Post-Friday and Saturday night review:
General thoughts:
LOGISTICS: much better handling of this than in years past, in my experience. It seems that the organizers limited the amount of performances (just by looking at the list) which is AWESOME. The bands/DJ sets start at a decent time - also very much appreciated. This is important to know, because this congress ends early - at 3 am. I assume the hotel wouldn't allow for a later finishing time. If you're one of the NYC congress veterans who was used to showing up at 1 am to make sure the party was started when you arrived, it's a mistake this year. I'm an early bird who skips performances, and likes order and timeliness, so this is right up my alley
VENUE: once you navigate the horrendous Times Square crowds, the venue is fine. The main room is smaller than the Hilton (we won't even address the mess that was last year's venue) but I've never once felt it was too crowded, either in standing room or dancing room. There is a corner of the room where the people who want to be seen are congregated, so it is pretty crowded over there. Frankly, that area over there kind of smells like a hybrid of vomit and mildew (very confusing). But the smarter folk grab their partner and head stage right, or to the back of the room, where things are more open and you can actually benefit from the AC. The floor itself is somewhat sticky, and like all of those rent-a-floors that are big square wooden panels, nothing to write home about. The carpet isn't the friendliest either - somewhat sticky. You find patches on both the floors and carpet that are more forgiving, though. Ample water was provided, and there is a bar in the hotel, but it's up three floors, so not very convenient. The ceiling in this room is much lower than previous venues as well, which brings me to...
SOUND: this is by far the most dramatic improvement over congresses of years past. The lower ceiling, along with a top-notch sound engineer (or perhaps engineers) means the music is crisp, loud, but never overbearing. No echoes. There is a side dance area off to stage left that could probably use a smaller set of supplemental speakers, but it may also be nice for folks to have a dance floor with quieter music. The sound quality has been equally good between DJs and live bands. Speaking of live Bands...
JIMMY BOSCH: Excellent. I'd seen him play a couple of years ago, and honestly was tired of how many fast 12-minute songs he played. But this year, he has been more well-behaved in that sense. The horns in particular, as well as the background vocals are nice and tight. It's like they actually rehearsed, which is more than you can say for a lot of bands. There was one song in particular (this was a long one, but great) where he brought the horn section up for solos, and at a certain point they began to go down the line trading measures with each other. They were completely bugging out by that point in the best way, and it was a really great way to end his set. The bassist really had great chops with substitutions/switching up harmonies - in all, it was great. I can't say I remember too much about Herman Olivera's performance, because by comparison...
ADALBERTO SANTIAGO WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD. The guy's voice still sounds fresh, creamy and youthful, just like it does on all his old records. Incredibly inspiring to hear. Jimmy Bosch's band came back to back Adalberto up, so they brought that great musical discipline with them which I very much appreciate. They started with "El Swing" and one of my favorite dancers in the universe (and a favorite of the forum here, if I recall) was not too far away from me. We locked eyes, and proceeded to get funky on the dancefloor, and I completely gave everything I had on my first dance of the night, lol. I needed a ventilator after that dance! Santiago also performed "Al ver sus campos" - one of my favorite records of his with Ray Barretto. I forget which song it was exactly, but at a certain point during his soneos, he started doing some reggaeton quotes, and it had the crowd laughing and going wild. Not only is his voice fresh, but he brought such a great vibe and sense of humor to the performance. Roberto Roena was sitting the in the crowd near the front of the stage (as he was for Friday night as well) and they invited him up to play bongos for (I think) "Quitate la mascara", another great collab with Barretto. At this point, I didn't even want to dance, because I just wanted to focus on watching these two living legends rock it out.
FRIDAY: it was a bit 'slow' in terms of vibe and attendance, but still an enjoyable night, somewhat. Biggest disappointment was Jimmy Anton's set after Jimmy Bosch was done. I foolishly wondered if he'd whip up something new and exciting for such a big event, but no. He played the same tired list that he plays when you go to his social. I wonder if he even queues up the tracks, or if it's just a playlist at this point. He did play "Cosas Nativas" which is one of the best songs ever, so I have to give him credit for that. There was also a DJ from Miami (Mike?) there, who started his set with a cheesy tag with his name (spare me, dude) and some decent songs, others corny. On the bright side, I needed an excuse to not go all out because I knew I had two more evenings to get through.
SATURDAY: off the hook. More people showed up, especially some of the locals that anyone with good sense would want to dance with. The energy all around was high, and you could tell folks were getting their good rush of endorphins, so lots of smiles, hugs, etc. Alex El Maestro was DJ. As a New Yorker who hears him play a lot, he goes through phases of being great, playing music that makes you get down and have fun, and phases of being maddening - playing non-stop fast/long/shine marathons with no groove or funk. Tonight was pretty decent, I'd say. He also sometimes plays records into the ground, but if you're from out of town and not able to attend Salsamania/Candela/Salsa Union, then you'd never know, and probably would like most of his set.
I'm about to fall asleep now so I can be ready to do it all again tomorrow. I'm crazy excited to see Roberto Roena - a living megastar in the salsa universe. I hope to god he plays "Marejada Feliz" and I have someone stunning to dance with. The short summary is: this congress is a vast improvement over years past and I have to take my hat off to the organizers, musicians, sound engineers, and all the other contributors who have rescued us from the tragedy that was last year.
