Cabanas on Friday May 19, 2006
It was unbelievably crowded last night (Friday) with a lot of customers celebrating graduation (probably from Georgetown U mostly). I was a bit concerned cuz I invited a small group of friends to celebrate Ginette's birthday and it didn't look like we were going to get a table until very late. But things worked out perfectly: the hostess arranged to have two tables pushed together to seat all of us right next to the stage in time for the second show, yay!
In addition to our friends, we had a good audience that paid attention to the show and gave us some well-deserved applause. Rhythmically we were tighter as a group--probably helped that I mic'd the stage for a change and that we had Jason Vera y Aragon joining us on cajón. Between sets, we had customers come up to us and compliment us on our performance--that was nice!
Thing about nights when the restaurant is packed and noisy is that either the audience will be so into their loud conversations and completely oblivious of the show or most of the audience will pay attention. Thank God it was the latter. This phenomenon isn't just at Cabanas. It can happen at any tablao in the DC area.
For the second set, the manager took a moment to open the patio doors. It was bit on the cool side but not cold enough to make it unpleasant for people dining inside. I was just glad that we were able to connect with the audience sitting outdoors. Plus it was nice to feel a bit of fresh air gently flowing in as we performed.
May 19, 2006 10:05pm (photo by Keith)
May 19, 2006 10:07pm (photo by Keith)
Miguelito and Ginette. May 19, 2006 10:08pm(photo by Keith)
Ginette in soleá por bulerías. May 19, 2006 10:10pm (photo by Keith)
May 19, 2006 10:12pm (photo by Keith)
May 19, 2006 10:13pm (photo by Keith)
Miguelito playing intro to Mariya's alegrías. May 19, 2006 10:15pm (photo by Keith)
Mariya in alegrías. May 19, 2006 10:18pm (photo by Keith)
May 19, 2006 10:19pm (photo by Keith)
Ginette in fin de fiesta bulerías. May 19, 2006 10:25pm (photo by Keith)
May 19, 2006 10:25pm (photo by Keith)
May 19, 2006 10:27pm (photo by Keith)
May 19, 2006 10:27pm (photo by Keith)
Acknowledging the guitarist. May 19, 2006 10:29pm (photo by Keith)
With the second set over, Ginette and Mariya changed back into street clothes and we just chilled-out and had some dinner with all our friends. The birthday girl opened up a few presents and we had the waitress bring a slice of Cabanas' legendary chocolate cake (it's really good--trust me on this) with a candle on it...
Happy 21st Ginette! May 19, 2006 11:29pm
May 19, 2006 11:30pm
Sometime after midnight, Ginette asked me to play guitar and we got a little juerga going. Steve offered to play guitar too.
Guitarist Steve Svoboda, percussionist Jason Vera y Aragon, Ginette and Cynthia in Sevillanas. May 20, 2006 12:21am
Mariya and Ginette. May 20, 2006 12:21am
As our little flamenco party continued, a group of gypsies stopped by to listen and watch. One of them said, "Play Bamboleo, " so I did, assuming they would sing. But the one guy said "I don't know the words." Um, ok.
So one of them asked me, "Do you know the Gipsy Kings?"
"Yeah, of course."
"We're part of their family," he proclaimed with pride.
He looked at me waiting for a response, probably expecting me to say something groupie-like, "Oh wow, really? That is sooo cool!" Instead, I paused and thought to myself oh great, name-droppers, ugh. I shot back, "Yeah, well all gypsies in some remote way are related to the Gipsy Kings." Big deal.
Anyway, I was starting to sense where this was headed. He asked me to play something so I improvised some bulerias and he told me, "Play something fast and the people will get up and dance." Then he pointed to Ginette and said, "She'll dance. She's a professional."
I couldn't believe that this guy who claimed to be related to the Gipsy Kings yet didn't know the words to Bamboleo was telling me who's professional. I could tell what was going on now: this was a challenge to see who's the better guitarist.
This one gypsy wanted to play. Didn't really want him to, but I didn't want to kill the party mood for the benefit of my friends so I handed him my instrument anyway. Part of me was curious to see how this challenge would progress. Turned out he played competently and could sing very well. Then he and his friends joined in and sang at the top of their lungs. All good singers.
I had to hand it to them. They were good. But they weren't here to join in the party. They just wanted to upstage us. Oh well. It happens. I was a good sport and let them continue for a short while longer, then I cut the power to the sound system, took my guitar and said thanks and goodbye.
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