photo by Sol Oreña
Banda de Turistas, DJs Parejas
at Compass, Club Niceto
1 Feb., 2008
(note: This review will appear in the next issue of WickedBA magazine, in April)
Banda de Turistas are tourists of the modern world — they traveled forth in time from the psychedelic 60s to find themselves in Buenos Aires, where they picked up an affinity for indie rock. Their spacey, fuzz-drenched riffs and rhythms took on a dark tone during their first appearance in the dim-club setting of Compass, Club Niceto’s weekly indie rock/dance party. Turistas’ debut album, Coctel de Instantaneo (Mamushka Dogs), struck me as sunny, but as I watched them over the silhouettes of two dour teens with bobs and bangs passing a joint back and forth, I couldn’t help but feel something psychedelically sinister.
Turistas’ indie-freak sound fit strangely well with the Compass DJs’ sonic fare of snide electro clash and new rave dance classics — their short set only punctuated the pastiche of influences an adept ear can hear permeating beneath the feel-good beats that play through each Niceto Friday night. Compass’ music reflects the genre orgy of the Internet era, when mouse clicks transcend time and geography to let those with music thirst build tastes based on neither.
A cut through Compass’ dance floor mob of beautiful bodies in neu-disco chic is an escape into ironic neon, bangle jewelry, and vapid bliss. Its substantial substancelessness is what makes it attractive — it’s a perfect burst of hip fun in the postmodern age.
