Live music in Málaga and Santander, May 2015

I started the last month of my Santander stint in... Málaga.

• 2 May: A Palo Seco @ Auditorio Edgar Neville, Málaga.
  I spent the long (alas, not long enough) weekend in Málaga, with people who are very dear to me. On Saturday we went to see Carmen González, with cantaores Ismael ‘El Bola’ and Manuel Zambullo, guitarist Miguel Pérez, percussionist Juan Heredia and a guest dancer Antonio Canales. The show was a part of IV Bienal de Arte Flamenco de Málaga.
• 6 May: Lunática @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol 4
  Four bearded guys called Chus, Nahúm, Charly and Héctor play acoustic rock in this intimate setting (could have been anyone’s kitchen), drawing the (mostly anglophone) material from their 2014 studio album, Take a Seat.
• 7 May: Rice&Peas @ El Cazurro, Playa de La Arnía, Liencres
  A new local roots reggae band plays the original compositions. The venue was crowded so much I couldn’t even enter the main room. It must have been good then, but thanks (but no thanks) to El Cazurro’s acoustic properties, or lack thereof, it was only the bass line that I could hear clearly.
• 12 May: Noelia Herrera Quartet @ Canela Bar, Plaza de Cañadio
  Noelia Herrera (vocal), Javier San Miguel Sr. (guitar), Javi San Miguel Jr. (sax) and Antonio Romero (bass) present jazz and bossa nova standards.
• 13 May: Carol Martín & Los Manteca @ Rvbicón
  Carol Martín (vocal), Rafael Santana (piano), Toño Gutiérrez (bass) and Rodri Irizábal (drums) treat us to another evening of jazz, soul and funk, mostly standards but with interesting twists (e.g. Summertime as a samba), as well as original instrumental numbers.
• 14 May: Malandro @ Rvbicón
  A trio of Gorka Hermosa (accordion), Alberto Vaquero (trumpet) and Javier Mayor (double bass), all music teachers, with guest Borja Barrueta (drums and percussion) play music that is difficult to pigeonhole... well, mostly jazzy tango and waltz, as I never heard before. In the end, they played a dedication to Paco de Lucía quoting some bits of Río Ancho. One of the few local bands I’d really love to have a CD, but, as Gorka kept mentioning, “recording of the album will start tomorrow”. He had other jokes too.
• 19 May: Mud Candies @ Canela Bar
  A charming trio from Bilbao featuring Xandra (vocal, ukulele and percussion), Will (guitar and vocals) and Adri (double bass and vocals) play country, rockabilly and bluegrass.
• 21 May: La sombra de Andrómeda @ El Cazurro
  A recently formed Cantabrian band playing intriguing fusion of 1970s-style instrumental prog rock and funk. Great musicianship, although, in my humble opinion, didgeridoo was superfluous at times.
• 26 May: Havana Moon @ Canela Bar
  A mix of blues, funk and rock performed by Miriam Havana Manzanares (guitar and vocal), Luico Sánchez (guitar), Matt “Metrónomo Humano” Green (drums) and Tomás Monago (bass).
• 27 May: Ryan Blotnick trio @ Rvbicón
  Modern jazz trio featuring Ryan Blotnick (electric guitar), Romeu Tristão (double bass) and João Lopes Pereira (drums).
• 28 May: Bolero Night with Mabel Sierra @ Desafinado Wine & Jazz, Barrio Las Mazas 15, Liencres
  Mabel was the first musician I’ve got acquainted with in Santander. She also happens to be the best singer I ever knew in person. It couldn’t be better choice for my last night in Santander. I definitely didn’t expect her to dedicate the first song of the evening, Mucho Corazón, to me. And then, another one. Thank you.

I heard and learned so much during this year. Good bye, Santander.