I know rock & roll’s home is in the witching hour, but I do enjoy the rarity of an early starting show -- especially on a weeknight -- no matter how uncool that sounds.
Argentine singer/songwriter Federico Aubele took the stage at Anthology promptly at 7:30 p.m., insuring the venue’s “supper club” tagline was in full effect. Despite the clanging of dishes and the murmur of dinner chatter, the electro-acoustic musician’s tightly knit trio ran through an eclectic 90-minute set of his internationally flavored tunes, including offerings from all four of his full-length records.
Dressed in all black and donning a Flock of Seagulls bend to his typical mop-top of curls, the tall baritone moved from one side of the stage to the other, switching guitars as often as he switched styles. While in-between chatter was kept to a polite minimum, the songs themselves were expansive and wild, with Aubele throwing unscripted favorites into the mix at will.
Grace Jones’ cover “I’ve Seen That Face Before” included some of Tricky’s verses from Massive Attack’s “Karmacoma” in the middle of it, while a long, spaced-out, almost psychedelic version of Blind Willie Johnson’s “John the Revelator” appeared out of nowhere and found Aubele moving back and forth and frantically waving his arms about like a cross between Ian Curtis and David Byrne.
The set list named Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Bloc Party’s “Kreuzberg” as pre-encore set closers, but Aubele instead opted for a searing version of the Doors’ “My Wild Love” that brought ear-to-ear grins from everyone who recognized it. After the crowd brought the band back with applause, Aubele and Co. ended the night with “Diario de Viaje” from his debut, Hotel Gran Buenos Aries, leaving the sizable audience both satisfied and with enough time to still get a good night’s sleep.
Set List:
"Berlin"
"In Your Name"
"La Esquina"
"No One"
"Luna y Sol"
"Lagrimas Viejas"
"Lluvia"
"13"
"Esta Noche"
"Ojala"
"El Miedo"
"Corazon"
"I’ve Seen That Face Before"
"Ante Tus Ojos"
"Postales"
"My Wild Love"
Encore:
"Diario de Viaje"
