From: AUSTIN 360
Scene report: Pachanga Latino Music Festival
By Patrick Caldwell | Sunday, May 23, 2010, 03:18 AM
When Pachanga Latino Music Festival MVP Brian Lopez —at least the guitarist for Y La Orkestra, also performing at the festival, ought to be in contention for the title for pulling double duty in two wildly different acts — took a break from his solo set of classically inspired folk pop, he had one question for the audience.
“Why is everybody so far away? I know we’re from Arizona, but you can get closer,” quipped the Tucson musician. “We won’t bite.”
The answer, of course, had nothing to do with Lopez’s politically controversial home state and everything to do with the scorching early afternoon heat. Roasting temperatures punctuated by infrequent cloud cover meant a toasty start to Pachanga’s third year, keeping crowds thin for the first portion of the day. Lopez thoughtfully serenaded the criminally small early audience with a band that included Y La Orkestra leader Sergio Mendoza and a guest appearance from that band’s vocalist, Calexico collaborator Salvador Duran, whose contribution of whistling would put Andrew Bird to shame. Lopez sounded appropriately vulnerable and melancholic during his solo set, backed by a virtuoso band as he nailed “Praying for Rain” and a cover of “Leda Atomica” on the patio, by far Pachanga’s best-sounding stage. As with preceding act Pinata Protest — too few punk bands feature accordions — it was a shame more people weren’t there to see it.
But the beauty of the East Side’s verdant Fiesta Gardens is that — unlike inaugural Pachanga venue Waterloo Park — shade is never more than a few paces away, and crowds were appreciable if not acutely impressive on the pavilion stage, where Chicano legends Tortilla Factory blew through a loose, charming set heavy on appealing covers, from an energized take on the Gipsy Kings’ “Bamboleo” to a soulful “Stand By Me.” Original vocalist Bobby Butler remains an endearing stage presence, capable of blending English and Spanish, blues and tejano, with an ease unmatched by any other performer.
Cross-park Grupo Fantasma side project Brownout demonstrated why they’re the tightest, funkiest thing currently going in Austin, tearing into “Nawlins,” off last year’s game-changing “Aguilas Y Cobras.” Adrian Quesada took a moment to plug Grupo’s later show with legendary Fania Records producer Larry Harlow, calling him “why we do what we do.”
The tide turned and crowds thickened as the worst of the mid-afternoon heat passed. Tucson’s Y La Orkestra proved the major discovery of the festival, a sort of more avant, experimental (but equally expansive) Arizonan version of Grupo Fantasma — they’ve dubbed themselves “indie mambo,” which says it about as well as anything, really — with a killer lead vocalist in Salvador Duran. By the time Pilar Diaz took to the patio at 5 p.m., spinning a distinctly Latino take on twee indie-pop, Pachanga was properly hopping. The evening brought unlikely covers — David Garza taking on ZZ Top’s “Tush,” joyous all-female mariachi band Mariachi Las Altenas using a few bars of Kelis’ “Milkshake.” You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a mariachi croon “My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.”
New York’s Pacha Massive brought feel-good world fusion to the Hierba stage as the sun set, with horn player Vince Veloso an unexpected treat — with four horns strapped to his person, and brandishing a flute like a samurai sword, Veloso was captivating even before playing a single note. San Antonio’s 60’s-evoking, Sir-Douglas-Quintet-by-way-of-Beach-Boys-harmonies rockers Hacienda ripped into songs off sophomore album “Big Red and Barbacoa,” proving themselves yet again one of the most exciting rock bands to come out of Central Texas in years. Hacienda have all the easy polish you’d expect of regular tour mates of Black Key Dan Auerbach, with good-natured banter with the audience and an effortless-appearing mastery of their instruments.
The “trendy and buzzed Latino act” slot that last year served Mexican Institute of Sound went to Bomba Estereo this year, and they were an equally ideal headliner to fetch the attentions of the younger, more dance-inclined festivalgoers even as tejano legend Roberto Pulidio provided more professional, family-friendly fare on the main pavilion stage. Bomba Estereo’s cumbia-with-a-modern-twist formula makes for engaging listening, all the more so under the direction of firebrand vocalist Liliana Saumet. Saumet’s often compared to M.I.A. or Santigold, but that’s not fair — she’s significantly better live than either, and as the crowd jumped along to infectious dance tune “Fuego” it was clear that Pachanga’s meticulous good sense in sussing out which international bands to book was as on target as ever.
There remain chinks to be ironed out in the still-growing festival, but from choice of venue to booking sense Pachanga defined itself yet again one of Austin’s musical events most worthy of watching. Bring on number four.
