Block Party Again

I was going to post about something else but damn, this block party post was awesome. I decided I would post some photos I took (click on each one to see them in full size) with some short snippets too, nice job Nick!

I wasn’t able to get there as early as Nick did but what I did catch was incredible. The creators of this mini-festival have opened a door that leads into an entirely different world. The culture that is available, here in El Paso, is pretty remarkable and as Rafa from A Human Recording once shared, we need to embrace our diversity more often. I only caught the ending two songs of their set but it was probably one of the most intense performances of the day because 1) They were hitting on all cylinders and 2) The heat was fiery scorching.
What can I say, the entire mini-festival was an entirely surreal experience. You see so many of the bands you love just walking around supporting each other and even when they play at the same time (couldn’t we have had The Royalty play for a good 45 minutes and then The DA play for a solid 45 after them so we could see both?) it’s an entirely jubilant musical experience. El Paso is slowly growing into a town where differences, diversity and dissention is being welcomed, to challenge the old standbys. It’s beautiful and hopefully, we can sustain it.

After the aforementioned A Human Recording, we gathered back to our tent to set up some comfortable chairs and share watermelon. In the meantime, we got to see many of the locals gathering; they shared food, conversed and laughed and whether it was art, statues, or rugs, people were able to sell their crafts, at honest prices. Ribo’ Flavin is getting more and more attention with their ability at displaying awesome musicality with even better energy. Their saxes are top-notch and the rhythm section truly gels with smooth precision as they pack in even more sounds with two percussionists. But their funk, their soul and taste of R&B is what sets them apart, check them out.
After them we quickly made our way to the other stage – which was conveniently on the other side of the street, away from distracting the main stage – and stepped up to see Bullet Proof Tigers. The electronic duo’s performance was one of high anticipation as they hadn’t performed in El Paso in over two months. Nonetheless, their show was electric and it was the perfect mood and style change as the sun nestled behind the mountains and disappeared.

Lastly, we stepped out to get front row spots for the amazing show put on by The DA. I know they probably don’t need any more love and attention from me but they are most definitely the best band in El Paso and they are only getting better. The most important facet about their music is that they are continuously getting better; even the music from their first and only EP to date has significantly improved. They put on a stellar show and it was a terrific send off to an extraordinary night of festivities. – Bryan

.B L O C K P A R T Y .

Every so often Chuco outdoes itself. And for the past 3 years the first weekend of June has been the date for an amazing event that should make any el pasoan proud. The Sunset Heights Block Party has been supplying an amazing venue for Chuco to do exactly that, outdo itself, and make residents smile. And in bigger fashion each year mind you. Basically a mini music festival thrown together by the community, this ain’t your daddy’s block party. With 2 stages highlighting the diverse and in my opinion highly talented local music scene, the block party had no shortage of music. Not to mention djs spinning between sets, local vendors selling everything from jewelry to art as well as exhibitions by local dance troupes ranging from Brazilian Capoera, to modern belly/fire dancing. This year eco minded organizers also planned a group bike ride from different locations to the Sunset Heights neighborhood. The heat this year was almost too unbearable, but with a hearty supply of cold brew and a spontaneous water balloon fights to get ya face wet, it made waiting for the sunset in Sunset Heights slightly more bearable. And with that sunset, came cooler temps and hotter music. The night ended with 2 of Chuco’s best indie acts. The DA on one stage and The Royalty on the other. It’s a shame the crowd, of I’m guessing a few thousand, didn’t get a chance to see both of these great bands. Either way the day gave much opportunity to see and hear some really amazing stuff. What makes this event so great in my eyes is that there is no frill, you can tell this is an even put on by the people for the people. When I mentioned stages earlier, the reality is bands performed on the sidewalks. But that’s the beautiful thing about it, sidewalks for stages or not, these bands performed in front of hundreds of people who braved 100 degree plus heat to party with them! And let me tell you, did they! This isn't the El Paso's version of ACL, actually there are major efforts to put on a large scale music festival here in Chuco, more on that interesting development soon. But the Sunset Heights Block Party is its own amazing thing in its own right. A small community event made for music lovers. What I hope can happen is that this stirs the tide for more people to put on more events like this and more importantly for the willingness of Chuco residents to support events like this. The cool thing is it is already happening. The Root Yoga Studio and its owners put on an amazing event over in Downtown a few weeks ago. It was a multi-level party showcasing another half of El Paso's dope music scene. Over the next few posts I wanna highlight some of the acts who played the Block Party and this other event, aptly entitle Funky See Funky Do. In the meantime, enjoy some of the sites of the party. Sounds coming soon.

UTEP Basketball Update/Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté – Ali and Toumani

First off, the UTEP basketball team ended up losing the C-USA tournament and Houston went on to pull off an upset to gain the automatic bid. I’d like to say that I had a feeling this would happen since we had one conference loss the whole season and it was against…wait for it…yep, Houston. But hindsight is 20-20 or something or other.

Either way, we got the shaft from the tournament committee. We received a #12 seed and play Butler in the first round; in fact, us and Utah State were the last at-large teams to get in the tournament. But not only is Butler a very good team but they were in the top 25 for most of the season and had quality wins against Ohio State, Xavier and Siena, to name a few. But hey, one of their four losses was against UAB, a team we beat twice during the year, except from the loss to Houston we were riding a hot streak and it’s the NCAA tournament and anything can happen. The game is this Thursday, March 18 at 2:55 PM our time – I smell a chance of leaving early from work this day?


