Entered to local hero Jose Oyola on guitar, vocals, and hair on stage with flautist Dylan (I think I made this kid's day by telling him he sounded like Gil Scot-Heron's flautist Brian Jackson). Jose, from Puerto Rico sings heartfelt original tunes and is usually backed by the Astronauts, a large group of local musicians. Jose has signature hair, a multi-hued large tangle of controlled frazzle-ness that adds effect to his stage presence.
I saw Los Cafeteras a year or two ago at Wesleyan. The show was intended for an outdoor setting but moved to Crowell Hall due to threat of rain. I remember thinking that this band would be better served outside or in a smaller club. The set list hadn't changed much, but the band member count was the same. Two female vocalist/percussionists, two male guitarro-ists who sang and rapped, two other guitarro-ists, and drummer. From Mexico via East LA, this group brings a ton of energy. Cumbia,Ring of Fire, This Land is Your Land (with rap intro). Highlighting call and response and audience participation, LC gives a little Latin to a mostly white audience. At one point, they called people on stage to ask "what would they do if elected president?" Show highlight was the rap socially conscious anthem listing a snapshot of minority citizens who have inexplicably died at the hands of law enforcement: I'm Michael Brown I didn't DO nothing wrong, I'm Eric Garner I didn't DO nothing wrong, I'm Sandra Bland I didn't DO nothing wrong, chilling lyrics from this woe-fully under-recorded band. Spoke with rapper Daniel who said a recording will be out late summer. Guitarro army indeed.
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