Latin Alternative Music Conference

For the past few years I've been well aware of the Latin Alternative Music Conference, but for some reason it totally slipped my mind this year. The conference was from July 7th - 11th in NYC. Luckily, my friend posted something about the closing concert at Summerstage in Central Park on Facebook Friday afternoon for Saturday's concert.

Honestly speaking, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go because I have a ton of work that I'm still trying to catch up on since returning from vacation. But, after a few minutes of deliberation I thought to myself are you crazy, Calle 13 is performing! I got dressed and ran out the door with the quickness!

I'm definitely glad I came to my senses. The afternoon started off with Eric Bobo from Cypress Hill. Also on the stage was the Colombian group Bomba Estéreo which I was pleasantly surprised by. Everyone was anxiously awaiting Calle 13 and they did not disappoint.

They started off with 'No Hay Nadie Como Tu' and continued the afternoon with 'Pal Norte', 'Fiesta de Locos', 'Se Vale To-To' where several young ladies (including my BFF) were taken on stage to dance and hype the crowd. I totally wanted to get up there and dance too but thought I would have a heart attack if I came within several feet of Residente, needless to say I saved myself from that embarrassment and stayed put.

The crowd went wild, singing and dancing along, when the song 'Atrevete' began. Calle 13 came back on the stage with a brief tribute to the King of Pop with the whole band doing the 'Thriller' dance and closing the show with 'Electro Movimiento'.

All in all a fantastic afternoon in the park with Calle 13. I wish I would've been able to partake in the conference activities this past week, but there's always next year!

Remember the Time....

I haven't been posting very often and what a crummy time to begin, but I just had to share my thoughts on MJ - the King of Pop. I still can't believe he has passed. That being said I wish people would remember to separate the man from the artist. Michael Jackson was an incredibly talented performer, dancer, singer.

MJ was truly an international superstar, bringing together different generations and cultures. I'm not only saying this because he has passed, I've always been rooting for Michael to pull through all the craziness!

Make it an MJ weekend and pump out the classics. This is how I'd like to remember Michael.

New York City is a Drug!!

I try really hard not to go out during the week just because it’s even harder for me to get up the next morning. But this Thursday, February 5th my friend convinced me to venture off into the East Village to the former CBGB – current John Varvatos store to catch a really cool band, The Dirty Pearls. I can’t say no to free booze and a free rock show so I went along.

I’m glad I did because they were awesome!! So much energy and genuinely good tunes. Every song was good and they have that 70s feel that I love; good heavy blues-rock, with excellent vocals, drums, baselines and guitar solos.

Here are some pics from Thursday:

You’ll definitely want to check out The Dirty Pearls at www.myspace.com/thedirtypearls.

An Evening with Jill Scott

I was recently informed that the very talented Jill Scott is performing as a part of the The 26th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series on Monday August 11th at 7:30 pm. The location is Wingate Field, entrances on Brooklyn Avenue (Rutland Road and Winthrop Street.)

I happen to love Jill Scott and will try to make it (even though I said I was never ever going back to Brooklyn, I might have to make an exception). All for the love of good music, right?

For more information visit http://www.brooklynconcerts.com/mlk.html

Clumsy Sky......

I was flipping through the pages of the August issue of Latina magazine this evening. They have their second annual list of best Latin music you don't know (but should). They've included Girl in a Coma on this list. I first heard of this band a couple of months ago when I was watching the SiTV series Jammin, “life of a Latino rock band". I intended to look them up then and never got around to it; fortunately I found them in Latina and went to look for them on Myspace.

Girl in a Coma is a rock band from San Antonio, TX; with bassist Jenn Alva, drummer Phanie Diaz and vocal/guitarist Nina Diaz. (for all of you Smith fans, the name of the band is a Smiths reference). In 2006, as a part of the show Jammin, the group went to New York City for a show at the Knitting Factory and a surprise meeting with Joan Jett. Jett and her producing partner Kenny Laguna were impressed with the bands sound and invited them to join the Blackheart Records label. While Nina's hypnotic and soft voice has been referred to as "the female version of Morrissey", the band as a whole has been compared to The Smiths and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, while still managing to create a sound and style that remains uniquely their own.