Now onto music: please check out the new album by Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté, simply titled, Ali and Toumani. It’s the second and seemingly last album for these two guitarists as Touré passed away and is sadly, no longer around. Not only do they weave their way around these guitar-based instruments with superb ease but their strong sense of melody and harmonics is astounding. It’s refreshing to see them attempt slower, gentle tunes and then rip into highly-energetic jubilant songs: bottom line is that it is an amazingly beautiful album. Below is the digital single, “Kala Djula,” that World Circuit offered for the aforementioned new album. R.I.P. Ali Farka Touré

We missed the beginning of Surreal Week today but I should be there tomorrow to watch some shows but for those that were there for The DA’s show at The Garage on Saturday, was that awesome or what?

Surreal Week

One of the things about El Paso that I can’t stand is the shoddy promoters who do a terrible job of promoting shows. Usually, they fall way behind and don’t get enough support or exposure to get a good crowd and often, they simply slack off. It’s the biggest confusion as to why a concert for a local band like The Royalty can get a packed Take II and then a show for Abe Vigoda and No Age gets like 40 people at an old Club 101 venue. The same attendees, these cool hipsters, should be at all the indie shows and yet, they show up in tiny margins. Personally and I hate to admit it but I’ve missed shows by bands Neon Indian and the first time Deerhunter came around because I didn’t even know about them.

So you wonder, “Then why don’t you promote shows?” Trust me, I think that if I had $10,000 in spare money to lure bands and connections with clubs and bars, I’d be doing that. Fortunately, every now and then, we get some decent shows to come by and a local promoter has put together Surreal Week. A spin off the South by Southwest ceremonies in Austin, they plan on having over 20 bands play at three different venues: The Black Market, Hideaway Lounge and The Percolator between March 14 – March 22.


Some of the bands I plan on seeing for sure are local band The DA (Nick mentioned them in a previous post) on Sunday, March 14; the St. Patty’s free show with Ty Segall which I have heard a lot about; and the March 21st show where Nice Nice, Pivot and Titus Andronicus will play. I think that, in my head, I might head out every night just to get some new music in my blood and to hear these great bands but that seems like a daunting task because I still work all week. But for those three shows, they will be for sure RSVPs.

If it’s anything like previous SXSW-inspired gigs then the stages will be set up to allow for bands to play simultaneously and that would be great. Titus Andronicus alone is a great band to check out because they are riding the tails of a successful sophomore album and are an awesome band – here is the review I wrote on DOA for their album and below is the ‘trailer’ for the new album, The Monitor. The flyers are there (click on them to see full size), check it out and support the music if you can go. – Bryan

The DA

This passed thursday I was able to check out THE DA for the second time in less then a week over at Cincinnati Bar, and they did not disappoint. With the release of their latest 4 song EP entitled “Thank God for Aluminum” and their SXSW showcase coming up very soon it seems that their set was tighter then ever. One thing I loved the most were the subtle transitions between songs. Party didn’t stop for a breather. There were times that infectious dance floor rhythms seamlessly blended into another sublime beat.
For those who are just getting turned onto this band its safe to say their music is flat out fun. Spanning too many genres to even try and name, these guys make good ol’ fashion danceable rock music. To me the biggest thing that should stand out in their sound to first time listeners of THE DA is the texture added by their trumpet player. After hooking into a number of effects, the sounds that come from the trumpet are eerie and beautiful all at once. Add some mean synthesizer , disco friendly guitar rhythms and pumping beats and you got some shit you can move your ass to!!! If you don’t believe me check out this clip from THE DA playing at the SUNSET HEGHTS BLOCK PARTY, one of Chuco’s flat out hippest and coolest events. (be there or be square for the 3rd installment summer 2010 coming soon)


These are my 2 favorite tracks off their new EP

http://www.mediafire.com/?amadxjdjiqe
http://www.mediafire.com/?miynomwzy4n
and be sure to check them out before they blow up at SXSW.They’ll be at The Garage March 13 and Black Market March 14.

Local News: UTEP Basketball and The Royalty

An update: the UTEP men’s basketball team is now 22-5, with an impressive 13-1 record in conference. But bigger than that news is that they are now #21 (ahead of Baylor, Maryland, Texas A&M and Texas) in the coaches poll and #24 in the AP poll!

We play a resurging Marshall (22-7 [10-4]) team that is fighting for a good spot in the conference tournament, on Wednesday night and that game is away. Then we close with a home game against second-place UAB (23-5 [11-3]) and like I mentioned earlier, we beat them in a thriller at their home court so they will be seeking revenge. It will be testing and surely, a huge challenge but we can do it!

Nick and I were at Take II on Saturday night to attend The Royalty’s CD release show. If you haven’t heard them yet, they are an awesome band that hails from our very own El Paso, Texas. They’re definitely channeling some kind of doo-wop/Motown style but with a crisp pop/rock vibe. If anything, they’ve completely taken over my car stereo with their terrific album.

The show was an astounding experience – they sound tight and honed in one their strengths but even more impressing, their chemistry seems to pour into the music with stunning ease. A band that has some pure potential, The DA, opened and their experimental style was excellent as well. And both deserve plenty of myspace hits, recognition and support, so check them out. Below is their official video for "Chinese Fire Drill", above are pictures I took of the show from this past Saturday, their CD is only $10 (hope they vinyl is coming out soon) and their next show is March 13 at the Percolator @ 9PM – Bryan