Bajofondo @ UCLA's Royce Hall
Early October I went to see Bajofondo at UCLA's Royce Hall, and it was probably the best show I have been to all year. Even though the event was a while ago, I really feel compelled to write about it.
First of all, I almost didn't even go to the show. I didn't buy my ticket, partly because good tickets were about 50$. I decided last minute (the night of the show) that I wanted to go so I called my friend who was there to see if there were tickets at the door. He said there were plenty of tickets available for the upstairs balcony seating. I decided I couldn't miss the opportunity to see Bajofondo.
(Quick intro: Bajofondo is a vibrant collective of composers, singers and artists which represents an innovative blend of acoustic tango and electronic music, as well as a fusion of Latin alternative and contemporary sounds. The group consists of 8 musicians from Argentina and Uruguay, and they are led by the brilliant Gustavo Santaolalla, two-time Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning composer of 'Brokeback Mountain' and 'Babel,' as well as the upcoming film 'On the Road.')
Royce Hall is a really lovely theater on UCLA's campus - but it is not great for dancing. It has arranged seating, and no "real" dancing area. Anyways the first half of the show they played really nice, with everyone seated and fairly quiet. My body was just itching to dance so I got up and stood for a bit before I was promptly informed that my standing was a fire hazard (le sigh).
After intermission I snuck into the bottom floor with my genius punk-ass friend Tom Chino and some others. We stayed fairly mellow and began to move a bit on the side of the stage. Then, they began to play "Grand Guignol" (one of my absolute faves) and suddenly (very organically) all the young people in the front got up and moved closer and began to dance. It was amazing. 2 songs later and almost everyone on the bottom floor was standing up and dancing. And then, it got even crazier. A couple songs in, and they started pulling us up to the stage to dance with them. GUSTAVO SANTOLALLA PULLED ME UP ON THE STAGE it was one of the most incredible moments of my life. And then we were all dancing with them on the stage and it was such a blast. Gustavo Santolalla, by the way, is totally the life of the party. He is probably approaching 60, and just absolutely rocks out. He's also a musical genius, but that's already well known.
It was such a lovely night. And I can't believe I almost didn't go. I don't have too many photos, just incredible memories that I will never, ever forget.
All photos taken by Tom Chino Nguyen!
First of all, I almost didn't even go to the show. I didn't buy my ticket, partly because good tickets were about 50$. I decided last minute (the night of the show) that I wanted to go so I called my friend who was there to see if there were tickets at the door. He said there were plenty of tickets available for the upstairs balcony seating. I decided I couldn't miss the opportunity to see Bajofondo.
(Quick intro: Bajofondo is a vibrant collective of composers, singers and artists which represents an innovative blend of acoustic tango and electronic music, as well as a fusion of Latin alternative and contemporary sounds. The group consists of 8 musicians from Argentina and Uruguay, and they are led by the brilliant Gustavo Santaolalla, two-time Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning composer of 'Brokeback Mountain' and 'Babel,' as well as the upcoming film 'On the Road.')
Royce Hall is a really lovely theater on UCLA's campus - but it is not great for dancing. It has arranged seating, and no "real" dancing area. Anyways the first half of the show they played really nice, with everyone seated and fairly quiet. My body was just itching to dance so I got up and stood for a bit before I was promptly informed that my standing was a fire hazard (le sigh).
After intermission I snuck into the bottom floor with my genius punk-ass friend Tom Chino and some others. We stayed fairly mellow and began to move a bit on the side of the stage. Then, they began to play "Grand Guignol" (one of my absolute faves) and suddenly (very organically) all the young people in the front got up and moved closer and began to dance. It was amazing. 2 songs later and almost everyone on the bottom floor was standing up and dancing. And then, it got even crazier. A couple songs in, and they started pulling us up to the stage to dance with them. GUSTAVO SANTOLALLA PULLED ME UP ON THE STAGE it was one of the most incredible moments of my life. And then we were all dancing with them on the stage and it was such a blast. Gustavo Santolalla, by the way, is totally the life of the party. He is probably approaching 60, and just absolutely rocks out. He's also a musical genius, but that's already well known.
It was such a lovely night. And I can't believe I almost didn't go. I don't have too many photos, just incredible memories that I will never, ever forget.
All photos taken by Tom Chino Nguyen!
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