Bill loved both the Friday show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Queens extravaganza with Tirso and Mayito and both came off without problems. He highly recommends the second round tonight. He was able to see all of both shows easily.

Links: BAM - Havana d'Primera at Maunaloa.

After the BAM show he made it Queens with plenty of time to spare. The Queens show went from 1:00 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. Mayito opened with a band that included at least some NY musicians; then HdP played its normal set; then Tirso played with HdP. There was a lot of interaction with all combinations of musicians and singers on stage. Bill would not part with any more details so we'll have to wait for his reports. If you were at either show, please email us.

TIPS FOR TONIGHT: When you get to Maunaloa (click here for google map), keep in mind that the building says The Nile Restaurant, not Maunaloa, which is in fact the upstairs room of the NIle Restaurant (see photo below). The doors open at 8:00 and the show will probably start at about 12:00 or 1:00 again. That's all I could get. I still don't know if Mayito will be at Maunaloa but Tirso definitely will be and anyone lucky enough to be in the NY area should not fail to miss this historic opportunity. [Kevin Moore]

CHARANGA HABANERA UPDATE: You can't keep a good band down. After being used and abused in New York, Charanga Habanera played to a sold-out house in Washington DC and has 8 more shows in December, starting on the 8th in Orlando, then 5 more FL shows, one in Vegas and one in Puerto Rico. Click here for Rosy's DC report.

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I spoke with Tirso and he confirms that the show at La Boom in Queens (718-204-2069) will indeed happen. Also, tomorrow, Tirso (not sure about Mayito) will also be with HdP in Bergen NJ at Maunaloa (888-584-3070). The caveat is that both shows are likely to start very late, so be prepared. It will be worth it. Call the clubs for updates.

Unlike many ill-advised all-star combinations that wind up being musically inferior to a straight show by a rehearsed band, Tirso and Mayito are ideally suited for this kind of situation. Think of Tirso's legendary appearance with Issac on Dec. 31, 1999 at Casa de la Música, or Mayito's equally brilliant cameo on the legendary live version of Solar de la California in April of 2000 at Marina Hemingway (that's Bombón on drums). Add to this the fact that at the beginning of his career Tirso's voice was compared to Mayito's leading to the famous line on Pupy's version of La bomba soy yo.

yo canto con mi garganta
[I sing with my throat - it sounds much more poetic in Spanish!]
tengo limpia mi conciencia 
[I have a clean conscience]
y si hay cualquier semejanza
[and if there's some resemblance]
eso es pura coincidencia
[it's pure coincidence] [audio example]

The combination of these two on the same stage has the potentional to rival the legendary "Controversia" performance of Cándido Fabré and Paulito FG.

I hear the backup band is pretty good too. [Kevin Moore]

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Preliminary reports coming in now.... It's looking like San Francisco is undoubtedly the capital of Timba in the United States. Even the beach town of Santa Cruz - one hour south of San Fran - outsells mid-town Manhattan in metropolitan New York.

No Tirso Duarte, no Charanga Habanera...guests include pianist Alex Tosca and an ex-Muñequitos singer. A pumped-up crowd going absolutely crazy over a brilliant show by Alexander Abreu & Havana D' Primera. The band is in incredible shape. 

Havana D'Primera will be there (SOB's) tomorrow night. They are on fire and not to be missed. In regards to anything else your guess is as good as ours.

Alexander Abreu y Havana D'Primera - Photo by Tom Ehrlich

THE MORAL OF THE STORY: If you're within striking distance of Manhattan, Queens or Bergen, go see Havana D' Primera - it doesn't get better than this and no amount of mixing and matching will make it any better. If whoever shows up and some special magic happens, all the better, but go to see Havana D' Primera because it's simply the tightest, most professional, most creative, and God knows, the most SOULFUL Cuban band you're going to see for a long long time.

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Fito Reinoso with Alexander - photo by Tom Ehrlich - click for full gallery

Next shows are SOBs Wed/Thurs.

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