Manu Chao: Live in Rivas, Madrid

With each "Hasta siempre Rivas!!" (Rivas being the town in the suburbs of Madrid where he played), Manu Chao and his merry band left the stage followed by the shouts and howls of the thousands in attendance. Four times they returned, stretching out a concert that I thought would be a little over an hour into a three hour marathon of amazing music: the funky sounds of when cultures intertwine, borders drop, and people come together. When we finally left the show, in the midst of a surprising May cold snap that had us shivering in the Spanish night, we were exhausted: legs cramping, vocal cords shattered, shoulders hurting from holding off the hordes. But even now I can still hear Manu shouting "Oy yo yo yoooo!", imploring us to keep up with his fierce energy.

Manu for me was a top two show I had to see, right up there with the indomitable Outkast. Manu's music was a big reason for me wanting to learn Spanish and, in some ways, for moving to Spain. Although he still hasn't made quite the same name for himself in the US, Manu's kaleidoscopic mix of different sounds have made him a legend in Latin American and many European countries.

After enjoying a few beers at the feria of Rivas before the show with my girlfriend and great buddy Tobes, we joined the masses to walk the quick jaunt to the gigantic auditorium of Rivas, a Spanish white elephant if there ever was one. What happened the next three hours is still a blur: a beautiful mix of different styles, influences, political messages, waved Western Saharan flags, and Manu. Songs took on lives of their own; the most obscure song would suddenly turn into a mammoth rallying call for the crowd to mosh with a passion. The only breaks Manu, his sound effect guy (another living legend), drummer, and guitar player took were the encore breaks, slight eyes of the storms of music and dancing. Jumping around from his monumental solo catalog and his work with Mano Negra, there is no song that I wish he had played but at the same time no song sounded exactly as I had heard it the hundreds of times before. The songs, rather, become notes in a amazing symphony that Manu was playing: each had its time to shine yet never became more important than the composition as a whole. The three hour symphony made us sing, dance, think, yell, and was a true musical experience-the closest thing this atheist will get to going to church-there with a couple thousand other music lovers, jamming at the alter of Manu.

For a taste of the show, check out Manu's live album from 2009, Baionarena! 

Stephen Marley-Break Us Apart feat. Capleton

There is something pseudo religious about going to a concert-a group of people congregating together to sing and dance for hours and emerging feeling buzzed having shared a fleeting, common experience. The pseudo religiousness is multipled ten fold when you throw in reggae and the blood of Bob Marley. Stephen Marley came to town last week and put on a three hour revival of a show, giving the madrileño crowd everything they came for-irie vibes, groovy tunes, and hours of boogie. Backed up by a great band and the two most energetic backup singers I've ever seen, Stephen commanded the stage in a way that would make his father proud. Playing through the majority of his latest Grammy-winning album Revelation Part 1: The Root Of Life, Stephen also played a couple Bob jams (though always sped up strangely) and being a Marley concert, brought out his son Jo Mersa. I'm not much of a believer in general but I do believe that music has some healing power. Throw in reggae and the blood of Bob Marley and that increases ten fold. 

Download Stephen Marley Break Us Apart Ft. Capleton

Afrojack Live!

Even though I really enjoyed living in the small town of Don Benito, Spain last year, I definitely missed the bright lights of the big city. One of the main reasons is live music. Though my town did have some relatively decent places to see some good bands, it was just that the good bands were few and far between, the draw of playing in Don Benito somehow lost upon them. I did see this guy perform for all about two seconds though.

Now that I'm in Madrid, I'm going to be posting many more concert reviews. And I'm starting this year of reviews off with a bang. Afrojack came into town on Saturday and absolutely killed it. Over the past few years I've gotten the chance to see a lot of the heavyweights of electronic music: Diplo, Tiesto, Calvin Harris, Boyz Noize, David Guetta, 2manydjs, Pretty Lights...Afrojack puts on a better show than any of them. Coming on at about 2:30am on a Madrid night just starting to show the first teasings of fall, the Dutchman put on a show that few of us will forget for a long time. I went with a great international crew, and each time I started to fade I just had to look over at another person in the group who was clearly in the moment to get another crucial boost of energy. Obviously pumped to be playing in Madrid for the first time (a big WTF! moment for me when he told the crowd that fact), he brought a fierce energy to the club, not letting the crowd's energy drop below boiling point for even a few seconds. Although the crowd was smaller than I thought, they were clearly loving it. Afrojack played a great mix of some of his bigger hits, newer stuff, and, surprisingly, some bangers by Avicii, Alesso, etc. Completely in his element in a v-neck tee, Afrojack hit every drop with the force of a Terry Tate tackle. If he's anywhere need you anytime soon, do yourself a favor and check him out. Keep coming back for a wide range of reviews from all genres in these coming months.

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