I will definately catch a show when they're in NYC this October. You should check them out too, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

http://www.girlinacoma.com/

Upcoming shows:

Jul 22 2008
8:00P
Wasted Space Room in Hard Rock Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
Jul 23 2008
9:00P
Hollywood Alley
Mesa, Arizona
Jul 24 2008
7:00P
LaunchPad
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jul 25 2008
9:00P
The Bayou
El Paso, Texas
Aug 1 2008
8:00P
Emo’s
Austin, Texas
Aug 2 2008
8:00P
Jack’s Patio Bar and Grill/ ALL AGES
San Antonio, Texas
Sep 27 2008
8:00P
FITZGERALD’S/ All AGES
Houston, Texas
Sep 30 2008
6:30P
TABERNACLE w/ TEGAN AND SARA
Atlanta, Georgia
Oct 2 2008
6:00P
RAMS HEAD LIVE! W/ TEGAN AND SARA
Baltimore, Maryland
Oct 3 2008
7:30P
THE ELECTRIC FACTORY W/ TEGAN AND SARA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 4 2008
6:00P
THE PALLADIUM w/ TEGAN AND SARA
Worcester, Massachusetts
Oct 5 2008
7:00P
TERMINAL 5 w/ TEGAN AND SARA
New York, New York
Oct 6 2008
7:00P
TERMINAL 5 w/TEGAN AND SARA
New York, New York
Oct 9 2008
5:30P
RIVIERA THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Chicago, Illinois
Oct 11 2008
7:00P
STATE THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 13 2008
6:00P
PARAMOUNT THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Denver, Colorado
Oct 16 2008
7:00P
THE HENRY FONDA THEATRE w/ TEGAN AND SARA
Los Angeles, California
Oct 17 2008
7:00P
HENRY FONDA THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Los Angeles, California
Oct 18 2008
7:00P
THE HENRY FONDA THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Los Angeles, California
Oct 19 2008
7:00P
THE HENRY FONDA THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Los Angeles, California

All in the name of music.

Dios mio, I always say the same thing everytime I do this. But I think I mean it this time, I'm never going back to Brooklyn!!!!!

Boys and girls if you can believe it I went out Thursday night, on a weekday (I payed for it the following morning but who cares). I went with a friend to Studio B to see a band by the name of Crystal Castles.

First we got lost going to the place, then we really got lost coming home. I hate getting lost in Brooklyn; I really don't like to let on that I'm lost and I hate how the streets are not in a logical progression like on my beautiful island of Manhattan.

Anyway, back to Crystal Castles. I had never heard of them until Thursday, but I'm glad I went because it was a good surprise. Their sound is electro-dance music heavy on synthesizer type sounds with a little rock feel. They really amped up the crowd. I've had my fair share of mosh pit days, but people were going nuts for them. I was in the front of the stage, but not for long, once my glasses flew off my face I knew it was time to go off to the side. Sadly that was the best pic I could get under the circumstances.

I'd like to give you some background info (courtesy of Wikipedia) on Crystal Castles because I think they are worth taking a good listen to (you could go on myspace and look them up to listen to their songs). Crystal Castles is a Toronto based band, consisting of multi-instrumentalist Ethan Kath and vocalist Alice Glass. Crystal Castles formed in December 2003 as a project started by Ethan Kath. In April 2005, Alice Glass recorded vocals for five original instrumentals by Kath. The band's first single was recorded "accidentally" and released through MySpace. The rest in history (in progress). Just as an aside, so incredibly interesting how MySpace has become this great tool to get your name out there be it music, fashion, or any business for that matter.

I definitely would like to see and hear more from Crystal Castles. Too bad I can't say the same for Brooklyn.