Concert Review: Jose "Pepito" Gomez y La Bola Bay Area Debut

There is so much great music going on in the Bay Area, and only so much time and money to see it. Thankfully, I made it out to the swanky Club Anton near Oakland's Jack London Square on Friday, March 13 to see Jose “Pepito” Gomez and La Bola. The tickets weren't cheap -- $30 at the door -- but it turned out to be worth the price to see this band's Bay Area debut.

In May 2008 Gomez moved to Miami (he is now settled in New York), leaving his native Cuba, where -- among many other honors -- for eight years he was the lead singer for Cesar "Pupy" Pedroso's band Los Que Son Son. Gomez was born in 1971 in Florida, in the province of Camaguey. His career path has intersected with many of the greatest musicians of Cuba, including latin jazzers late of Irakere.

The band at Club Anton mixed New York players with some Bay Area greats: On the New York side were Ariacne Trujillo on piano, Victor Garcia-Herreros on drums, Aryam Vasquez on congas, Raul Navarrette on trombone and David Hertzberg on bass. Representing the Bay were Mike Olmos and Jeff Lewis on trumpets, Javier Navarrette (brother of Raul) on guiro, Anthony Blea on violin, and Havana natives Erick Barbería and Félix Samuel Pérezon on coro.

With so much Cuban soul in the band, the feel was unmistakeably authentic. The fluid movement and rhythmic yet mellifluous sound of the three singers created an irresistibly danceable concert. Pianist Trujillo was hard to ignore, with her in-the-pocket montunos and charismatic smiles to the audience and with band members. Trujillo also turned on the charm when she sang Olvidarte from behind the piano. Her voice -- as best I could hear -- was surprisingly deep, with a beautiful vibrato, and bore some resemblance to Albita's. The group easily overcame a typical obstacle for such shows -- insufficient sound engineering with a mix that all but obscured violinist Blea (except during his electrifying solos) and percussionist Navarette. The last two songs of the show were marred by the painful drone of bass amp feedback, but the band soldiered on while someone from the club rummaged around behind them trying to fix it.

As the star of the show, Pepito did not disappoint. His voice is a clear, acrobatic tenor that easily pierces the sonic fabric without any harshness. The set list included Pupy y Los Que Son Son songs such as La Borrachera and Del Trabajo a La Casa, as well as the Alejandro Sanz tune Aprendiz. The audience was well-versed in all his tunes and readily sang back coros and responses to Gomez's calls in certain sections. Most everyone was a Cuban dance aficionado as well, and while only one rueda formed briefly, there were many wonderful partner dancers on display.



For me it was a lovely reunion with musician friends, many of the people with whom my husband and I went to Cuba (led by Alisa Frohman of Plaza Cuba, who also made an appearance), and Facebook friends. It was very entertaining to recognize and be recognized by people I had "friended" online through similar interests and other Bay Area circles. It felt like the perfect realization of what online networking should ultimately be about: Physically and personally expanding one's social circle to include others who share your enthusiasm for, say, Cuban music or live bands.

I even got to dance with someone I met while traveling to Los Angeles in December with Sidney Weaverling and Ryan Mead, dance instructors who will be teaching and performing at my next show. He and his wife had come up from L.A. specially for the show (interestingly, we share another connection in that he's from Cuernavaca and my husband is from Cuautla, both in the state of Morelos, Mexico. We discovered this in a conversation about Chapulín Colorado). I went home absolutely soaked in sweat and positive Cuban vibes. A great band made it a great night!