Rock en espanol keeps rolling through Chicago. No sooner did the WHATCHA tour storm the Aragon, then the city’s World Music Fest showcased Los de Abajo as one of its principal acts.
This time it’s the Jaguares-led Revolucion tour, which lands Tuesday at the House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn. (For info, call 312-527-2583.)
The show features Julieta Venegas (whose new CD, “Bueninvento,” was named record of the year by the L.A. Times), Lysa Flores, Jumbo, Frequency and la gusana ciega.
Unlike the WHATCHA tour, which came through Chicago with compatriots Cafe Tacuba and the Colombian combo Aterciopeladas as headliners, Revolucion arrives with a subtle twist.
Just note the tour’s own Web site: Instead of calling Jaguares music rock en espanol, it refers to it as “rock nacional,” the old vanguard label that the group brandished years ago as Caifanes when the welcome mat for this kind of rhythm and steam was only postage-sized.
Not surprisingly, the tour has a strong Mexican emphasis. All the artists are Mexican, with the exception of Flores, who’s Mexican-American. And Chicago is the easternmost stop, with shows mostly in Texas, California and the Southwest, areas of the country with deep Mexican roots and large Mexican-American communities.
Jaguares drummer and co-leader Alfonso Andre says the idea for Revolucion was to provide a sampler of Mexican rock.
“You know, principally, we just wanted to play,” he says. “What is true is that we want people to know about the music being made in Mexico right now, music which isn’t known outside the country right now.”
Jaguares has performed with mixed bills before — pan-Latino as well as those of other nationalities and ethnicities — but really wanted to put a spotlight on their hometown, Mexico City, which is going through something of a creative renaissance.
“What we share is more of an attitude,” says Andre. “The music itself is very varied. We don’t feel like there’s a shared ideology or direction. Everybody’s doing things on their own, in their own ways, wherever their restlessness takes them. Rock allows that kind of promiscuity, that kind of fusion. This isn’t like border music — you change one beat and it’s something else. Rock is mestizo, it’s us.”
Andre and Jaguares co-leader Saul Hernandez had a huge say in who accompanied them on this trip, and they very deliberately chose Venegas and Flores.
“First, we really like their music, they’re both innovators” he says. “Plus, we like that it’s a mixed bill, with women and men, and not just one woman as a token. They have so much to say, and this will hopefully introduce them to new audience. It will help us all in the long run.”
As soon as the tour’s over, though, Andre and Hernandez will dash back to L.A. to record some new music with their new sidemen.
“Before the tour, we recorded four new songs that we still have to polish,” says Andre. “We were a little scared at first — we’re producing everything ourselves this time — but it’s been terrific. Our idea is always not to repeat, to do something different each time. We like to walk right on the edge of the abyss.”
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If you didn’t see “Doorslam” when it premiered five years ago, life is being good to you: The first production by Plasticene, one of our town’s most extraordinary and experimental theater ensembles, will be back for one-night Tuesday at 8 and 10:30 p.m. It’s part of Plasticene’s 5th Anniversary Benefit at The Viaduct, 3111 N. Western Ave. The performance involves three doors and doppelgangers, all immersed in a mix of nefarious light and sound. Seating is limited. For reservations call 773-227-6487.
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For years, Mitch “Mitar” Covic was co-owner of a now legendary club called Cross Currents. It was the place where Aaron Freeman launched “Council Wars” and a startling career, where Del Close played mind games with Warren Leming and Larry Coven as the Not Ready for Prime Time players, and where scores of other Chicago artists got their start, got a safety net, got discovered, got crazy or got the best ideas of their lives.
After the club closed, Covic took up teaching and was occasionally seen around town playing bass in poetry and improv groups, especially if they were performing at an art gig or for a progressive political cause.
Next Thursday, Covic unveils what he’s doing in his spare time by performing new original compositions for solo bass fiddle. Show time is 8 p.m. at the No Exit Cafe, 6970 N. Glenwood (Morse stop on Red Line). 773-276-1089; e-mail, mitar@techinter.com.
