Sunday night I witnessed one of only three US stops on Café Tacuba’s 20:20 Tour. This pivotal Mexican band has been together for twenty years and is celebrating this milestone by playing shows in twenty cities all over North and South America as well as Europe. When I found out they weren’t coming to Boston, I bought a bus ticket to New York City and reserved my room in the closest hostel without missing a beat. It would be my third time seeing the band and the show turned out to be worth way more than what the trip cost. Manhattan was pulsating from start to finish with the Hammerstein Ballroom as its heart.

It also happens to have my lucky number on the cover.

I first fell in love with Café Tacuba’s unique sound in 2003 when their album Cuatro Caminos came out. I was bored with the music I found in Newbury Comics‘ negligible Latin section. (Love the store guys, but Latin music isn’t all Shakira and Maná!) After reading the sticker on the front of the CD (a quote from some music review hailing Cuatro Caminos as “The Latin Kid A“), I bought the album. It quickly became one of few CDs I consistently enjoy listening to from start to finish. Unfortunately for me, the band almost never played shows further north than Texas and California since the bulk of their fan base was, logically, Mexican. I assumed I would never see them live… until Sino came out in 2007, and they began to tour once again. I didn’t just get to see them live: I got to see them twice in as many years.

Continue reading ‘CELEBRATING 20 YEARS WITH CAFE TACUBA LIVE AT NYC’S HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM’