Expect to find the unexpected in Mexico City (DF) with Marcela Viejo, keyboardist/vocalist of Mexico’s praised electropop ensemble, Quiero Club. Mexico’s capital is a lively, rich, and diverse place where one is bound to find oddities, novelties, and underground movements of sorts. In this weekly column, Marcela takes you along on her musical quest to find these rare gems and obscure scenes via reviews, interviews, and profiles. The idea is to search.
Thumbnail photo credit by Sicario.tv
The 3rd Annual Corona Capital festival in Mexico City was this past 13th and 14th of October, and two weeks later, we’re still recovering from 48 tumultuous and excessive hours of rock. More than 60 national and international bands performed in front of more than 60,000 fans who were intent on surviving hours baking beneath the sun in order to see their favorite bands.
For me, it all started on Saturday the 13th around 4pm at the Bizco Club stage with the highly-anticipated set from Die Antwoord. We arrived in time to see the energetic South African trio from beginning to end, and their freaky show made the afternoon explode with rhythm.
Dressed in flourescent orange unitards with onstage visuals that featured Casper the Friendly Ghost with a gi-normous penis and tons of energy, the trio thrilled the crowd since the opening moment when Ninja jumped out onto the stage greeting everyone in Spanish saying “¡Hola Buenos Nachos!”
Songs such as “Rich Bitch” and “Enter The Ninja” were favorites of the crowd, which sang along at the top of its lungs with Yo-Landi who never grew tired of running from one side of the stage to the other. She wasted little time in removing her unitard to perform in a sexy halter top and tiny shorts.
It was Die Antwoord’s first concert in Mexico and the band’s excitement over the realization that they had more fans than they’d imagined was easily noticeable. Ninja was so overcome with euphoria that he couldn’t resist crowd-surfing multiple times throughout the night. They ended the night saying “sleep with the angels tonight.” It was, without a doubt, one of the most original and exciting shows of the festival.
We decided to stick around the Bizco Club stage after their set to watch The Wookies, a quartet of four hairy little creatures who made the crowd dance (who you may recall from this post). On this occasion, they were joined by members of She’s A Tease onstage as special guests, which the audience greeted warmly.
I decided to end Saturday night with a trip to the Capital stage to watch Cat Power who surprised me when she appeared in an entirely different outfit than what she’s known for.
Her outfit fell somewhere between Yuri and Chavela Vargas: half her hair was shaved off and the other half in a Mohawk, dyed so blonde it was nearly white and wrapped in a Mexican poncho with a rebellious attitude. Cat Power was unrecognizable but, as rumor has it, she’s recovering from the breakup of a long, amorous relationship. Her voice was wonderful but her show was boring.
Sunday was the day I was waiting for. Shows such as Death In Vegas, Who Made Who, Neon Indian, DJ Shadow, and Modeselektor led me to declare the Bizco Club stage as my favorite of the festival without hesitation. Not only was the lineup perfectly in line with my musical tastes, but it allowed me to enjoy a number of excellent shows in one place and avoid running from one stage to the next.
The band that surprised me the most and who I didn’t expect much from was Who Made Who. The guitarist and bassist sang together in harmony and complemented each other in such a way that the sound of their voices, like their instruments, mixed together so well that they sounded like Siamese twins or the same person in two separate bodies.
At the end of the night, Modeselektor and New Order took to the stage at almost the exact same time. I decided to watch Modeselektor’s first three songs then head over to the main stage to watch festival headliners New Order. Leaving Modeselektor took every ounce of my being as they exploded onto the stage within those first three songs with great sound, an incredible light show and fantastic visuals. I couldn’t, however, miss the opportunity to watch the former members of Joy Division, so I bolted to the main stage where I ran into the majority of the festival crowd.
I made my way through nearly 50,000 fans to find a good spot to watch the show, and after listening to three songs from these dinosaurs of rock, decided to head back to Bizco Club. From a distance, I could hear the monstrous, electronic sounds of Modeselektor while New Order came off sounding pretty bland and unenergetic.
I ran back to catch Modeselektor as New Order didn’t fulfill my expectations and arrived in time to watch the band perform “Happy Birthday,” my favorite song! I didn’t regret my decision and danced the night away under the light show provided by the German outfit.
DJ Shadow closed the festival night afterwards. I hadn’t seen him in concert since 2003, and he wasn’t as energetic as he was back in his first shows I saw in the early 2000s. Either way, I enjoyed his set thanks to nostalgia.
My favorite part of Corona Capital was, without a doubt, the Bizco Club stage. I want to thank 8106.tv for inviting me, and most importantly, for all their hard work and great taste in music!
Translated by Afroxander
To read more articles and reviews by Marcela Viejo in D.Fining, click HERE.