Bottoms Up
We've all been there: After a couple of drinks, you'll start telling anyone sitting next to you at the bar all those naughty indiscretions and world-changing dreams.
Lila Downs taps into that oh-so-embarrassing (and liberating) experience in her latest release, Entre Copa y Copa-an album of drinking songs that literally translates as From Glass To Glass.
"It is my idea of sitting in a bar and telling a stranger all your secrets," she said. "It's about bawling out, feeling that melancolia of times gone by."
Ever since she appeared in the film Frida, Salma Hayek's passionate project on the life and times of the famed Mexican artist (she sang throughout the film and also performed the Oscar-nominated theme song with Caetano Veloso), she has seen her audience grow considerably, especially in Europe, where she plays to sold-out concert houses.
"It's been wonderful," she said. "We just got back from France, and you can see that Latin music has moved a lot more into the picture. And we have a great following in England and Spain."
Her new album has more of a traditional feel than her previous works (most notably her 2005 album, One Blood) did. This time around, the songs are closer to the rancheras and the norteña music that populates jukeboxes in the various Mexican cantinas in the outer boroughs of the city. While the electric guitar and the electronic loops are still there, this is essentially an acoustic album in which jumpier moments make more of a cameo appearance, such as in the opening track, "La Cumbia del Mole," and "La Tequilera."
Due to the concept of this tour, those who saw her at Summerstage last year should not expect the same kind of high-energy performance that was presented then-when she took the stage with her drums and performed songs such as "La Bamba" and "La Cucaracha."
She described this as more of an "intimate setting." Although she will revisit some tunes from past records, the intention here is for you to line up at the bar and drown your sorrows away. Your call on the tequila shots.