Music of Times and Places
COLOMBIAN MUSIC, THE RICHEST KIND: You may have
heard Juanes — the pop sensation from
Colombia — doing his charismatic thing at the Chumash Casino a few
weeks ago. You may know Colombian sexy-popstress émigré
Shakira. To get a truer, rootsier taste of
Colombian music, proceed to the UCSB MultiCultural Center on Friday
to check out the L.A.-based Very Be Careful. As
heard on the band’s third and latest album, ÑACAS (Downtown Pijao),
they make a mighty, accordion-driven and rhythmically fiery
sound.
Led by the brothers Guzman (bassist
Arturo and accordionist Ricardo),
VBC is stoking the flames of the Afro-Colombian style known as
Vallenato, dating back to the early 20th century, and a beloved
sound the brothers heard, growing up in L.A. in the ’70s. Who
woulda’ thunk that this music would make for one of the hottest
tickets in town this week? They’ve been building a diversified
fanbase from rock and world music corners, including the likes of
Ed Ruscha and Joe Strummer (who
invited them to open for him at the Troubadour).
SPANK YOU VERY MUCH: From a very different set
of roots — rising up from a proudly disreputable, impure musical
gene pool — the Austin, Texas-based Asylum Street
Spankers return to SOhO on Sunday. The Spankers — aka
ASS — are no strangers to town, having played the Mercury Lounge
and SOhO many times, making their blissfully nasty and
old-fashioned music (’20s and ’30s is a favorite era). They’re
always good for a laugh and a dance, a snort of ribaldry, and an
American musical history lesson. The band is led by the artist
known as Wammo and sassy vocalist
Christina Marrs, with a rotating cast of fine
pickers, fiddlers, and washboarders, and recently released a live
DVD, Reassembly (Spanks-a-Lot Records). This is one of few bands
for whom a live DVD makes poetic sense: they put on a real, bona
fide, italics-worthy show.
