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Rasa, Utrecht, 9 - 2 -2002
It was with great anticipation that I looked forward to seeing Charanga live for the first time at their two concerts in Holland, part of the European tour of this year. Both concerts were played in theaters, however, because of the differences in the hall and the lighting, there was also a big difference in atmosphere between the two concerts. The first concert was in Rasa Utrecht. The hall consists of two parts, a higher seated area and a small dance floor in front of the stage. The stage is very low (about 30cm), which makes the band almost a part of the audience, especially if you are standing in the front row. The concert was a smash from start to finish. The band entered with a remix tape of Un Disparo en la Mirada. Each of the members were introduced, some of them already showing their dancing skills. The introduction ended with a little masked choreography, perhaps a reference to Michael Jackson's Thriller. The Amsterdam Tropentheater is a venue with seats only. If you want to dance, you have to do it in the carpeted corridors on a slope. Both the audience and the band clearly needed some time to get used to this situation. The lighting in the hall also added to the different atmosphere: it was much brighter in Amsterdam. The introduction, which come across so strong in Utrecht now looked a bit goofy. If the Utrecht concert was a smash from the start, the Amsterdam concert starting to catch fire half way through, as more and more people started to leave their seats for the corridors. The dancing by the band members was great: lots of little choreographies specifically for each song: they danced Mambo during Mambo # Cuba, contratiempo ('on 2') during the traditional Charanga A mi que and (even more) sexy and provocative during Mi Amor Cuidate, Usa Condón. All in all, the dancing was second only to that of the members of Carlos Manuel y su Clan, who I saw last year. One of the highlights of the show was the instrumental Popurri de Antaño, an instrumental medley of traditional songs that gives room to display some of the musical talents in the band. Timbalero Yulién Oviedo clearly stole the show with his multi-climaxed solo. His facial expressions are really a joy to watch. When you first see him, you might think is that kid in the band? but when you hear him play you know exactly why. Especially the Amsterdam version was simply incredible - everybody was talking about it during the break. Another highlight of the Amsterdam show was Riki Ricón, where each of the member did their own 'Riki Ricón' - some kind of special dance trick. The conguero for example did his dance on top of his instrument. This was all orchestrated by band leader David Calzado, who stayed in the background for most of the rest of show. David Calzado is the band leader, but interestingly enough he doesn't seem to have anything to do during the concert, except giving some signals to band members. However, this band is so well rehearsed, the signals are completely superfluous. If anything, David Calzado is the coach of the band: his role is to motivate the members of the band. One of the cool aspects of Charanga Habanera is their use of all genres of music within their own easily recognizable style - it is as if they are able to get away with anything. There are references to musical styles from both inside and outside of Cuba. For example, in the songs they played there are references to Ricky 'chicki boom boom' Martin , No woman no cry, Chan Chan, Mambo # 5, and the Macarena. The Utrecht version of the Macarena had much more audience participation by the way, so they really adapt to the atmosphere on the spot. Another example of using other styles is Mambo # Cuba. In the CD version, there are two mini romantic boleros in this song, each taking about 2 seconds. In the live version, these boleros were expanded to about a minute each, after which the music brutally returned to the original song. The band played two new songs, one on the beginning and one in the end. The first one might be called Película and was a normal Charanga song, if there is such a thing. The second one was a cover of Sin Bandera's Entra en mi vida. Sin Bandera is a Mexican/Argentinean Latin pop duo and the song is also known because it is used in a Mexican soap series, in case you are wondering. This cover is unusual, since it is almost an exact copy of this pop balled, with no Timba sauce added at all. In fact, all percussion was replaced by synth drum. Timbalero Yulién showed off his singing talents as together with the regular singers of the bands. The sound quality was superb in both places, the Amsterdam concert had the best sound I ever heard for a Timba concert: everything was crystal clear. All in all, two of the best concerts I have ever been to. If you are interested in more info about Charanga Habanera, visit the Timba.com site. It has an enormous amount of information about the bands rich history and it describes the CDs in great detail.
Here's the set list for completeness (I hope I got the order right, I didn't make any notes..) Introduction Mi Amor Cuidate, Usa Condón * Amsterdam only
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 Additions, comments & questions to: ehautus@xs4all.nl |
If
there is one perfect example of the Timba style of Salsa, it has to
be Charanga Habanera. They have taken the style to another level
and play it without compromise. They are 'hard-core timba', where other
popular bands such as Los Van Van, Issac Delgado, and
Manolito y su Trabuco play a more mellow version. 