all remember when she was still “Like A Virgin” and declaring to Dick Clark on American Bandstand that she was going to rule the world.

She was right, you know.

Madonna at Danceteria. Courtesy Affordable Art Fair. (Love this image from Fabrik Magazine, Issue 015)

So camp! Loving the new Ximena Sariñana video& música

Here’s a new song and video that I recently heard and just fell in love with. Ximena Sariñana is putting it all out there with her new self-titled album completely EN INGLES and I think she’s found herself some new fans.

Even the New York Times is taking notice! Click here to read the article.

Ximena rocks the house at Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena. Fab concert.

We had a chance to see her live in a fabulous free concert in Pasadena’s Levitt Pavillion last week. She rocked the venue with her cool, eclectic, and kind of nerdy music. I think it’s really refreshing to see a smart girl playing her music exactly like she wants to, without having to sell out to the conventional commercial expectations. Even her image is nice to see, without having to expose herself as all sexy and voluptuous, like all the lady singers out there…ya saben cuales.

Ximena fans, the gang at the concert.

Enjoy the video and, if you can, catch her in concert. I hear she’s traveling to a city near you.

Love this video….just released this week.

It’s “Different”

¡Coldplay está copiando a Los Sacados!! No lo puedo creer.

Hoy salió el nuevo single de Coldplay y casi me desmayo del “coincidence” y las similitudes con otra canción (hey, there are NO coincidences!). The new song is “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” and it sounds EXACTLY like “Ritmo de la Noche” from back int he early 90′s. Nooo puede ser.

Either this is a blatant copy or a very respectful “homage” from Coldplay to los argentinos.

Of course it wouldn’t be the first time Coldplay sounds similar to someone else, remember the controversy over Viva la Vida back when it came out? There was a copyright issue, which was settled, but still.

Anyway, you be the judge:

Coldplay’s song: “Every Tear is a Waterfall”:

And now: The Sacados “Ritmo de la Noche”:

Spanglish from La Madre Patria: Introducing Facto y los Amigos del Norte.

It’s new music Thursday and I’ve just been introduced to my newest pop music indulgence.

My friend April told me about to Facto y los Amigos del Norte, a new band from Spain who is making ears turn for their interesting pop meets kitschy rock meets electrónica meets hip hop culture, mixing up “el castellano” con frases en inglés. I’m assuming our Spanglish tendencies have reached the Mother Land and some purists will be non too pleased. (Oh the horror!)

The first song is “El Burrito Catalán” and I liked it. I also liked the video with it’s 80′s flashback feel and video game graphics. Very cool! The new album debuts June 14 in Spain and hopefully we’ll see them soon stateside. Check out the video for ‘El Burrito Catalán” here:

Roxy Nite with La Santa Cecilia and Bomba Estéreo

Se acuerdan del the Roxy? That vintage old staple on Sunset Blvd. is EXACTLY as you remember it from your punk rock-grungy days. I just went and I can tell you.

My good friend Xesus Naranjo invited me to check out a great show last Tuesday with La Santa Cecilia and Bomba Estereo and it was awesome. Hace mucho que no bailaba tanto. (Gracias Mr. X!)

La Santa Cecilia rocks the house at the Roxy.

Super cool music. Bomba Estereo, from Colombia, blew us away.

Both bands are great, alternative, and unique. La Santa Cecilia me encantó con su rollo de latino fusion, cumbia meets rockabilly. Bomba Estereo blew me away with its electronica meets hiphop meets you name it! Very original.  Each band came with its own following, with La Santa Cecilia opening the night and even rendering their own take of “Groove is in the Heart.” Very cool.

The Roxy on Sunset. Still crazy after all these years.

Here’s a video from La Santa Cecilia, “La Negra.” Check it out, it’s good stuff!

Me gusta Pitbull! And he’s everywhere these days.

Need any cool songs for your summer party playlist? Let me recommend you get all of Pitbull’s songs right now. (His new album drops June 21st.)

Don’t let my NPR loving ways fool you, I came to the realization this week that I have a crush on Pitbull.

Pitbull, also known as Armando Christian Perez. (Photo from MySpace.)