Lineup
Pachanga Schedule
The Austin Chronicle: MAY 21, 2010
Vitera
1:40pm, Pavilion Stage
Don't call Vitera "crossover." That's too soft a word for the tough, bilingual rock this local quintet makes. Brothers Haydn and David Vitera prefer "rock alterLatino," particularly given the former's electric and electrifying fiddle and golden (brown) voice. The group's debut is forthcoming. – Margaret Moser
Brian Lopez
2pm, Patio Stage
Tuscon's Jeff Buckley, guitarist Brian Lopez steps out from Arizona's Grupo Fantasma – Pachanga juggernaut Y la Orkesta – but not too far: Orkesta leader Sergio Mendoza holds down the piano and accordion under the sextet's violins and cellos, while Salvador Duran provides guest vocals. That leaves Lopez on shred and emote duties, his specialties. – Raoul Hernandez
Amplified Heat
2:40pm, Hierba Stage
Ever wonder what Amplified Heat's skuzzy Texas blues would taste like bottled and distilled? The local power trio has its own Big Daddy's Hot Sauce (Mean Smokin' Green Hot Sauce), whose smoked jalapeño flavor perfectly complements the Ortiz brothers' classic Red River shuffle on 2007's How Do You Like the Sound of That (Arclight). – Austin Powell
Tortilla Factory
3pm, Pavilion Stage
Tortilla Factory was way ahead of the game as a mixed-race 1970s Chicano soul outfit performing across the country. Four decades later, they're essentially a family band, still led by the legendary Tony "Ham" Guerrero and still pumping out exuberant, nonstop pop, rock, and soul. Guerrero and original vocalist Bobby Butler reunited in 2008 for All That Jazz, nominated in 2009 for Best Tejano Album in the Latin Grammys. – Margaret Moser
Brownout
3:20pm, Patio Stage
Like the J.B.'s to James Brown or Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll, Brownout is the mostly instrumental alter ego of Grupo Fantasma. Once regarded as either warm-up or an after-hours wind-down to the main attraction, the eightpiece ensemble has gained near-equal footing thanks to last year's sophomore stunner, Aguilas and Cobras (Six Degrees), a surreal collection of Latin funk jams that features contributions from members of White Denim and Hacienda. – Austin Powell
Y la Orkesta
4:30pm, Pavilion Stage
Sergio Mendoza's Pérez Prado covers night has ballooned into Tucson, Ariz.'s 10-piece cumbia and salsa rock big band Y la Orkesta, starring the Calexico cell member's Willie Nelson, Calexico guest vocalist Salvador Duran, and Pachanga showcaser in his own right, guitarist Brian Lopez. "Indie mambo" grooved by sixpiece horns and two drummers. – Raoul Hernandez
Pilar Díaz
5pm, Patio Stage
Jetting in from Madrid two days before her Pachanga debut, Chilean-born L.A. multitasker Pilar Díaz imports her snappy Bangles en Español-like video "Ilegal en Estyle" just in time for immigration legislation making its way through the Southwest. Formerly of Neil Young's Vapor Records' rockers Los Abandoned, Danny Elfman collaborator, and onetime Bulgarian choirista, Díaz remains her own cottage industry of multicultural/-dimensional voz. – Raoul Hernandez
Mariachi las Alteñas
6pm, Pavilion Stage
Good mariachi music strikes you in the chest. Such is the case with San Anotnio's ninepiece Mariachi las Alteñas. Awing last year's Pachanga gathering, the musically astute ensemble not only delivers instrumentally, its all-female vocals are as rich and robust as any of its male counterparts, with the added pleasure of razor-sharp harmonies. ¡Sí, señora! – Belinda Acosta
David Garza
6:40pm, Patio Stage
Last year's unofficial Pachanga emcee, David Garza returns for another festival match of Six Degrees from Dah-veed. In addition to last year's Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom reunion, Shed Light, Garza's free best-of from his new millennial digital archives, just hit MP3, and he's begun recording a follow-up to 2008 mainstream comeback Dream Delay. Bets on who Garza's guesting with this year will be taken at the Pachanga box office. – Raoul Hernandez
DJ Dus
8:45pm, Chicano Soul Cafe
Dusty Oliveira's collection of mixtapes and mash-ups knows no borders. The Corpus Christi DJ's adept at mixing cumbia with dance and hip-hop, finding that sweet percussive spot, and mining something he calls "the science of the vibe." A walking sample sale. – Audra Schroeder
Bomba Estéreo
9:30pm, Hierba Stage
"Suddenly, the phone rings with a call from Colombia. Juan Carlos Losada, a very good friend of mine, is screaming and very excited about this crazy music festival in Austin, Texas, a place I had no reference for." So wrote Bomba bassist/looper Simón Mejía in March for a "My SXSW" diary about his Colombian quintet's 2009 voyage here. Seductress Li Saumet out front of the group's electro/acoustic bilingual slink (think early Manu Chao) guarantees more chapters in this tale. – Raoul Hernandez
