{"id":4831,"date":"2019-06-18T05:01:04","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T10:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=4831"},"modified":"2019-12-17T20:11:18","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T01:11:18","slug":"review-monsieur-perine-paradise-rock-club-6-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2019\/06\/18\/review-monsieur-perine-paradise-rock-club-6-5\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Monsieur Perine @ Paradise Rock Club 6\/5"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Isabel Contreras<\/em><\/p>\n

Monsieur Perine\u2019s June 5th performance at the Paradise Rock Club fearlessly embodied the band\u2019s spirit, showing true authenticity towards their sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Colombian group never took itself too seriously onstage. \u00a0They were one with the crowd, and created an immediate relationship with spectators, aided by the small and personal space the venue provided. \u00a0This relationship was not one of unattainable idealization or reverence, but one of intimacy and complicity. Everyone sang the same lyrics, and danced to the same beat; exactly who was holding the microphone was not too important.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a part of the band\u2019s \u201cLa Sombra\u201d world tour, the performance featured songs from all of Monsieur Perine\u2019s discography, highlighting their latest release, \u201cEncanto Tropical,\u201d nominated for a Latin Grammy for best album last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bursts of color, quirky tableaus, and traditional Latin American components adorned and complemented every piece beautifully, making it impossible to simply categorize Monsieur Perine as a Latin rhythm band, a psychedelic pop band, or a swing band, when they are so clearly something in between.<\/span><\/p>\n

Roughly translating to \u201cRomantic Swing,\u201d their song, \u201cSuin Romanticon,\u201d is a clear example of these blurred lines between genres. \u00a0With clear swing elements, like the skillful saxophone and trombone, and even a reference in the title, the song surprises listeners with bongos, latin guitar rhythms, and of course, pop vocals in Spanish. \u00a0The merger of these familiar elements results in something completely unique, that is still comfortable and welcoming for listeners.<\/span><\/p>\n

Monsieur Perine offered top tier instrumental skills in a relaxed, effortless environment. \u00a0Led by vocalist Catalina Garcia, the band is composed of six other elements. Two musicians on strings, two on brass, and two on percussion. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The ensemble expertly came together, but Jairo Alfonso and Abstin Caviedes, who played the saxophone, clarinet, trombone and bugle, stole the show. \u00a0The two brass players are exceptional musicians, and even greater performers. Wearing matching outfits with checkered pants, the two danced in unison, and playfully interacted with the audience, all while hitting insane notes on their respective instruments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lead singer Catalina Garcia is a showstopper, with gracious latin dance moves and a fiery attitude. \u00a0Her energy bounced off the walls, and infected her audience with liberating ecstasy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout the concert, the musicians burst into choreographed dance. \u00a0It came as a surprise to the audience, and was even confusing at first – seeing two brass players doing synchronised kicks while playing a solo, or watching the band come together to form different shapes in tableaus. \u00a0It turned out to really work with the music, and it was these kinds of surprises that kept the audience on their toes, never knowing what to expect.<\/span><\/p>\n

The band played hits, like \u201cBailar Contigo\u201d (Dancing With You), \u201cSabor a Mi\u201d (My Taste) and \u201cVeneno\u201d (Poison), but the most powerful performances were those where Garcia spoke to the audience, and brought everyone together in facing an issue. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before playing \u201cEncanto Tropical\u201d (Tropical Charm), a song that pays tribute to Latin America\u2019s culture and natural vistas, she spoke about the hard times people in Colombia and other Latin American countries are facing, not only in relation to the Trump administration, but to their current governments and economic situation. \u00a0Monsieur Perine filled Latino audience members with pride and reverence, as they sang about their countries\u2019 spirit and nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

Near the end of the show, the band performed \u201cMi Libertad\u201d (My Freedom), a song about empowerment. \u00a0Before this piece, Garcia spoke of the power of women, in creating life and sustaining it, but reminded her audience women are capable of doing more. \u00a0She referenced Latin American sexism and gender violence, and called the audience to action. Featuring traditional Latin American percussion and throat singing, \u201cMi Libertad\u201d resembled a war cry, as the audience came together and sang as one.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the band members said their goodbyes, they shook hands, played with the audience and took a group selfie, not before teaching the audience a few salsa dance moves so they could dance along to their final song. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This cooperative atmosphere characterized Monsieur Perine\u2019s performance. \u00a0In times of international tensions and hostility against the Latino community, it was refreshing to see an audience so diverse in age, nationality and personality come together to enjoy a night of music as eclectic as themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Isabel Contreras Monsieur Perine\u2019s June 5th performance at the Paradise Rock Club fearlessly embodied the band\u2019s spirit, showing true authenticity towards their sound. The Colombian group never took itself too seriously onstage. \u00a0They were one with the crowd, and created an immediate relationship with spectators, aided by the small and personal space the venue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15726,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525],"tags":[800,799,117],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4831"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4831"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4835,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4831\/revisions\/4835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}