Allá gets a taste of New York, photos
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Download “Una Dia Otra Noche” | Playing a first show in New York from a little-known record must be nerve-wracking, but when it’s an early show at Joe’s Pub on a Tuesday night, I suppose it’s going to be extra rough; especially when the tickets are priced at $15 a piece, without any supporting acts or acts to support. But that’s how it goes at Joe’s Pub, and though the room was mostly bare except for supportive friends and possibly a few fans, Allá’s performance was pretty solid. However, despite seven years of labor over El Tiempo and the technical proficiency they showed last night, the band hasn’t quite probed into its heart to pull out a bloody bunny yet. Continue after the jump.
From the start, it was clear that Angel, one of the two brothers to found the band, is an adept drummer; Jorge, despite his dorky enthusiasm, backs it up with skills on the guitar; and though Ms. Lupe Martinez, a fine singer and guitarist, was the last to join the group, she gives the outfit an edge and a memorable face, filling up the void that would’ve been left otherwise.
After dabbling in several bands and experimenting with several sounds, the brothers have found themselves in Allá, which was once no more than a side project, but Allá has yet to fully find itself, at least live; the body has been identified as have the limbs, but I don’t think it’s quite soaring yet. The very least I expected was a just rendition of the joyous “Una Dia Otra Noche”, which is being pushed as “the single” over the internetz. Instead, we got a muddy, jammy version, which would’ve been fine had they at another point given proof of their ability to play that song with the kind of precision it requires. The thing is, though the percussive elements were strong throughout the show, the composition of the six-piece ensemble was not that interesting: a bass, a keyboard, drums, two guitars and additional percussive instruments like cowbell, tambourine, etc. If you’re going to entice listeners with a song like “Una Dia Otra Noche”, which doesn’t reflect the overall sound of the record, you really have to deliver it live—there should’ve been a violinist there!
A great band to have on the horizon, nonetheless.
