I have done so many random things in my life especially when it comes to traveling, but, though I have worked and been friends with many bands in the past, this summer was the first time I ever toured with a band.
It was the most casual of things. One day I”m having pizza and faina at Las Flores (absolutely favorite pizza place in Montevideo) with the lovely Naty Giachino, a local drummer, after seeing a Stevie Wonder tribute by top Uruguayan musicians like Julieta & Matias Rada, Nacho Mateu and Nico Ibarburu.
Next thing I know a trio is born featuring Naty on drums, my friend and guitarist extraordinaire (from Argentina) Daniel “Dizzy” Espeche and Fafa Barboza, one of the top bass players in Uruguayan rock music.
They get a lot of gigs at different beaches and I am on for the ride, almost without my stir, as Shakespeare would put it…
First stop was Shannon Irish pub Montevideo, a place where you can always rely on for good beer and some good old rock´n´roll.
The trio´s fabulous christening concert was followed by the coolest after party at the home of the top uruguayan hip hop musicians fittingly called casaflow.
Next up were some gigs at a bar on the beach at Cuchilla Alta, where the trio rocked the house for a mainly teenage crowd.
After a night at my family´s house in the relaxed and unassuming beach resort of Las Toscas, we hit the road again to play a gig at ARRAI beach bar in Punta del Diablo.
In spite of the rain that received us out there, the band managed to play a couple of songs, including Dizzy´s most renowned mouth solo on the guitar.
That night, after a fabulous dinner at LA ROSCA MOCHA (always a safe bet), we had a gig at Bitacora bar, but my fave band CONTRA LAS CUERDAS was also playing at Primata, a few blocks away.
RESULT: I was juggling between the Trio´s show and Contra las Cuerdas´ incendiary performance under a beautiful starred sky.
I have seen CLC many times and this was probably my favorite show ever. I loved Sapo´s MC-ing, Marce, Yaguno and Ferna were inspired, Pedro Alemany as a guest guitarist was a fabulous addition to the band, and the new songs were great.
As for the Trio, they had a few guests of their own. Gaston Ibarburu, a younger brother of the famous Ibarburu brothers (a family of musicians) rocked on drums, and Nacho Algorta added new textures to the solid power trio sound with his keyboard. Dizzy, Naty and Fafa were in top shape, and the audience loved them to pieces.
One thing I will not forget about this day trip to Punta del Diablo is the story about a place called drunkenness-remover beach (Playa saca-pedos). Apparently, Nacho, the keyboard player who owns ARRAI Beach Bar with his family, used to have a neighbor who was a heavy drinker. He told us the man would stumble down to the little beach by his house, completely pissed, in the middle of the night, take a swim, and come back out fresh as a rose, as if he hadn´t had one drop of alcohol. The man had sadly passed some years back, but the neighbors had named the beach after his strange, but quite effective, habit.
The next day found us playing a gig at the fashionable Montoya beach bar in the area of the Punta del Este coastline called La Barra. The trio was interiewed for Gente, the top gossip and glamour magazine from Argentina, and our friend Rano, another guitar player extraordinaire from Buenos Aires stopped by to say hello. As I was helping put away the drum set after the show, a woman and her teenage daughters came to ask me whether the band would do quinceañera parties. I thought that was quite random, but was very impressed with the teenagers good taste in music…
On the way back, as if things couldn´t get any more random, Dizzy spotted Dante Spinetta´s unusual guitar on a stage that was being set up. (Side note: Dante´s solo act was probably the show I had most been wanting to see in 2010, and never got to)
Getting to see Dante play some of his songs for a soundcheck was heaven ,and listening to him perform my fave song from his last album, the soulful “Tomen distancia” was the cherry on top of my touring cake.
After that, I spent the night at a gorgeous place on La Mansa with some of my best friends in the world, who were visiting from LA and had a lovely dinner at Manantiales Point and a bit of dancing at Sabbia, where I just found out they serve ginger daiquiris, which I plan to try next time I´m there. Very good food, better company, great mojitos and nice 90´s-reminiscent dance music completed a memorable night.
I did however curse my fate as I saw Dante and his brother Valentino walking down the street, which meant that the actual show was already over. I thanked him in my mind for the beautiful music and thought that Punta del Este was a place where wonders were always waiting round the corner; wonders like seeing an impromptu show by Dante or our little baby, the wondeful Dizzy Naty Fafa trio, which is most likely playing Montoya beach again this Friday, by the way…