Austin360 blogs > Almost Urban > Archives > 2007 > February > 08 > Entry
Weekend picks: Fantasma, Mad professor, Mardi Gras and more
Yes there’s been a lot of Grupo Fantasma news on this blog as of late, but, seriously, how often does a hometown fave end up hanging out with a superstar of Prince’s echelon? In case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few months here’s a brief recap. Back in November 2006 the band received a last minute invitation to play Prince’s newly opened Vegas nightclub 3121 over Thanksgiving weekend. Five weeks into the band’s residency gig, the Purple One took to sitting in on the group’s sets. Then, in mid-January, Prince flew the band to Hollywood to back him at an ultra-exclusive Golden Globes party full of celebrity A-listers. A couple weeks ago The Artist took Austin’s all-terrain cumbia funk unit to Miami for an exclusive Super Bowl pre-party. Impressed yet?
Homecoming shows are always special. There’s a magical sense of origin for both the fans and the band. The first time I wrote about Grupo Fantasma was late in 2001, shortly after the band dropped their eponymous debut album. In the awkward uncomfortable months following 9/11, your girl, a half-Indian, half-Anglo American who is frequently mistaken for Middle Eastern was, like most Southeast Asian Americans, busy perfecting a faux-Latina act. My girls and I used to get fancy and head down to Grupo shows at the Empanada Parlour in the hopes some fine young Latino would ask us to dance.
One night, I spent the entire evening spinning around the floor with a fly South American cat who didn’t speak a lick of English. He kept talking to me in Spanish. I don’t speak Spanish. At all. And in that strange era when both my own ethnic identity and that of my country were in a state of flux, I had a revelation about Grupo Fantasma, Latino culture and my adopted hometown. Trying to sum up the experience of a Grupo show, my first instinct was to make a bunch of stupid comparisons “A Grupo show is like a steamy night in Bogota,” “a dangerous liaison on the border,” that kind of thing. But when I really thought about it, I realized Grupo shows were none of that. Grupo Fantasma was born in a stoner college town with a strong Latino community where a diverse crowd embraced the opportunity to get down to tequila-soaked funk grooves and clumsily stumble through cumbia moves. Grupo Fantasma is an integral part of the sound of our city. And I’m very proud that an international superstar is hipping the rest of the world to the way we roll.
Friday: Grupo Fantasma with DJ Chicken George at the Parish $15 at the door.
Saturday: Grupo Fantasma with DJ Chicken George at Antone’s $12 in advance, $15 at the door.
(photo by RPGough DODD TECHNOLOGIES)
Saturday: Mad Professor at Flamingo Cantina. One of the early pioneers of dub music, the trippy, looped-out, largely instrumental stepchild of reggae, Mad Professor earned his name tinkering with electronic equipment to build his own studio. He’s collaborated with everyone from the Beastie Boys and trip-hop juggernaut Massive Attack to Jamiroquai and Sade. Should be another irie evening at Austin’s home for reggae music. $18
Saturday: Afrofreque at Lamberts. Is there any such thing as a vegetarian filet mignon substitute? I seriously doubt it. But if Lambert’s keeps booking my favorite almost urban acts I might have to start lobbying for the creation of one. This week, the upscale chop house has booked Afrofreque, an r&b/soul act fronted by emcee Tiger Liu, formerly of the fantastic old-school Austin hip-hop act Big Game Hunter.
Saturday: Big Chief Kevin Goodman’s pre-Mardi Gras party at Ruta Maya. Big Chief Kevin and Cyril Neville both landed in Austin following Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans in 2005. Since their arrival, Austin has been treated to a swampy mix of gumbo funk and colorful Creole culture. Chief Kevin, in full Mardi Gras Indian garb, plays host for the evening while Neville’s Tribe 13 lays down the grooves.
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