Let the good times roll

We went last night to the tenth anniversary gig of Banda Conmoción, easily one of the best Chilean bands around. It was absolutely massive, in the vast Industria Cultural in calle Cueto, by far the biggest venue I´ve been to out here in Chile and it was rammed with buena onda and celebration. There was a lot of publicity for the gig and it seemed like the whole of Santiago had turned up. We were way back from the stage but could still barely move for people dancing all around. It´s impossible not to dance with these guys.

Banda Conmoción is a cumbia orchestra, with heavy influences of Balkan gitano music, similar to Emir Kustarrica and The No Smoking Orchestra. This was the fourth time I´ve seen them and very different from the previous gigs. The last time I saw them was just before Christmas in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city, a big enough place but nothing like the Industria Cultural. To be honest I prefer the smaller venues as they give you more intimacy with the musicians and generally you get a better sound. Last night we were so far back we could barely see the band and a bit of the sound got lost covering the distance over the heads of thousands of people. But it was a pretty sensational vibe, and after ten years of wicked music you can´t begrudge them doing a massive gig for everyone. I guess as well that this was their big money-making event and that the next time they`ll be decked out with shiny new instruments. 

Here`s the band website: http://www.bandaconmocion.cl/

And here`s a couple of videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj3N3I4jYEo (I love this tune)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYzSUHT7T7Q

Great stuff as you can see.