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TITO
& TARANTULA
Concert Review:
August
12, 2009 Bahnhof Bad
Salzuflen, Germany
Introduction:
It
took me quite awhile to figure out that this is the band performing
at the beginning of the movie “Roadhouse” featuring Patrick
Swayze, Kelly Lynch and Sam Elliott. Their song “Don’t Throw
Stones” is a fantastic opening number that really sets the tone
for the rest of the movie. That being said, the band becomes even
more displaced and obscure when you realize that this song never
appears on the official soundtrack
for the movie, when it should’ve been the opening song bar none.
In order to acquire this song performed by
Tito
Larriva and The Cruzados you have to special order it from their
website, and have it shipped to you, in our case for a grand total
of around $25.00 USA Dollars to Germany and worth every cent of
it.The band started out as “Plugz”, then “The Cruzados” in
the Roadhouse movie and then onto its present working name.
This band is hard to describe, part punk-ish, somewhat new
wave, definitely a heavy active measure of rock and roll, with a
theatrical flair undertone ala Alice Cooper / Frank Zappa Bizarre
Intelligence – thus their involvement in the best selling cult
classic movie called “From Dusk till Dawn” and their hit song
called “After Dark” about vampires coming back to life / alive
when the sun goes down and the night time rules the planet until
daybreak returns! Featured in the movie are George Clooney and
Daniel Tarantino.
Tito
& Tarantula is who we have come out to see perform live on this
rainy, windy Halloween type evening at an old abandoned railway
station / now turned music venue, that looks haunted and may very
well hold a variety of skeletons
still hidden under the loose floorboards, between the sub-floor and
the dank dark cellar below that…….Ladies and Gentleman……would
you please welcome Tito and Tarantula to the stage!!!
Set
List Includes the Following:
- In
My Car 2. Effortless 3. End of Everything 4. Torn to Pieces 5.
Machete 6. Murder 7. Pretty Wasted 8. Motorcycle Girl 9. Flor
De Mal 10. Crime
and Shame 11. Monsters 12. Clumsy 13. After Dark 14. Strange
Face of Love 15. Dust and Ashes 16. Angry Cockroaches 17. Hombre
Secreto 18. Come Out Clean 19. La Bamba
20. This House Anarchia 21. Pistolero Forever Forgotten
The
band is running about twenty minutes late, the
stage manager is shoving his watch into Tito’s face, in a
very aggravated way, and the audience is packed tightly into this
little room with limited floor space and the sweat has already
started to hit the floor. Moisture
from everyone’s breathing is sticking to the walls in this
German version of an old fashioned juke-joint.
The
musicians walk on stage and not a minute to soon, we now get our
first look at people we have never seen play before. Right from the
start they are good. The drummer is excellent, the guitar man
(Steven Medina Hufsteter hails from Los Angeles, California)
is hanging back for the time being and just pacing himself,
Tito (Larriva from Austin Texas) is out for blood tonight and
everyone feels it in the air….and as for me, I’ve planted myself
on the right side of the stage, directly beneath the lovely lady
bass player. I’m staring at her well worn sneakers, watching her
punk attitude, and caught off guard by all the colourful
tattoos that she’s supporting on her right arm.
This
shorter hair look is a brand new
for her, and she looks cute as hell with her red lipstick as
bright as a phosphorescent dynamo working in the darkened room. Her
name is Caroline “Laloca” Rippy ( from San Antonio Texas) and
trust me, she’s a professional musician in every respect.
Which
leave the drummer now to introduce Alfredo Ortiz from Los Angeles,
California. He worked from the time he sat on that drum stool until
the last note was played that evening. Excellent job, and a
dedicated musician doing what he does best.
The
Concert:
I
have to say straight away, that unlike other concerts we have
attended, this is the first one where we came knowing only
two songs associated with this band. Looking back now they
only played “After Dark” and not the one from Roadhouse (Don’t
Throw Stones”). So this is new to us and many others here tonight
as well.
The
band kicked off their long set with “In My Car” which we liked
very much. The next three songs followed suit, and then they really
got up to speed with “Machete” – “Murder” and “Pretty
Wasted”. Louder and more rockers. My personal favourite was
“Motorcycle Girl” to which Caroline sang with passion and
supported with excellent background vocals.
Down
the line we have, “Monsters” – “Clumsy” and
the now famous Tito anthem “After Dark”.
The rest of the set rolled on with high energy, with a happy
band and audience combined. Tito talked with us and not at us, it
became a personal thing and really made everyone comfortable. So
much so that we really got the feeling that it was just an intimate
party of friends, all here to have a good time….nothing more,
nothing less than that.
Simple
and uncomplicated.
The
next song is from their brand new cd titled “Back Into The
Darkness” called “Come Out Clean” a song I also really like.
During this famous hit song “After Dark” Tito started holding
out his hand and helping
women get up onto the stage with him, including my Brigitte who was
the second one carried up on stage and about thirty other people
from the audience. The band kept playing the song throughout this
extended interlude.
Anyone
who wanted to was allowed and encouraged to join in with Tito and
the band on stage, this lasted for about fifteen to twenty minutes.
Everyone loved it. It may be a part of the act but it didn’t look
or feel that way, because the offer to interact was truly genuine /
from the heart. This is one band that really cares about their fans!
Aftermath:
A
few more songs and the concert came to a fantastic climax. Shortness
of breath, hands sore from applauding so ferociously, and a band
that left everyone drained and speechless. I don’t remember any
encores, and there was no need for any, once finished you just knew
that they gave it their all! The band left the stage, out the back
door and went back to their gigantic tour bus. Brigitte and I
entertained the notion to visit the bus and have a chat with the
band and acquire a few respectful autographs, but the time just
didn’t seem right to me, and Brigitte is very uncomfortable going
it alone, so we just headed home. In fact I still owe her an apology,
for leaving so quickly right after the show, as we usually stick
around and talk with other fans, have a drink or two. But for some
strange reason, I felt very uncomfortable there, and I just knew it
was time to run from the shadows that were running from themselves
in this very smoke filled, humid and hazy room. Filled with vampires,
skeletons, cross bones and skulls peaking around every corner!
Final
Comment:
Is
about Tito Larriva. With his wet sweaty hair hanging all over his
face, this man could easily be mistaken for a mass murderer, on the
run from a State Penitentiary or worse yet, A County Work Farm. His
concert photos resemble a fugitive who’s been hiding for a week in
the swamps of Louisiana. Never judge a book by its cover they say,
Tito is the nicest man that you’ll ever meet. This coming from our
friend Joe Gooch, guitarist with the band Ten Years After. We’ve
never heard one negative thing about him, only positive and we hope
this review reflects that same sentiment as well. Would love to see
him and the band here again for a return visit to Germany!
We recommend everyone make the effort to see him live in
concert, and tell him that Brigitte and Dave sent you !!!
by Dave Willey
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