Random flamenco pics from Cafe Citron. April 16, 2007
Danielle and Sarah McKenney in Sevillanas. April 16, 2007 9:56pm (photo by Keith)
It's 11:46am on Tuesday as I type these words. Last night was a blast at Cafe Citron. I had the pleasure of performing with two dancers: Mariya and Pam de Ocampo. My friend Jason also showed up and added that extra rhythmic spice and inspiration with his cajón playing. Thanks Jason! Plus we had a bunch of friends in the audience including Sarah McKenney, Juan Delgado, Midori, Denise, Eddie, Lola, Jimmy, Ronaldo, Indira Terrazas, Danielle, Ashoke and Davide, plus some new friends that we just met that night: Heather and Marcus.
The first set was kind of a warm-up. Like last week, I was running late again so while I had time to setup the sound and lights, I didn't get to limber up my hands. That's OK, though. Almost always the second set makes up for it. And sure enough it did. By then I felt ready to play at my best. Not only that, but the place filled-up and our friends took up the booths and seats all around the stage. The manager dimmed the house lights and Citron ambience was starting to feel more like a party. I knew we'd have the moral support from all our friends once the show got under way. The question was: will the rest of the crowd notice our performance (and maybe shut up for 20 minutes)?
Didn't matter. I cranked up the volume more than usual so they had no choice but to listen, hehe. 
Besides I asked one of my musician friends in the audience about the sound and he suggested I crank it up a notch anyway.
With all the dancers we had in the audience, we just had to do it: Sevillanas marathon. The audience loved it and the cheers got louder and louder with each succesive copla--I think we did five. And even then we didn't get all the dancers up on our stage. Oh well. Now it was time for Mariya's solo...
Mariya in soleá. April 16, 2007 10:02pm (photo by Keith)
April 16, 2007 10:06pm (photo by Keith)
April 16, 2007 10:08pm (photo by Keith)
Pam de Ocampo in alegrías. April 16, 2007 10:14pm (photo by Keith)
April 16, 2007 10:15pm (photo by Keith)
Normally we close the second set with a tangos, which we did, except we got our friend Lola up on stage to dance for a few letras. Oh yeah, it also happened to be her birthday last night. It's been almost three years that I've known her and I met Lola right here at Citron in the summer of 2004. Happy birthday Lola!
Anywayz, after her solo, Mariya got up and danced a few letras of tangos. When it was Pam's turn she asked me to change the music to bulerías which together with the palmas and the cool bulerías groove set by Jason (and my guitar playing), we built it up to a faster tempo and ended the show with a bang.
Jimmy and Lola. April 16, 2007 10:25pm
I'm happy to say that the Monday night crowds are back at Citron, yay! DJ Helio continued the party vibe after our show cranking out a fun mix of salsa, merengue and Arabic grooves that got the crowd dancing. He even put on a track of Sevillanas for us flamencos. Thanks Helio!
Sevillanas line dancing. April 16, 2007 10:52pm
April 16, 2007 10:52pm
April 16, 2007 10:53pm
We stayed late but not too late for a Monday night leaving sometime close to 1:00am. Even for a night person like me, I had to get some rest: I'm working every night this week--in addition to my usual weekly gigs I'm subbing for Torcuato at Cubano's for the next two Wednesdays (normally my night off). As for tonight (Tuesday), I'll be at Las Tapas performing with Anna Menendez and another dancer TBA. See you there!
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