Maybe it happened during Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday night, where he had a fabulous set with Neyo, or when one of his songs popped up on my Ipod on shuffle mode, but it suddenly dawned on me: he’s hot and he makes me want to dance.

The “Featuring Pitbull” description seems to be a hit guarantee these days. Just look at this list: Usher (featuring Pitbull) has “DJ Has Us Falling in Love Again”; J-Lo (featuring Pitbull) has “Get on The Floor” (the lamabada song); Enrique Iglesias (featuring Pitbull) has “Baby I Like It,” and then there’s Pitbull (featuring Neyo and Nayer) with “Give Me Everything Tonight.”

Plus, I read from his MySpace page that he’s visiting my hometown, Mexicali, this weekend for a concert on May 20th at the Fex. I am very impressed he’s going down to the border.

So here’s his performance with Neyo and Nayer on DWTS. This song is better live, just listen to the drumbeat, y a menos de que seas piedra, I know this song will get you moving.

Un martes musical alternativo, gracias NPR

“Es martes, ni te cases ni te embarques“…Después de un weekend con muchas noticias, let’s chill a little bit.

Mejor vamos a esuchar música alternativa en español, thanks to NPR.

(Happy Birthday to All Things Considered on NPR! You’re 40 today, I hear. Wishing you at least 40 more, no matter what the imbéciles de Fox news say. )

I came across a great link today on their website for All Songs Considered. The page is called Super Bueno! Latin Music for Everybody, part 2.

Click to get to the link and listen to all the tracks.

I think I’m liking all the songs, but maybe the one by Gina Chávez is my favorite. The track is called “Miles de Millas” and she sings in Spanglish.

¡Super bueno indeed!

Algunos artistas de música alternativa en español. Thank you NPR!

El Jay-Z ya tiene blog

I love Shawn Carter, a.k.a. Jay-Z. Who doesn’t right?

He has a new blog called “Life + Times” and all I can say is Awesome! O más bien, quiero decir que que chingón le quedó.

Check it out:

http://lifeandtimes.com/

Life and Times home page graphics. Love it.

A Valentine’s Day song for the rest of us.

Anoche fueron los Grammy’s and there was all sorts of crazy business happening, with your typical wild musical acts. But my favorite moment came when Cee Lo Green and la Gwynnie Paltrow (she can sing people! and in the highest Christian Louboutin  heels you’ve ever seen) perfomed F…orget you!  along with a band of wild muppets. Super cool show!

Last year on VDay I mentioned there were very few songs about self love, except for a lovely little diddy by Keb-Mo called “You can love yourself“…but this year, F-You takes the cake.

Here’s to all the rest of us on this highly commercial, red rose and chocolate induced “holiday”…. Sing it along and cheers to you at Happy Hour tonight.

“Don’t wait until mañana!” como dice Ricky Martin

Here’s a little video that’s making the rounds and making people happy. Ricky Martin just released his new album this week MAS (musica, alma, sexo) and the NY Times gave it a wonderful review. Of course, we don’t need a review because we love him anyway, but it’s nice he’s getting some recognition. Looking forward to hearing it.

Here’s the video from his new song The Best Thing About Me is You with Joss Stone. (He also sings it Spanish.) Cool video, although it looks a little like the GAP ads from the late 90′s, remember them? Peace and love, baby.

Bravo Ricky!

Ok Salma, you win.

She’s a beautiful, powerful A-list Hollywood actress and producer, married to a French billionaire who can give her all the designer clothes she wants. Don’t you just loooove to hate Salma Hayek-Pinault? (OK, yes, maybe that’s my green eyed monster talking…bueno es envidia de la buena.)

As if this weren’t enough, we now have to admit that Salma is actually quite a good singer and great dancer, as she recently demonstrated in front of a French television audience filled with beautiful people, including Zidane! Just look at her: She sings! She dips! She swirls!

Here’s the clip below. Maybe you’ll agree. OMG, Mis respetos Salma. No cantas mal las rancheras. I resisted…but you won me over. Ahora sí, soy tu fan!

