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Sample Track 1:
"Bionic Boogaloo" from Bio Ritmo
Sample Track 2:
"Lisandra" from Bio Ritmo
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Bio Ritmo may have made one of the best groove-oriented discs I’ve heard all year, the ambitious and cinematic salsa set Bionico, but in this genre, it’s especially important to prove yourself in front of a roomful of dancers. Unfortunately, Toronto’s salsa cabal decided to take the night off.  

The band made their second appearance at Lula Lounge on Friday, and their reputation precedes them. Riding a crest of rave reviews (including my own), they had the fervent endorsement of Lula’s heart and soul, soundman Howard Laurie, who swears that their first appearance was one of the greatest salsa gigs he’d ever seen.

As the band took the stage, I was tempering my expectations — surely the lack of energy in the less-than-half-full room would slowly poison the evening. My concerns were blown away as the band launched into their opener, “Hermano”. Although it was one of the straighter tracks they would play this evening, they attacked it at terrific speed, achieving an effortless groove instantly. Right from the jump the bongo/conga/timbale heart of the band were in lockstep and silenced the tepid conversation in the room. This being Toronto, few audience members were ready to start dancing just yet.  The descarga midsection of the song hinted at things to come — Giustino Riccio switched from timbales to snare and kick drum, pounding out a funk counter-rhythm, for a moment transforming his percussion setup into a stripped-down drum kit.  His manipulation of these elements would become more prominent as the concert heated up.  Whenever Riccio soloed, the energy of the band peaked in a way that isn’t always apparent on disc.

Not that extra energy was required. Again and again, band spun out rapid tempos without even breaking a sweat. Getting deeper into the first set, I started to notice the band's truly inventive songwriting. Very much looking back at the NuYorican sound, each song was a five minute mini-suite which progressed from simple hooks to thick chords and increasingly diverse keyboard textures. The horn parts were as thrilling as the best blaxploitation soundtracks, while keyboardist Marlysse Simmons added harmonic ambiguities to her rhythms that kept spellbinding. She’s not a heavy-hitter either in stature or in style, but her nimbleness recalled Charlie Palmieri or even Fats Waller.  

After about half a dozen tunes, even the timid underclassmen and women of salsa had fallen under the spell. Nearly every single person vacated their tables and gingerly took the floor for “Sombras”, “Orgullo” and “Seguiras Criticando,” whose intensity seemed hopelessly above the weight class of these novice dancers. Nevertheless, the shared vigor between band and audience was the high point of the night.

And then the bulk of the audience left, apparently satisfied by their three song display of extroversion. For a moment or two in the second set, the band’s focus wandered when they no doubt realized that this meagre gig wasn’t going to get any better. Nevertheless, their boldest music was saved for this latter part of the concert. The arrangements got even jazzier and the soloing stepped up, particularly that of powerful trombonist Tobias Whitaker.  Also during this second set, trumpeter Bob Miller doubled on synth a few times.  When Riccio laid down a thumping kick drum, bassist Edward Prendergast broke out a fatter sound and both keyboards teamed up, all of the sudden they started sounding like Liquid Liquid. The band showed off their considerable samba influences and successfully channeled calypso, CTI-style fusion, boogaloo, rockers reggae and even a bellydance breakdown with utter mastery.

Though every song in both sets was damn near a transformative experience, there simply should have been more people there. It was the kind of gig where you find yourself looking anxiously at the door, hoping for an influx of people to come in and validate the evening. I’ll speculate that the Richmond, VA based Bio Ritmo weren’t orthodox enough for Toronto’s hardcore salsa set, and their fusion hasn’t found enough ears among the nujazz crowd. The main optimism to be found this evening was the hope that a return engagement will work out better for one of the best salsa bands I’ve ever seen.

-- by David Dacks 10/27/08 >> go there
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