At a sold out show at The Observatory in Santa Ana, CA, on Sunday night, Panteón Rococó headlined what is by far one of the most exciting and energetic shows this year.
Originally announced openers, Lost Acapulco and Hector Guerra were joined by two of the most exciting local ska bands, La Infinita and La Resistencia, turning this night into a night of hip-hop, ska, punk, surf music, rock & roll, moshing, skanking and body surfing.
Spanish/Bolivian, producer and MC, Hector Guerra kicked off the night with his mix of hi-hop, dance and cumbias and although the rocker crowd seemed a little uneasy at first, Hector’s charisma, stage presence and his messages of unity had the crowd dancing to his beats by the end of his set.
Local Ska band, La Infinita, took the stage and quickly had the mosh pit skanking but clearly one of the highlights of their set was their reggae rendition of the classic Beatles tune, “Don’t Let Me Down.”
L.A. Ska scene veterans, La Resistencia, took the stage by storm and kept raising the energy level and body surfers began to appear on top of the crowd.
Being in southern California, the surf music sounds of Lost Acapulco, seemed more than appropriate. Decked out in their wrestler masks, it only seemed appropriate that they be joined by another wrestler mask wearing guitarist, and that was Danny Amis from Los Straight Jackets; and to close out their set, they were joined by a masked Dr. Shenka, lead singer for Panteón Rococó.
When Panteón Rococó finally hit the stage, the crowd was more than ready to receive their unsung heroes and they would not be disappointed. With his command of the stage, Dr. Shenka led the band through several cuts of their latest album, Ni Carne Ni Pescado, including their cover of “Gangsters” from ska pioneers, The Specials. The relentless audience graciously helped out Dr. Shenka sing on “La Rubia Y El Demonio” and hits like “Esta Noche”, “Vendedora de Caricias” and “La Carencia” took the hot and sweaty Observatory to the brink of delirium.
Not even halfway through their opening number, “Hostilidades” bodies went up on the top of the crowd and began to surf towards the stage and as the pressure from the mosh pit got stronger, some of the audience in front of the security barrier asked to be rescued and the security staff at The Observatory were more than willing to help out, so kudos to The Observatory security team, since, unfortunately, we are normally used to people being manhandled by security.
