So it had finally happened. After 20 years of waiting, Los Van Van included Australia as part of their world tour!!!!It was held at a traditional concert hall, as part of the MultiCultual Arts Festival. An early evening show (one only) ensured that younger family members could attend. In an effort to bring everyone into the (once-considered pompus) Art Centre, they have made it a family fiesta with live bands & stalls in the building
.The support acts were fantastic in their own right. A super polished flamenco performance by a famous local group, and a highly charged debute performance by a new local Latino-Jazz-HipHop outfit got the crowd off their seats & warmed up an otherwise fomal music hall.
By the time Los Van Van started, there was not a single person remaining on their seat! I was right in front, against the stage, next to local Cuban families waving their flags
. On my othere side were some die-hard salseros from Sydney (flying down especially for the show, after seeing their Syd performance!). We dances, sang along & interacted with the amazing energy...... we had high expectations & weren't disappointed either :notworthy: !!!The only criticism came from people slightly further from the stage: the sound system was balanced by people who are accustomed to classical orchestra set-up....... the edgy, funky Timba sound was somehow watered down (we were lucky to be right up the front, the sound was great).....
The after party (rumoured to have some of the Van Van members doing special performance), organised by the local Cuban community was at a venue too smal for the crowd. We left because the floor was too sticky & we were too exhausted.
Quite by chance, we went past Night Cat (legendary music venue in town where world-famous musicians have been know to pop in. James Brown, Prince, Anastasia's bands just to name a few), and pleasantly discovered that Los Van Van members were jamming with Los Cabrones, the resident band :shock:
!!!!! Amazing isn't the word :notworthy: !!!To us Aussies downunder, it had always been a tough challenge to get any international acts to include us on their touring map
...... hopefully we will see more of Los Van Van, if they have had as much fun as we did!!!