(Photo: Pompi Gutnisky)
The stands of Buenos Aires' mammoth River Plate soccer stadium seemed made of rubber Sunday night as 70,000 Soda Stereo hinchas bounced to "De Musica Ligera," one of 29 career-spanning songs Soda played over three hours. It was the third night of an amazing weekend of sold-out shows, the furia that porteņos had been waiting ten years for. I had flown South on a nostalgia trip to see the return of what I can now say for sure was the greatest rock band ever en espaņol, but Soda delivered much more than memories: Gustavo Cerati, as his solo career has proved, is a total monstruo; Charly and Zeta came out of the gate with power and it was clear the three were having as good a time as everyone else was. The shows were huge but intimate, elegant and raw, old but new, visually surprising - actually, a lot like Buenos Aires itself. Soda took off for Chile Monday morning, and after Latin America they'll be playing Los Angeles and Miami. Get there New York fanticos - Cerati says a New York show is not going to happen.
(Photo: Pompi Gutnisky)
The crowd ranged from teenagers to ochenteros, who like the members of Soda, were just into their twenties when Argentina was flung from the dirty war into the disastrous Malvinas (Falklands) War and, as suddenly, into democracy. Julio Cortazer once referred to a Sunday soccer game in Buenos Aires as "hope dressed as a goal." In the Eighties, hope, and happiness too, dressed as music. It was Soda who declared a ban on national soul searching and called for music for music's sake. Then they took the party all over, becoming the first truly international Latin American rock band, evolving on every album until they split in 1997. Simple songs? Maybe, but there's a lot you can read into those lyrics and many last night sang every word. Two 19-year-old girls I spoke to shrugged off the poetry: "It's just good music." They had been sleeping outside the stadium since Thursday, going back to stand in front of the stage every night until Soda was gone.
(Photo: Damian Benetucci)
The concerts were visually stunning, with lighting like art museum fireworks and video backgrounds so beyond the common graphic tricks. The video images were unusually luminous, making it actually enjoyable to watch the band on screens around the stage. This was the work of Martin Phillips, known for his stage designs for Daft Punk and Nine Inch Nails.
"People kept telling me that when the concert started everyone was going to go loco," Phillips said after the concert. "I was like yeah, I've been in music for a long time, I know. But when the concert started I was up in the tower. The crowd started moving and the tower started shaking. Really shaking."
(Photo: Judy-Cantor-Navas)
The public screamed most for the early hits: "Persiana Americana," "Profugos." The band added a reggaeton rhythm to an explosive version of "El Temblor."
At the start of the first concert on Friday night, Los Soda seemed stiff for the first few songs. By Sunday night they were so loose and relaxed it felt like they were having te para 70,000.
(Photo, left : Pompi Gutnisky)
(Photo, right:Damian Benetucci)
Here is Soda Stereo's full set list from their October 21st show:
JUEGOS DE SEDUCCION
TELE - K
IMAGENES RETRO
TEXTURAS
HOMBRE AL AGUA
CIUDAD DE LA FURIA
PICNIC EN EL 4 B
ZOOM
EL TEMBLOR
FINAL CAJA NEGRA
TRATAME SUAVEMENTE
SIGNOS
SOBREDOSIS DE TV
DANZA ROTA
PERSIANA AMERICANA
FUE
EN REMOLINOS
PRIMAVERA 0
NO EXISTES
SUELES DEJARME SOLO
SEPTIMO DIA
UN MILLON DE AņOS LUZ
DE MUSICA LIGERA
DISCO ETERNO
CAE EL SOL
PROFUGOS
ZONA DE PROMESAS
NADA PERSONAL
VITAMINAS
Portions of album content provided by All Music Guide © 2011 All Media Guide, LLC ® 1999-2011 Rhapsody International Inc.
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