Memory test

May 9, 2008

I arrived while the cool-down track Playa No More was being played. I noticed that Cristian was substituting for Joe and Vish signalling me to put on a song to start the social. I had a little under 2 minutes – something of a surprise but not too bad.

Playlist

La-La-La – Direct Latin Influence
Nunca Que Quedas – Frankie Ruiz (1)
Tu Musica Popular – Don Perignon
El Menu – El Gran Combo
Una Aventura – Grupo Niche
Swing A La Moderna – Mandingo Y Su Son
Ay Amor, Cuando Hablan Las Miradas - Orquesta Guayacan
Tu No Me Hay Visto Miguel – Sonora Matancera (Javier Vazquez)* (2)

break (3)

Ritmo Tambo Y Flores – Sonora Matancera (Javier Vazquez)*
Ban Ban – Joe Arroyo (-5%)
Tambo La Rumba – Grupo Caribe
Miye Na We – Africando
Me Enamorado De Ella – Juan Luis Guerra* (4)
Musica Ligera – Toque D’ Keda
El Hueso De Maria – Tito Rodriguez
Night In Tunisia – Sonora Poncena
Tu Amor Hace Bien – Marc Anthony
Bamboleate – Louie Ramirez
Que Pasa Contigo – Wilie Rosario
Ven Morena – Orquesta Aragon*
Merengue Del Pichoncito – Sonora Matancera (Javier Vazquez)*
Playa Fa Sho – Toby Love
Lejos De Ti – Son Boricua
Ole Gitana – Ismael Rivera & Junior Gonzalez*

(1) I opted to forgo playing very slow songs first tonight and go instead with slow-medium songs for extended time.
(2) Early break. I cancelled the next 3 songs planned, two of which were not played at all. I did get a chance to dance to this one, however.
(3) Vish started off with La Salsa Nunca Se Acaba followed by Rumbon Melon followed by another song I recognized but cannot recall anymore [note added later - I think it was Mujer Erotica]. I think Vish played 3 or 4 songs before Cristian took over. He started with a Merengue then a Bachata then Nina Y Senora, Lloraras, Soledad (La 33). Next up were bunch of Salsa, Merengue and Bachata I didn’t know well. He finished with Trucutu.
(4) It’s not a big Salsa crowd tonight.
(5) Vish called for Merengue as I was about to start the previous song (Ven Morena) with this song queued next. So I was able to tell him that I have it covered.

Total 24 songs. 2 Merengue, both new. 2 Bachata. 20 Salsa including 4 new.

When I was about to start writing this entry (next day), I couldn’t find the sheet I used to write down the order of the songs. So I tried to remember the songs by memory. As I was about to leave home, I found the sheet so I was able to check my memory before completing the entry. I got the first 4 songs correct. I scrambled the order of next 3 songs before getting the last song before the break correct. After the break, I had the first 2 songs correct before misplacing the next one (Tambo La Rumba) into the position of Que Pasa Contigo, which I completely forgot about. Beyond it, I remembered everything else correctly. Not too bad, but I think writing it down is definitely better.

A little more beer than usual. A little more watching than usual. A little more dancing than usual for Fridays not counting the “special” evening with out of town visitors. By the time Vish took over for the second time, Salsa dancing seemed to be winding down. I can’t remember if he played any Salsa second time around. He did play a 15-minute Merengue medley, which he stopped after about 6-7 minutes and switched over to a Reggaeton CD. After a bit of Reggaeton, I slipped in another of Vish’s CD containing a pair of songs by Shakira (not Hips Don’t Lie though – that’s like a cliché now) before taking off.