Sneaking in Mambo any way you can

October 20, 2006

Playlist

El Matrimonio – El Gran Combo
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
Amor Perfecto – El Gran Combo (1)
Salsa Y Control – Lebron Brothers
El Pito – Sonora Carruseles (2)
All That Vibe – Grupo Latin Vibe*
Suelta El Bongo – La 33
Hong Kong Mambo – Tito Puente (3)
Lindo Yambu – Cheo Feliciano
Babarabatiri – Tito Puente (4)
My Favorite Things – New Swing Sextet (5)
Lloraras – Oscar D’Leon (6)*
No Me Resigno – Toque D’Keda
Malanga Amarilla – Cachao (7)
Descarga Cubana – Cal Tjader*
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (Mamborama version)
Picadillo – Tito Puente (a version from 50’s?) (8)*
Aprieta (Oye Como Va) – Joe Cuba Sextet (9)
Azuquita Pal Café – El Gran Combo
Abran Paso – Orchestra Harlow
Me Prendiste Velas – Oscar D’Leon
Hacha Y Machete – Hector Lavoe
El Swing De Fruko – Fruko Y Sus Tesos (10)
Lamento Boliviano – Toque D’Keda

break (originally planned to be 10 minutes but it went a bit longer)

No Hay Cama Pa’ Tanta Gente – El Gran Combo (11)
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe
Mambo Mongo – Mongo Santamaria (Fania version) (-2%) (12)
You Will Remember Me – Dominic Marte (13)

(1) Pretty small crowd thus far. The number of people dancing hit rock bottom with this song before gradually going back up.
(2) This song resulted in a spike, which is fine. Slightly less fine is that Vishal played the same song later in the evening. It’s things like this that makes me avoid playing songs I think Vishal is likely to play later. A prime example is Playa No More, which of course was played later – not that I would play it unless I was desperate.
(3) This one was popular too. It has been a while since this was played at Club Salsa.
(4) Another dip. This is reminiscent of what happened with El Gran Combo earlier. Possibly just a coincidence. Not too worried in any case.
(5) Going great.
(6) Another slight dip. This was somewhat of a surprise. Maybe it’s just overplayed.
(7) Looking good.
(8) This is going really well. This version of Picadillo is the fifth version of the song I have played. Tito Puente has at least two versions of Picadillo. Another version of Picadillo was recorded by Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri. Tito Puente recorded yet another version called Picadillo A Lo Puente. In his final studio album, Tito Puente in collaboration with Eddie Palmieri recorded Picadillo Jam. I know of a sixth version of the song called Pico Swing recorded by New Swing Sextet – I don’t have a copy of this song yet.
(9) I played this two weeks ago with one of the speakers temporarily disabled, which resulted in vocals being missing. It played better this time around although it wasn’t easy to tell from the DJ booth. This of course is Cha Cha.
(10) The pace of the songs was becoming faster and faster, reaching apex with this song. As expected, most people were pretty worn out by this song. I thought the stretch from Malanga Amarilla to Hacha Y Machete worked brilliantly. Even the something of a crowd clearing effect this song had was fine because I half expected it. Playing Bachata next was in the plans before I picked this song.
(11) It seemed like a good transition song as any.
(12) Vishal finally came with the usual comment, “No more Mambo.” I thought I was doing just fine, and the dance floor never became any more packed later in the evening. This song was the only song I made any modification (-2% speed in this case) whatsoever this evening.
(13) This second set didn't last very long. I had told Vishal that it's a difficult crowd - a sentiment he repeated to me later in the evening. The most popular songs played by me tonight were El Pito, Hong Kong Mambo, Lindo Yambu, My Favorite Things, Malanga Amarilla, Ran Kan Kan, Azuquita Pal Cafe to Hacha Y Machete stretch. Of course this is no guarantee that any of these songs will prove popular next time they are played.

Total 28 songs. 24 Salsa. 3 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha. Four new songs(*) - Lloraras is well-established here in Cambridge (but I don't think I played it before) whereas the other three are songs (at least these specific versions) I don't recall hearing played anywhere. I was quite pleased with what I played tonight (or what I was able to get away with playing). I don't recall hearing anyone else in Cambridge ever play 17 of the songs I played tonight - which goes to explain my reputation for playing different songs. 11 songs, which I have heard played by other Cambridge DJs in last year or so are - Sientate Ahi (Pete); El Pito, Lloraras (Vishal, Cristian, Enrique and possibly others); Lindo Yambu (Cristian); Suelta El Bongo, Azuquita Pal Cafe, Hacha Y Machete (Sally); My Favorite Things (Sally, Johnny); No Me Resigno, Lamento Boliviano (Vishal - note: I gave him the CD with these two songs); Hong Kong Mambo (Enrique).

By the time I was done DJing, it was around 12:30 AM. Going to Sally’s party at that point did not seem like a bright idea – even though there presumably would have been more people to dance with at her party. It was quite crowded this evening but with mostly unfamiliar faces. Presumbably most people went to Sally's party or were saving themselves for the all-nighter tomorrow. I had around 9 dances with 9 different partners.

Exchange of the day – “That was the worst mix of that song I have ever heard.” “He probably mixed it himself.”

I generally stay away from remixes, and I certainly am not interested in remixing or remaking or stitching any song(s). I don’t care about it enough to try to critique anyone’s ability to remix songs. I don’t remember hearing any other remix of this song, and I don’t think the original is anything to write home about. Thus the comment I made was nothing more than a general assessment not meant to be positive or negative. I am unsure how he took my reply but becoming amused seems like as good a guess as any.

I received a hard blow to my mouth with an elbow – second time this week on the same spot – first time was during a basketball game Tuesday evening (thanks Richard D!). I think there’s more swelling this time, and the bruise is noticeable this time. I’m 99% sure that I get hit more often than I hit another person. The ratio might be somewhere between 4:1 to 3:2.

Exchange of the day 2 – “I know you have it. I’ve heard it played here before.” “We have many DJs.”

And my collection is very different from Vishal’s or Cristian’s or Sally’s. I would venture to guess that music collections of Vishal, Cristian and Sally combined do not match 70% of my Latin music collection (at least they don’t carry them around and use them). Of course, I imagine that they also have tons of things I don’t have. For instance, I don't have a single track of Merengue or Reggaeton. Also vast majority of what I have is not worth playing at a dance party.

Exchange of the day 3 – “Hey! I didn’t see you dance (very much?) tonight. What’s going on?” “It’s because there isn’t anyone (for him) to dance with.”

See a statistic I listed above. Certainly by that (late) hour, I couldn’t fault the reply (even if it wasn’t completely ironclad accurate). I am tempted to reveal identities here but maybe it’s safer not to do so. You never know.

Vishal said he's really looking forward to Scala tomorrow. I hope he'll have a good time as well as an informative experience DJing as well as hearing what the different DJs play for the Salsa crowd in London.