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Madrid, Center of the Spanish Universe

We set off for Madrid squeezed into the van with all our equipment and aspirations of big things. If there were ears that needed to hear the group, they were in Madrid. I was excited, as always, to travel to a new place and play shows. This was second tour and another three shows in three nights.

We stayed with Diego's sister who, as soon as we arrived, set us up with piles of tasty meat and vegetables, homemade deserts and many funny stories about Diego's childhood. After a great meal and many laughs we headed out to our first show...

We played at a club called 'Colonial Norte'. It was located at the old central train station that had been converted into what back home would be called a 'mall'. A large, old elegant building remodeled and filled with clothing stores and restaurants. At one end of the building was our club.

The stage was mediocre and the crowd pretty small, but good sized for a Thursday (according to the owner) and very receptive. Being a Thursday also prevented some of the members of the band from making this show. They had to work on Friday and would be showing up for the last two gigs. We were: Diego Paqué (flamenco guitar and vocals), Gorka Lasa (keys and backup vocals), Josep Mascaró (violin), Pol Sabata (percussion), and me (bass and backup vocals). We played well in this format and I think it set the stage for the coming shows.

We had a couple drinks and then, after we all agreed that we needed to save ourselves for the next two nights, we headed back to Diego's sister's house and crashed. Pol, the percussionist, and I were placed in the kids' bedroom, a fifteen year old metal head and an 8 year old princess. Needless to say each side of the room was decorated differently...I slept in metalhead's bed, a poster of Sepultura above me. Pol, covered in Bart Simpson sheets, was quicker on the draw and passed out immediatly. Even with the poster, I drifted off easily into a comfortable slumber.

Pol, Josep and I went out on the town the next morning to explore the sights. The first thing we noticed is that the Madrid subway is amazingly clean and efficient. We went to the Plaza del Sol and a few really great little neighborhoods. We stopped at a bar and had some tapas: AMAZING! I don't know how a land locked city can have the freshest seafood I have eaten in Spain, but they did. I asked and everyone says that as the capital, they demand the best quality. Overall the best dish was 'cesina', a cured beef sliced super thin drizzled with an amazing olive oil.

That night we played at a famous club called 'Clamores'. We had high expectations as many of the bigger bands in Spain and internationally had graced the same stage. We arrived and a blues band was playing, which I am always fond of. We did not go on until 1:30 AM (SPAIN!), so this was the 'opener' even thought they were billed as separate shows. I think it is some sort of double booking thing to make more money.

The sound man looked like hell. The kind of hell like, this guy is addicted to something and he didn't get his fix that day. For those of you who have never had to deal with a soundman, it is basically like having somebody who doesn't know you and doesn't really care, mold how you sound to the audience. Unfortunately soundmen (I would use a gender neutral term, but I don't think in my 18 years on the stage have I ever had a female sound person) are usually inattentive and lazy. We added two more members of the group for the show: Paco Peña (palmas and cajón) and David Berenguer (electric guitar), so this annoyed him even more as we were a total of 7 instruments. He then proceeded to be a total asshole, but we got things to sound relatively good, even with his resistance. The crowd was again not as large as we would have hoped, but there was plenty of hootin' and hollerin' and that always makes the night feel like a success.

Afterwards, at around 4 AM, since the subway did not open for another two hours, we decided to check out the late-night life of Madrid. We ended up at a packed club that, strangely, was playing great music! In Barcelona all you hear in clubs is 1. Electronic music 2. 80's music This was funk, reggae, soul, rock. We danced the early morning away. I didn't make it back to Diego's sisters that night. I ended up on a couch at a friend of a friend's apartment.

The next night, after a groggy day in the beautiful sunshine, we played a club called, La Boca del Lobo. Nice sound guy (anomaly, see above), great sound system, and a great crowd. I think we played the best show of my short career with the band. We were tight, the energy level was there for every song, and most of all we were fully enjoying ourselves. We ended up dancing the night away at the same bar as they had another amazing DJ spin that night when we were done. When we got exhausted and made the move to leave I stepped out into the street and it was packed! Filled to the gills with people going from one club to the next. It was energy of Saturday night that I don't think I have ever felt.

We headed back the next day with a couple bucks in our pocket, the whole trip paid for and some great memories. Because of a transportation issue (a story for another time) Diego and I had to take the bus back. It gave of some quality time to reflect on the weekend and the future. We did not achieve all that we wanted to in terms of great crowds every night, but I think we made good impressions everywhere we went and would be welcomed back to any of the three clubs. Poco a poco, little by little.