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NormanKliman -> RE: video Salmerón-Núnez at Duende (Jan. 30 2009 3:53:43)
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Hi everyone, glad to hear you're enjoying these videos! Plenty of room for commentary, if anyone has anything to point out or ask. The videos are only up for a few weeks at a time, anyway, in case anyone's afraid of "going on record" or anything like that. I was hoping that someone would give us a description of the different cantes and how they all fit together to make "an alegrías." Or maybe point out where some of Pepe's falsetas are from. I know he plays a lot of Gerardo, Vicente, etc.
Aisla, I always had that same sensation. I'd given up on trying to find the real thing in Madrid (no theater, no mic and not just whiny tangos and bulerías all night, only sometimes a compás). I heard about the peña but it took me over a year to find it. From the first night, I was hooked! What still suprises me is that it's one of very few places in Madrid offering the real thing, as described above, but also in terms of how often they schedule performances and exactly who's going to get up there to sing (they hire professionals and never let audience members sing, unless he or she is a well-known artist). In addition to all of that, the house guitarist Pepe Núñez is really good at what he does, so it was like the answer to my prayers when I finally found the place. I've heard people criticize the peña, saying that it's Madrid flamenco, or that the entrance fee they charge (no drinks included) has nothing to do with the spirit of a peña. Most Spaniards who haven't been there just assume that the singer is whoever happens to be drunk enough to give it try. So it hardly gets the recognition that it deserves, IMO.
A couple of anecdotes to give you an idea of the quick reflexes of Pepe the guitarist: One night, the peña was packed with people. There wasn't even room for an afterthought! [8D] Somebody introduced the singer, the audience quieted down, and just a fraction of a second before they launched into the first cante, somebody accidentally bumped into and switched on the peña's CD player, which started playing some really loud bulerías. Before anyone had fully realized what had happened, Pepe shouted out to some imaginary accomplice at the back of the peña: "Come on, I told you it's got to be in synch!"
On another occasion, I bought a guitar and took it in to get Pepe's opinion. It was early in the evening, and it was just the two of us in the office of the peña. He played it and looked it over, pointing out a few details that confirmed his opinion that it was a well-made guitar. He handed it back to me, saying that he liked it a lot. In this time, people were starting to arrive and the office was now filled with people. The guitar was in its case and we were talking about other things. Now and then someone would ask if I was going to play, and I explained that I'd just brought it in to get Pepe's opinion. A while later, when I got up to put the guitar in a safe place, Pepe called out to me as I was going through the door. Everyone stopped talking to listen to him. He got a very sad look on his face and said, "That's a real shame about the guitar..."
Talk about an inside joke...[:D]
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