 |
| Violentango at the Argentinian Consulate, 5.5.15 |
On Monday
night, at Valeria
Solomonoff's consistently enjoyable Tango Playground Practica, I exhorted
my partners to be present without ambivalence, misbehave and “milk it” -
"it" being all the particularly delectable morsels of music and movement.
I noticed that those born north of about 25-30° north latitude are often
inhibited when it comes to this to-do list, and I myself, hailing all the way
from 60° N, am no exception.
No such exhortations were needed on Tuesday evening at
the Argentinian Consulate, where Violentango
played a free concert. Whether or not their music has much to do with violence
or with tango (although, at least according to Borges, tango has always something to do with fighting), these guys know how to go for it with a
vengeance and not just play music, but play with
the music of two generations before them – their grandfathers’ tango and rock
music of their parents, plus a gamut of other voices and influences, – and make
it all sound intriguing and contemporary. A little over a week ago, Astoria
Tango Orchestra performed with Daniel
Binelli, – and it was great to hear and dance to the traditional sound of orquesta
tipica. The music of Violenango is not for keeping milongueros on their feet,
but it is also traditional in the sense that it is made of the same ingredients:
talent, skill, and inspiration of the players, with nothing canned or
boxed other than some juice to amplify the sound of their instruments – two guitars, bandoneon, electric bass and percussion.
‘Tis a season for conversions in my artistic tastes: never
a big fan of new tango music, I went to the Consulate with a pragmatic purpose –
to scout out the space for a future event, – and was pleasantly surprised to discover
Violentango and their unadorned sound. They played their own compositions as
well as a couple of pieces by Piazzolla and a few oldies but goodies, such as
Milonga de mis amores, which lends itself well to instrumental inventiveness
and embellishment. Musically, these guys know how to misbehave and milk it for
what it’s worth, with improvisation, ingenious sounds and quotes from a variety
of styles, from jazz to folkloric, thrown in with cleverness, virtuosity and
humor. It occurred to me that, unlike traditional tango, this music has the momentum
to go somewhere, as it allows itself to be discontented and seek a way to
escape its own status quo or upset it, out of its own abundance, boredom, mischief,
or subversion – or just for the heck of it.
There are plenty of Violentango videos and recordings
online, but they do not give you a sense of energy that these guys whip up
while playing live. It is, quite simply, great fun to watch them make noise in front
of you. There is indeed power in doing – not with 1s and 0s, but with one’s body
and mind, – and seeing and understanding how music is being made by five people
is quite entertaining. Plus, to be honest, as my own biological usefulness dwindles,
my appreciation for good XY chromosomes only grows – and there was plenty of
that on display. I was happy to see that the audience at the Consulate reacted
to the music of Violentango with enthusiasm that was not immediately predictable – because most
of the people in the room were old enough to be these guys’ parents.
Violentango plays four more concerts in NYC: May 6 –
Shrine, May 7 – Silvana, May 8 – The Parkside Lounge, May 9 – The West End. Find
the details on Violentango website
and go see these guys play live for a dose of good music and terrific energy.
Violentango: Adrián
Ruggiero (bandoneón), Juan Manuel López (guitar), Santiago Córdoba
(percussion), Ricardo Jusid (bass), Camilo Córdoba (guitar)
Program: Le Petit
Rhone y la Cigale; Fuga y misterio; Menos sol; Escape porteño; Milonga de mis
amores; Napoleon; Barceluna; Milonga del Angel; Libertango
No comments:
Post a Comment