Salsa Kingdom Part 2

September 6, 2008

Because the Park Hall Hotel was full for Saturday night (it had been for quite some time), I looked for alternatives and settled on Parr Hall Farm B&B, which was not listed in the Salsa Kingdom website. It was located about 2-3 miles or 5 minute drive away. At 40 pounds per night for single occupancy of a double room, this was a great deal. I think it’s a better deal for singles because two people occupying the same room would have paid 70 pounds per night. The rooms were located in a converted barn and had a classy décor and were spacious. The breakfast was mostly Ploughman style with toast, porridge and soft boiled eggs made upon request – it in my opinion was the best looking breakfast I have seen in any B&B. The only amenity missing was an internet connection.

Scattered rain dissuaded me from doing any day trips to places like the Lake District. I took it easy doing little but a light walk to get a feel of the small town of Eccleston. Lunch was at The Original Farmers Arms, which seemed like a nice local pub (with cheap lodging options – cheaper than Parr Hall Farm). Dinner was at Verdes, a fashionable Italian eatery short walk from Parr Hall Farm. The food in my opinion was at least as good as better standard Cambridge eateries. Because I only got a table for dinner a little after 9:30, I ate hurriedly and made it to the party around 10:15 (or a bit later than I would have liked).

Eddie Palmieri and La Perfecta II started playing around 11 or about 30 minutes late, which isn’t bad. They started off with La Malanga (a song from after the breakup of the original La Perfecta) followed by Sujetate La Lengua. I was worried about the speed of the songs, but I should not have been. However, the songs were long to give musicians a lot of room to show off. Other songs played by the band included Bilongo, Muneca, Picadillo, Cuidate Compay, Azucar, Oyelo Que Conviene. Obvious songs one might have expected to hear but did not were Tu Tu Ta Ta, Lo Que Traigo Es Sabroso and Ajiaco Caliente from La Perfecta days alone – Eddie has a lot of hits outside that period too (at one point I thought he was hinting at playing Puerto Rico before starting Cuidate Compay). There was at least one more Cha Cha (well-known one but I cannot remember which tune it is now – was it Ay Que Rico? Not sure) as well as a more Afro-Cuban not-really-for-standard-Salsa song closing off the first set.

It was interesting that a young bass player (I learned later that he is only 25!) was given as much opportunity for solo riffs arguably as Eddie himself. It was especially nice to see because Salsa music scene doesn't have very many young musicians - he was very good. Comparatively speaking the small horn section (Jimmy Bosch was one of only two horn players – trombone presumably) had rather little to do. Most of the action happened on the Eddie’s side (Eddie in rear left, bass player next to Eddie, tres/guitar in front of Eddie and bass player, and the Conga and lead singer in center). The other musicians included timbalero and flutist (occ. minor percussion). New Swing Sextet was an excellent band playing dance music; Eddie Palmieri and La Perfecta was a superb group of virtuosic musicians who played songs you also can dance to if you had enough stamina and could find a partner who could match the intensity.

Finding a dance partner was something of a challenge, however. Although it was far from empty, the total number of dancers was not as large as type of event like this one deserved. The fact that the dance floor was quite small really did not help matters – even with small number of people there, the floor could have been twice its size without appearing empty. It probably did not help that the length of the song made agreeing to dance a major commitment. In the end, I probably danced to no more than 3-6 of the songs played by the band.

The DJs were fine – about the same as Friday. Both Henry Knowles and Lubi had some problems with the sound system due to miscommunication with the engineers at the main control. I’m guessing that neither of them are used to not having total control over the sound system. I for one thought that the sound system worked quite well in terms of never becoming shrill or too loud. The song selections were fine mostly - I won’t complain about a few Timba or near-Timba type songs. On the other hand, I was getting a little tired of Julian the Duke always playing Avisale A Mi Contrario by Tito Rodriguez pretty much every time I see him play anywhere. The most amusing moment in terms of song selection was hearing Otra Oportunidad coming on right after my first dance with Jimmy Bosch dancing right next to me. Playing favorites with DJs for this weekend, I would place Henry Knowles (no constant blending and many of the mixing was not distracting) and Lubi above Julian the Duke (so-so at best) and Pepe Bassan (blending songs for major deduction).

There were more people tonight than Friday night although the number of people dancing a lot wasn't much greater. People I don't remember seeing last night included Aiste, Rafael and Wesley. I don't remember seeing Leon, Inaki or Sekou McMiller. I probably would not have recognized rather large number of international guests although I might have danced with some of them. Mark, Lisa and Susana were present both nights. Steve did not make it - car trouble.

My dancing overall was again just okay. I’m not sure if there was an improvement over Friday quality-wise. There was less in quantity or at least in frequency; the fact that I stayed until later might have made the total number fairly close. Near the end, I opted to concentrate mostly on dancing On2 – not because it felt better or anything but because I thought I might be better served practicing it and because I wasn’t having any better time dancing On1.

September 7, 2008

I left Parr Hall Farm a little after 10:30 and headed over to M61 in order to take a side trip to York on the way back. I only became lost three times on the main roads – twice on the motorway including a detour into Leeds and ensuing forced entry into M1 southbound rather than northbound and once entering York and following the wrong sign for Park and Ride. I ended up parking on Bishopthorpe Road, which ended up saving me a bus fare.

I ended up spending over 4 hours in York and probably could have stayed longer except for being somewhat sleep-deprived and having a long drive back. York was still suffering from flooding of the Ouse River, but the weather while I was there was nice. I took a walk on the Western side of the York City Walls (from Bishopgate Street to Station Road), which was more interesting than I expected. Then I headed over to the York Minster and took a look at the chapel and the undercroft. The Minster in size was comparable to many of the major Spanish cathedrals I have been to (Seville, Toledo, Segovia) but was considerably less opulent – no doubt helped by the Reformation and the wealth of the countries and the church when the cathedrals were built and were in prime use. Visiting the undercroft was in some ways more interesting than what was a rare bare chapel. I then roamed the streets of York downtown including the Shambles.

Finding a nice-looking place for lunch was something of a challenge; Betty’s was too full and a few others I considered were closed. I also forgot to take a list of possible places to eat with me after my parking debacle. I ended up in Vegan café called El Piano (it was listed on Lonely Planet). The music was amusing (Africando was on when I entered), but my verdict is that British Vegan (gluten free to boot) was not for my palate. I think on the whole I am not crazy about meat-free food – although I did enjoy a vegetarian Indian restaurant in London some years ago.

I only managed to start the final leg back to Cambridge around 5 PM. It wasn’t bad. There was only one traffic accident to cause a major traffic jam. However, by the time I got home around 7:40, I was dead tired and was with a minor headache.