DB

The Devendra Banhart concert at Somerville Theater was great musically, he began seated in blue docksiders on the floor of the stage to sing "Quedate Luna" more slowly. In certain songs an utter command of phrasing and the weight of choice words.

The surrounding hippie antics by students were tiresome in such a small theater. His band amplified many songs, playing well. Thinking about Banhart's evocation of race and ethnicity on this album, what intent some of his Spanish songs carry or impose. How invisible is Venezuela in his music? Not as a measure of his art. But what is that tremor in "Luna de Margarita," almost a wailing.

Opening verses, folk style sung in caraqueño Spanish, "Pero me voy a tomar un traguito ahora..." The Beatles in Spanish after an introductory epitaph. (The Guardian misreads the Spanish songs on the album.)

"White Reggae Troll/Africa" gets boring for me, though. Not quite The Clash's ability to maintain reggae dub productions and beats on Sandinista!. For masterful vesions there's also Jerry Garcia c. 1977.

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Israel Centeno has posted his short story "El golpe" (The Coup) at Citizenmurder.