Rapport frå Maikel Blanco Y Su Salsa Mayor i Stockholm 9.11

Her er dei i eitt klipp frå ein konsert i Modena i Italia i sommer med låta Anda Pegate.



"The venue itself deserves a few words. Berns is a large, labyrinthine complex with restaurants, bars, a big gilded room with a stage, a score of smaller rooms suitable for conferences and even it's own 60-room hotel. Built in the 1800s, Berns is located in the upper class part of town. The main hall where the concert was held is absolutely gorgeous. The walls are intricately carved and gilded, there are several huge crystal chandeliers running the length of the room. There are also balconies surrounding the central floor and along the balcony walls are paintings of people who probably were famous at the time the building was made, but I have no clue who they are. Really an incredibly beautiful setting for the concert.

The concert started right around midnight. I was relieved to see that the venue was packed. The best space for dancing casino was at the far back of the room, although a couple of mini-ruedas did form up front during the course of the concert. Most of the audience was crowded up towards the stage. And the Stockholm audience rocked! They sang along, they danced, they interacted with the band. It was really a fun bunch of people and a great ambiance.

As for the playlist, Maykel has changed the opening since the last tour. They start with the intro that you recognize from Live, Desde la Casa de la Música, and just when it sounds like Esto está is starting, they switch to Anda pégate. You have probably heard this song at clubs. It is likely to be the title track of the upcoming studio CD and it is another great dance song. The band has a great new drummer since the last tour. His name is Amaury and Maykel brought him in from Alex d'Lara's group. He is very good, as you might expect from someone who has studied under Roicel Riverón.
The other new member since their last tour is bassist Orley. He has played in traditional groups prior to joining Salsa Mayor. He plays electric bass as well but prefers baby bass.

Maykel really focused on the new material in this concert. The second song was La masa, one of the two estrenos on Live.
El Noro sings lead and it is one of those songs that instantly wins the audience over with its tumbao. Of course it was already familiar to the fans in Stockholm who have been dancing to it at the clubs for a few months. Ah, and just let me add here that El Noro was the only singer who did not mix up Suecia with Suisa when he said "Esta canción es para todas las tembas de Suecia". Congratulations Noro!

They followed up with Quitándome lo malo, and at some point during this song the singers were given t-shirts by la farandula sueca, whoever or whatever that group is. You'd think I'd know, but I don't. Anyway, they wore the t-shirts for the rest of the concert. Also new since the last tour, Maykel has added a little mambo to Quitándome lo malo with accompanying cute little choreography by the singers. Sorry, no video.

Fourth came Ella dice, which has become very popular with the people who have heard the demo. During Ella dice Norberto invited four ladies on stage: two Swedes and two Cubanas. They did the traditional despelote contest and in the end their efforts were rewarded with a poster for all contestants and a CD for the winner, who just happened to be a Cubana.

The second hour of the concert began with Lo bello por dentro, another great song from Recoge y vete. The thing I love about Salsa Mayor concerts is that even though the entire Recoge y vete CD is great as it is, the live versions are so much more hardcore.

The next two songs in the playlist were Cimarrón, with that live coro that I love "eh tú mira como es, asere cántalo" and Recoge y vete, which is just as popular in Sweden as in every other country. But still Paris is in the lead for sheer madness.
The final song of the concert was Control the second estreno from Live, Desde la Casa de la Música. This is yet another example of how Salsa Mayor is one of the most hardcore orchestras in timba at the moment.

Because the concert had started late the guys were not allowed to continue and the DJs took over again, so there was no encore. But in the days that followed Stockhom's salseros were making comments such as "That was the party of the year". The band also really enjoyed the concert and in a later interview (2007-11-16) in Latina, Italy, when Noro said that the -2° Celcius in Stockholm was abuso, Maykel made the following comment: "But in Sweden there was something very special. There was tremendous heat from the audience so we never felt the cold at any moment. Congratulations Sweden." If you understand Spanish click here to see the actual comment. The full Latina report will be coming later.

I have to say that I am eagerly looking forward to the new CD which they begin recording in January. It should contain, Control, Anda pégate, Ella dice, La masa and who knows what else? Maykel says he has 20 songs ready and just has to decide which ones he wants to use."

Kjelde: Michelle White, timba.com