LAMC’s Parranda: Pacha Massive To Mexican Institute Of Sound

Que viva la música alternativa! We’ll be reporting on the best Latin Alternative Music Conference concerts throughout the week, so keep it locked to Blogamole for reviews on artists you may already know, and the ones you’ll want to keep an eye out for.

By Elis T. Ortiz

Cuando la música alternativa takes over NYC, all we can do is follow along and enjoy it! That’s exactly what we did last night (July 8), as we hopped around to catch some of the best performances of the Latin Alternative Music Conference.

El Muséo del Barrio

Our first stop was El Muséo del Barrio in Spanish Harlem, where the basketball courts on the building’s rooftop served as the perfect open air setting for some ska rocking performances.

Maya of Pacha Massive

Pacha Massive had the crowd bopping along to their feel-good Latin funk, with Maya jamming on her bass guitar and Nova laying out his bilingual rhymes and the occasional soulful guitar riff.

Pacha Massive

Pacha Massive

King Chango and his eight-piece band brought out the Latin Ska, soon convincing the audience to jump and dance along with their high energy performance.

King Chango

But these two acts shared more than just a venue… they shared a band member! Vicente, whom we dubbed the Philippine Samurai of Brass, was carrying at least four instruments on his body and literally pulling them out of his shirt when it was time to play them. He assisted the performance of both bands on stage, so this guy needed a special shout out. Go Vicente!

Ana Tijoux

Next, we traveled South to the Bowery Ballroom on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The dim lighting and close stage setting made this the perfect location for the night’s intimate performances. The house was packed with fans waiting to see the diverse line-up ranging from the hip hop house beats of Colombia’s Isa GT a los rockeros Mexicanos de Moderatto. There was something for every taste, but we had some stand-out favorites.

Los Rakas, the Panamanian hip hop / reggae duo, delivered a spitfire performance that had the crowd cheering in approval. They were also the recipients of this year’s LAMC Discovery award. Congrats guys!

Yotuel of Afro Cuban Punk

Yotuel, formerly of Orishas, rocked it out with his band Afro Cuban Punk. He aptly called his music “rock and roll con chancleta,” and then let us have it, heavy guitars, tamboras, and all!

Yotuel of Afro Cuban Punk

The highlight for us had to be Camilo Lara and his Mexican Institute of Sound. As if their music and mixes weren’t incredible enough, they were joined on stage by the legendary Money Mark with Mexican Institute of Sound!

Money Mark with Mexican Institute of Sound

Though he may look like a low-key guy off stage, when he’s on, he’s ON! Money Mark ran, jumped, danced, skipped, all over that stage.

Mexican Institute of Sound

At one point he grabbed the cymbal stand in front of the drummer, was swinging it about, and we thought for sure it might take a turn for the worse. But luckily he was able to contain his excitement and get back to his keyboard in time to finish with a flourish.

Mexican Institute of Sound

Fans weren’t the only ones enjoying these amazing performances; artists came out to join the fun and mingle too! We scoped out Maleco Collective, Locos Por Juana, Yeyo of The D.E.Y., and the guys from Nortec Collective, all having a great time and checking out their fellow LAMC artists. What an epic night!

Money Mark

(photos by Bashira Webb for MTV Tr3s)

The 2010 LAMC Conference is still going strong in NYC, so make sure you keep it locked to Blogamole for the scoop on the best performances and artists! It's all about the music!

Tags 2010 LAMC, Afro Cuban Punk, King Chango, Mexican Institute of Sound, Money Mark, Pacha Massive, photo, Photos