Stick Men in Buenos Aires & Montevideo - 2015 tour

Stick Men came to South America again (in fact their tour began in San Jose, Costa Rica), but as in 2012 I had to go to Argentina and Uruguay to see them playing. I tried to find a producer to bring them to Sao Paulo, but I haven't found the right person... Maybe next year!

ND Teatro

May 29th, 2015 - Buenos Aires
This year was a little different as the first show would be at the ND Teatro in Buenos Aires .

Having used Airbnb to get a place in Chicago last year to see King Crimson, I used it again to find a place in Buenos Aires two blocks from the venue (I also had found a place closer to Teatro Cariola to see Steven Wilson in Santiago a month ago). It was a nice big and old apartment managed by Laura, that I must come back one day with my family.

Window view

My plane got a little late, but as soon I get there I got in touch with Max Mazzella, the road manager I knew in 2012. We met at the theater and he put me in to enjoy the soundcheck that was in progress.

Soundcheck

After the soundcheck Markus Reuter and Tony Levin met some guys who gave them Argentinian built pedals for them to try/use later. Then I met Markus and we headed to his hotel chatting about the previous concerts and long travels in a van.

I only had a small sandwich in the flight and I was hungry, so Max recommended me El Cuartito, a pizza restaurant that Pat Mastelotto had been before (and they went there again after the concert that night). A very simple restaurant with a very tasty pizza!

El Cuartito

The concert started around 9:15pm with Markus opening soundscape followed by a new set list. "Big Dog", "Indiscipline", "Slow Glide" and "Red", among others, were replaced by "Crack in the Sky", "Nude Ascending Staircase", "Horatio" and "Sartori in Tangier". It was great to see them playing this tune that was preceeded by a short improvisation.

Stick Men at ND Teatro

Their playing were tight, strong but not deafening with differences in the arrangement of some well known tunes like "Soup" and "Firebird". The mix, by Robert Frazza again, was fantastic; one of the best sound experiences I had.

Robert Frazza.

After the show there were about 200 people waiting for them to sign their CDs - I've seen copies of the Argentina DVD (KCCC 47) and "DEEP" among the fans -, but I went back to my apartment since I'd be leaving for Montevideo with the band early in the morning. Later Markus told me that they felt kind of threatened, cornered, with so many people pushing each other for a picture...

People waiting for the band at the theater entrance hall.
In the wall a homage to Mercedes Sosa.

May 30th, 2015
At 7am I met Stick Men and crew in the Buquebus terminal boarding room to Montevideo. The cross thru Río de la Plata (or River Plate) took a little more than 2 hours.

In Montevideo I didn't have the Airbnb option as the rooms/places listed weren't available for that day. So I found a nice hotel thru Booking.com. Hotel Palacio is a nice old hotel in the Ciudad Vieja (Old Town) area.

Hotel Palacio

Balcony view at Hotel Palacio

As soon as I connected to the hotel wifi I received a message from Markus inviting me for lunch. We went to Parada Sur, a restaurant specialized in 'asados' (barbecue), and I could ease my curiosity about matters relating to his music, producing the work of other musicians, the tour with David Cross in Japan, new album releases, etc.

Parada Sur

Later we met again at La Trastienda Club where I took the opportunity to witness another soundcheck. Frazza, the sound engineer, needed a place in the middle of the room to fine tune the mix during the presentation, but all seats were sold (!) and he stayed in the back, closer to the mix console. My name was in the guestlist (no seat) and I enjoyed the concert standing on the right, about 15 feet from the stage. Markus' soundscape intro was a little longer that the previous night and was followed by "Hide in the Trees", "Vrooom Vrooom", "Smudge", "Crack in the Sky" (in Spanish), improv + "Horatio", Mike Oldfield's "Mirage", improv + "Satori in Tangier", "Cusp", Fripp's "Breathless", "Nude Ascending Staircase", "Industry", "Firebird Suite", "Soup" and "Larks' II" as encore.

In the beginning Tony was uncomfortable with the stage lighting; it was flashing and moving in a way it interfered in his playing. After some complaints it became static with subtle changes in the side spotlights.

Stick Men at La Trastienda Club

Except for a small flaw in Tony's mic during "Soup", the sound was great too. Anyway the band felt that the energy/empathy with the audience was lower than the night before. For me it was a wonderful concert with minor changes in the setlist.

After the concert the theater staff put everyone out and let them get into in groups of three or four for autographs and photos. Max took me backstage where I stayed with Markus and Frazza. Markus wasn't feeling well, somewhat down with a flu, and dropped the signing event. Random chat about airports, Santos Dumont, the Wright Brothers and the Lindbergh's transatlantic flight that I don't know how started... Then Tony and Pat came back and right after I got an autograph from Pat in his Mastica '99 I asked him about a HoBoLeMa 'official' release. He said he had assembled about one hour of music sourced from some concerts, but the idea of releasing it in this format was refused by Terry Bozzio who prefered the shows were not edited, but presented in its entirety, what Pat argued that some parts of improvisations do not work. I told him I had some bootlegs that a friend sent me and he replied that one of their concerts was aired by a Ducth radio and I should find it in the web. He added that the best concerts were the first ones in Japan...

I got a ride with them back to their hotel (mine was located two blocks away) and had a little chat with Max. They would be going back to Buenos Aires the next day to a workshop and then the last concert in Cordoba.

With Max Mazzella

Although there were fewer surprises than in 2012, these were intense, funny and fantastic moments and for that I have to thank Max for the help and fellowship, and Markus, Pat, Tony and Robert for their patience and camaraderie in accepting an intruder - but a true fan - among them. Share a few moments with these formidable professionals is an opportunity we cannot miss.