Jazz Puerto Rico Brings ¡Sabor! to Momo's

I went to Momo's on September 28, 2010, my usual Tuesday night hang out, to see what Bemba Entertainment had in store. The line up listed Jazz Puerto Rico, Cerronato and Bubba Hernandez y Los Super Vatos. Now I'm real familiar with Cerronato and Bubba Hernandez, they are a couple of most my favorite bands that I always enjoy seeing. Jazz Puerto Rico ,though, peaked my interest. I had never heard of the band and really didn't know what type of music they played. Well, it turns out that Jazz Puerto Rico plays Salsa, Cha Cha and Merengue. I've heard and seen several "Salsa" bands and some are good and some are so-so. Jazz Puerto Rico is really good. I was totally impress with their music and musicianship. I liked their sound, the variety of music and they were tight or seamless. When it comes to bands, I like a band with a brass section. The Jazz Puerto Rico section had three trombones and a baritone sax. This band could hold their own in any Salsa club anywhere. The only thing that concerned me about Jazz Puerto Rico was that they are not an active participant in social media. There's just no information on the web. I guess my blog and YouTube videos may be a beginning? Jazz Puerto Rico is a great band and definitely deserves to be seen and heard.

Check out a sample of their performance:

Austin Vida's "Mi Gente" Salsa Happy Hour at The Parish in October

Austin Vida is teaming up with The Parish, a 6th Street hot spot, to bring "Mi Gente" a Tueday night Salsa Happy Hour in October. The Salsa Happy Hour starts at 6:00 PM with music, dancing and a $3.50 Mojito drink special and ends at 9:00 PM.

Now, a happy hour is a happy hour is a happy! To make this happy hour a "Salsa Happy Hour," who else than DJ Orion, in conjunction with Fania Records could truly make it happen. DJ Orion, one of the members of Peligrosa All-Stars DJ's, spins tunes from an extensive list of Fania Records artists and others. This happy hour highlighted the late great Tito Puente. Fania Records is celebrating their release of Tito Puente two-disk anthology, El Rey. You know, El Rey is a must for all true Salseros, Latin music lovers and of course, DJ's.

I attended this happy hour and had a great time. I like The Parish, the ambiance and sound system is exceptional, the crowd was intimate and the music was made for dancing.

The next "Mi Gente" Salsa Happy Hour will be on October 19 at The Parish, located at 214-c E 6th Street from 6:00-9:00 PM. Ages 21 and up.

Here's DJ Orion in action;



Here's a sample of the Fania Records El Rey:

Este Vato, The Raspas and Stars Collide at Trophy's

I went to Trophy's Bar and Grill, one of my favorite Austin music venues because of it's comfortable neighborhood bar atmosphere, on September 18, 2010. I specifically went to see three bands on the line-up that night. The first was my favorite Austin Latin Fusion band, Este Vato. The second band was The Raspas, a Reggae band I first saw about a year ago at The Amsterdam. Lastly, Stars Collide, a rock band I hadn't seen but has been on my "must see list." Frank "FAAR" Ramirez, drummer for Este Vato is also the drummer for Stars Collide.

It was a great night for music. There was a festive crowd, it's always friendly and there's a feel or a bond among the crowd because they all know and follow the same bands. They feel comfortable yelling, screaming encouragement at the bands and definitely like dancing to their music.

Check out Trophy's, it' on South Congress Ave., Este Vato, The Raspas and Star Collide soon. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Este Vato introduced two new songs. The first "Levántate," which they have worked on for about a month. The second song, with no title as of yet, they wrote the night before. I really like both songs because they have a strong solid sound and beat. The two songs are definitely Este Vato trademark songs.





The Raspas "Poor Man Style" a great Reggae song that has become a favorite.



Stars Collide has a strong Rock sound and singer. They perform the song, "Better."



For more videos on this and other performances go to: YouTube MannyGoCrazy Channel.

Este Vato at Beauty Bar on September 1st

After looking at my social calender, I realized that it had been three months since I last saw Este Vato perform. It wasn't that I didn't want to see Este Vato. My schedule just didn't seem to coincide with their performance dates. It got to the point where I needed an Este Vato "fix."

It's no secret that Este Vato is my favorite band. I like their unique Latin Fusion sound created with a DJ and an Mecee. I first saw Este Vato back in October 2008 at Flamingo Cantina. We definitely have a history and I've lost count of how many times I've seen them perform. We are friends and I support them as often as I can. On September 1, 2010 I finally got to see Este Vato perform at the Beauty Bar in Austin, Texas. Every time I see them perform, I swear they sound better than the previous time I saw them.

You can find out more about Este Vato at the following links:
www.estevato.com
www.myspace.com/estevatomusic
Este Vato Facebook Page


Here are a couple of songs from Este Vato's Beauty Bar performance:






To see more videos of Este Vato performances go to YouTube MannyGoCrazy Channel.

Another Fantastic Austin Vida Showcase

Austin Vida put together another fantastic Latin showcase recently at Ruta Maya. They brought in four "in demand" musical groups and artist that provided music to please all musical taste. The line-up included from Austin, Arthur Yoria, JEZ, La Guerrilla and from San Antonio, Bombasta. All these bands, I noticed, have a solid fan base which are dedicated and travel near and far to see them perform.

I do have to say that Austin Vida has the knack of recognizing exceptional Latin talent and bringing them together for consistently successful showcases of fun and dance. I've been to all of Austin Vida showcases and based on audience attendance, the amount of dancing, the amount of laughter and fun, I'd definitely give this one "Six Flags."

More future showcases are being planned which will be bigger and better, so stay connected to austinvida.com.

Here is a sample of the artist and their music that night:

Arthur Yoria



JEZ



La Guerrilla



Bombasta



To see more videos of this showcase and other musical groups and events, go to my YouTube MannyGoCrazy Channel.