When Babasonicos decided to begin Thursday’s concert at the Howard Theatre with the mysteriously seductive “Flora y Fauno” (Flora and Faun,) fans knew they were in for a treat. Singing, “Ahora déjame que me engañe a mí mismo, entiendo que no soy de fiar” (Now let me fool myself, I understand that I’m not one to trust,) over hypnotizing guitar riffs, the band began their hour-long concert.
Combining the name of Indian guru Sai Baba of Shirdi and the Spanish title of The Jetsons cartoon (Los Supersónicos), Babasonicos was formed in the early 1990s. The unusual combination of elements to develop their namesake is a true representation of the band's experimental and eclectic sound. Think cleverly cheeky and brutally honest Spanish lyrics, over catchy psychedelic-electro-pop-rock beats. Their sound can be at times more of an alluring lullaby, yet full-on “sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll” at others.
The D.C. show was one of six stops of the mini U.S. tour, which included headlining Puerto Rico’s Indie Fest with MGMT last month, to promote their long awaited tenth studio album, “A Propósito” (On Purpose.) With few U.S. tours under their belt, fans seemed pleased they didn’t have to travel to the band’s native Argentina to see them live.
Even though the band is used to playing huge sold out venues in Latin America (notoriously Luna Park in Argentina,) they didn’t let the roughly 200 fans in attendance at Thursday’s concert water them down. Lead singer Adrián Rodríguez delivered a charismatic and upbeat performance, passionately singing, gesturing and dancing to every song; successfully proving to elevate the audience’s energy for most of the show. Band member Diego Rodríguez also chipped in to help carry the show, stealing the attention of some of the females in the audience.
Five songs into the concert, lead singer Rodríguez gave his most heartfelt vocals with “Ideas,” the next single to be released from their latest album “A Propósito.” Some highlights of the show included fans singing energetically to what seemed like every word of “Irresponsables” (Irresponsible/Reckless,) a tweaked version of one of their most popular hits “Putita” (Little Slut,) “Y qué?” (So What?) and “Los calientes” (The Sexy Ones.) This was especially true of “El Colmo” (The Last Straw,) a song that talks about leaving the familiar for the unknown. The most enjoyable number was “Yegua” (Female Horse/Mare,) a song about careless loving that had the crowd singing loudly over Rodríguez. Oddly enough, the first song out of their two encores was relatively unknown for the audience—no one knew the lyrics or sang along. The second encore, “Deshoras” (Bad Timing,) the first single released from their latest album, was greeted with familiar nods and enthusiastic smiles.
For Babasonicos' more than twenty years of making music, the 18-song set list was a good mix of old and new, lows and highs, obscurities and well-known favorites. Only a few good ones went missing that Thursday night at the Howard Theatre.