It’s “new music” Tuesday with “oldies but goodies”

Every Tuesday we get new releases from the music industry, or to say it in their lingo “a new cd drops every Tuesday.”

Today, however, we were pleasantly reminded just how much good music never goes out of style. In case you haven’t heard, The Beatles are now on iTunes, for the first time ever. You can now download any of their songs for $1.29.  This is big news because for years Apple tried to get the rights and they finally did. So you can now complete your Beatles catalog in case you’ve missed anything over the years. And this is definitely music worth buying, unlike the new stuff you hear today on top 40 radio. I think I sound a little bit like my parents when I say this:  they just don’t make them like they used to.

Love this pic. Ad by iTunes from the Apple homepage on Nov. 16, 2010.

So far so good con el Latin Grammy. Baby I Like it!

45 minutes into the west coast feed of the Latin Grammys 2010 and I’m actually enjoying it. La verdad ni siquiera me acordaba y pensé verlo por un ratito, but I’m hooked. Acaba de salir el Enrique Iglesias and he put on a great show with a school band y dos raperos- say what you will about his empty calorie music, it’s actually fun. I just bought Baby I Like It on iTunes 20 seconds ago, right after his performance.

Hosting duties again fall upon la dueña herself, Lucero (muy guapa) and a very funny and irreverent Eugenio Derbez. He just pulled of a joke in Spanish that no one would’ve dared to say on tv. It was honestly borderline “ewwww!” and involved last names and bodily functions.

Placido Domingo, Paloma San Basilio, J-Lo and Marc Anthony in the front row (cada vez mas equis la J-Lo, pobrecita) and they are making for good people watching on tv. I’m actually enjoying this. Y eso que me encanta criticar a los artistas.

Happy Birthday John Lennon

John Lennon would’ve been 70 on October 9. Can you Imagine?? It always makes me sad that he was gone too soon. But here’s living proof that his son Julian completely embodies John Lennon’s spirit in the words of his most famous songs. A beautiful, talented, creative person, Julian is now 47 years old and branching out into photography. I think you’ll have a new appreciation for his talent and his story, and his love for his baby brother Sean, as it was shown recently on CBS Sunday Morning. Take a look at the clip, it’s really worth it.

And by the way, why not “give peace a chance”?  Just let it go, like Julian did. Hey, if you can forgive Yoko, you can get over anything!

Seguir Siendo: Cool!

Cafe Tacuba es lo máximo! Ahora quiero ver su documental.

So bad it’s good (part 2). Ahora con Calor Norteño.

No pues sí.

¿Por qué será que a los mexicanos nos salen tan bien los covers?

For your listening pleasure, aquí tienen “Tengo Un Sentimiento” que es una finísima interpretación de “I’ve Got a Feeling” con todo y acordeón y taka taka. Desde la primera línea…”Tengo un sentimientouuuu” sí le ponen mucho feeling. Y la letra es bastante ad-hoc.

Pero…I’ve got a feeling que los Black Eyed Peas no van a estar very amused con este “homage”.

I guess you just gotta laugh!

A little country for me, thank you very much

Don’t you love hearing a new song and loving it instantly? I was driving home tonight when I heard a wonderful interview with Kenny Chesney on NPR. He was promoting his new album Hemingway’s Whiskey, and he talked about his creative process and transformation. And you know what?He’s an interesting artist.

I’ve recently been reintroduced to country music by someone who really enjoys it. The songs remind me of Mexican love songs sometimes, asi como las canciones de Jose Alfredo, with simple lyrics that tug at the heart.

Kenny Chesney has two new songs that caught my ear: You and Tequila Make Me Crazy, which he says came to him as he was driving from Santa Monica on PCH watching the sunset (a beautiful drive if you can ever take time to do it); and Seven Days, which he says is about that person who everybody has and can’t quite forget, the person who makes an impact in your life even though at that time you probably don’t realize it. The reporter asked who he was referring to, but of course he wouldn’t say. We can only guess it was Reneé Zellwegger, who he was married to briefly in 2005.

Anyway, Listen to the interview HERE, it may just surprise you and turn you into a fan too. The audio is embedded in the link.

Kenny Chesney. Photo from NPR.org (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)