Leo Duany y su Mambochambo: Band on the Wall
Manchester, UK
November, 2002
This
was the second of eleven UK gigs, forming the last
leg of their European tour. This ten-piece outfit
hails from Santiago
de Cuba, the birthplace of son, and despite
their relative youth, members have between them
featured in no less than 40 different musical groups.
Due to poor venue organisation we had to endure
a late start, made worse by the wind and rain which
severely tested the commitment of several perspective
attendees who were forced to huddle by the door
or seek refuge in one of the local bars. Despite
this, around 200 people finally made it in by the
time the band took stage at 11.00 p.m.
Presentation wise, Mambochambo belongs to
the Sonora Carruseles school, evident
by the trio of vocal-percussionists tendency to
shimmy backwards and forwards during songs and the
whole band's attire deeply unfashionable matching
shirts that - and this is purely conjecture - seem
to have been hastily purchased by the tour manager
during a trip to the local Sunday market.
The first set lasted just under an hour and featured
most of the songs from their debut CD, “Huracán”.
This was a strong set demonstrating the undoubted
musical talents of the band, though it is fair to
say that even with a fine rendition of the Faustino
Oramas' classic “Ay, Candela”
(without the “ay” for BVSC aficionados)
the band never truly caught fire. This venue never
attracts many dancers due to the woefully inadequate
floor but leader Duany did a good job of
engaging the crowd, a large number of whom he managed
to make move in a reasonably rhythmic manner throughout
the performance.
The two main singers, Duany and José
Castro complimented each other extremely well,
Castro obviously being well versed in the
Afro-Cuban singing, Duany more at home with
contemporary vocal styles. There were good performances
from all the band members, though pianist Alexander
Ferrer and the main percussion section of tumbadora
Luis Alberto Menzies and bongocero José
Vallejo Magallanes were particularly fine, especially
the latter. Musically, there are firm nods to classic
son, montuno and guajira, and
on this live performance they lean slightly more
towards the modern sound of Maraca than the
traditional, such as Septeto Nacional.
It was after midnight when the band reappeared for
the second set, unfortunately this represented pumpkin
time for many of the thirty-somethings present,
most of whom I’m sure had to return home to
let the babysitter go. This resulted in a greatly
reduced crowd and whilst the departed would have
considered that they had received vfm from their
entry fee, they missed a much better set. The band
really hit their stride and we were treated to extended
versions of some of the CD tunes, among others,
including the fabulous Picadillo y Colorao.
Mambochambo are a fine band who play uplifting
Cuban music that only those with a valid death certificate
could be excused for being still around. You can,
and should, check them out at their website www.mambochambo.com.
Slaphappy
