So, I’m counting down my list of a dozen memorable live performance in 2024, with Karina Rykman’s show at 7th Street Entry No. 12, and Saltydog’s show closing down The Ripple Bar in Duluth on Feb. 29 at No. 11 (read those writeups here and here).
I had some idea what to expect when I headed to St. Paul’s Turf Club on July 10 to see Etran de L’Aïr, the Saharan desert blues band that has caught the attention of many a King Gizz fan such as myself.
They absolutely ripped.
But it was opener Diles que no me maten (which translates to “Tell them not to kill me,” a name inspired by the Juan Rulfo book of the same name) that caught me by surprise. Of all the bands that popped onto my radar in 2024, none were (unwittingly) after my heart as much as this Mexico City-based quintet.
There’s a lot of ways to describe this indie alt rock band: experimental and psychedelic are two. They touch on prog, krautrock, post-punk and modern psych and embrace improvisation.
At one point, the band’s main vocalist, Jonas Derbez, shifted between singing and playing the saxophone and flute. The flute was cleverly stashed in the bell of the sax while not in use. More than one member of the band was multi-instrumental. There’s five pieces to this band, but they reached beyond the bass, guitar, keyboards, drums, sax and flute — an accordian came out at one point. There was a synthesizer put to proper experimental use. And along those same lines, guitarist Geronimo Garcia made experimental use of his effects pedal in ways not often seen. Of all the bands I learned of this year (and there were many), these guys stick out more than any to me. It didn’t hurt that I got to see them play an amazing, intimate live show up close, even it was a short opening set.
I chatted with both Derbez, briefly, and the band’s bass player, Andres Lupone, who confirmed many of the band’s or his own influences, which included some American jambands. I’m not exactly sure why that pleased me so much other than to put it this way: an artists influences are what they are, but, if a band chooses to focus on improvisation at all, you’d think they’d seek out other great improvisors, regardless of genre. To me, that starts with jazz, but must also include the American jamband scene.
These guys have their own trippy, primal sound that has since worked its way heavily into my Spotify playlists, and they have a number of incredible songs you should check out. I’ve posted a few here.