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GUSTAVO CERATI | Gira Ahí Vamos.
?? El 12 de Octubre de 2006, Gustavo Cerati se presentaba por primera y única vez en Londres como parte de la gira “Ahi Vamos”. El show se llevo a cabo en The Forum en el Noroeste de Londres, Inglaterra.
La banda de Gustavo para “Ahí Vamos” estuvo formada por Richard Coleman (guitarra), Leandro Fresco (Coros, sintetizadores, samplers, piano rhodes y percusión), Fernando Nalé (Bajo y contrabajo), Fernando Samalea (Batería y percusión).
Fotos de este Punto de Interes y de banner en pagina princial: Cortesia de Marcelo Capotosti IG: @marcello_capotosti_photography
…la gira europea de “Ahí vamos” avanzaba a paso firme, pero la excitación creció aún más ante la cercanía de Londres, hacia donde volamos desde Madrid. La escenografía cambió de forma radical y todo se dio vuelta, literalmente: ¡Los conductores se sentaban en el asiento del acompañante!
Tras subir al bus que nos llevaría desde el aeropuerto al hotel, me coloqué los auriculares con el disco “Fragile” de Yes. Quería descubrir la ciudad acompañado por la banda sonora de mi niñez. Desde la ventanilla, fui observando los suburbios de la metrópoli, fascinándome por primera vez con su arquitectura de resabios georgianos, victorianos, góticos y mucho de High Tech del british style.
Apenas alojados en el K West de la Richmond Way, un hotel de estructura plana metálica y vidriada en pleno Shepherd’s Bush, no dudamos en salir hacia Oxford Circus, Picadilly Circus, la Bond Street y el Soho, donde Gustavo se compró unos pantalones plateados que mostró orgulloso a todo el que quisiese admirarlos. Luego, en soledad, abordé el subway “tube” desde Shepherd’s Bush Station, para imaginar la historia musical del rock en 3D, entre autobuses rojos de dos pisos y taxis negros de los años cincuenta. Quedé deslumbrado ante el Támesis.
Aunque esos edificios de ladrillos rojos y blancos derrochasen estilo y un elegante soundtrack imaginario pareciese colmar su atmósfera, no todo era ideal en la tierra
Al desayunar el 12 de octubre de 2006, tomamos conciencia de que el gran día de tocar en Inglaterra había llegado. Luego de probar sonido en The Forum, dimos un paseo por Camden Town con el ingeniero Adrián Taverna. Era una zona dark, pro fashion y muy sofisticada. Regresamos a Kentish Town luego de superar caminos erróneos hacia la sala de la Highgate Road, cuando se acercaba peligrosamente la hora del show.
El lugar era un antiguo teatro, sin butacas, pero con palcos y barra de bebidas al fondo. Tenía un aforo de tres mil personas. Se comentaba que Gustavo era el primer artista de rock argentino en tocar de modo independiente en esa ciudad, sin festivales locales o apoyo gubernamental de por medio. Fue una jugada arriesgada, que salió muy bien. El recinto se colmó de una mayoría de latinoamericanos y algunos europeos, que pagaron rigurosamente las 22,50 libras esterlinas. Otros tantos, no lograron entrar.
Luego de hacer el “Om” en el camarín -los cinco músicos tomados de las manos-, ocupamos nuestros instrumentos con el telón cerrado, no sin antes dar saltos gimnásticos para cobrar valor, mirándonos entre nosotros con complicidad. Una luz demarcaba el borde de la tarima y, como en toda la gira norteamericana y europea, el telón fijo blanco y negro se ubicaba a nuestras espaldas.
“¡Gracias por venir desde tan lejos!”, ironizó Gus al escuchar los cánticos en español sobre la introducción de “Al fin sucede”. Él vestía su camisa negra con insignias, los
“Jelou, Adiós”, esbozó antes de dicho tema. Cuando la lista marcó “Ecos”, nos presentó con sorna: “A principios de los ochenta nos conocimos con Richard y otro secuaz delincuente, Fernando, con quienes estrenamos esta canción”, para poco después gritar “¡Malambo!” sobre el comienzo de “Cosas imposibles”. “Prófugos” dio lugar a “Planta”, inundando el escenario de verdes, y luego resonó “sentir algo que nunca sentiste”, con acordes abiertos, así como la coda de “sos el paisaje más soñado” de coros y guitarras explotando, hasta la alegoría rockera del final en la cual nos trenzamos Nalé, Gustavo y yo. Durante “Lago en el cielo”, castigué como nunca los gongs, octobans y mi fiel roto-tom rojo. A esa altura, podíamos jugar con las enseñanzas brindadas por el rock británico y golpear instrumentos en plan The Who.
El concierto quedó eternizado por la lente del italo-argentino Marcello Capotosti, un adorable personaje de aspecto de sultán persa, que había aparecido tras bambalinas durante la prueba de sonido y nos hicimos amigos. No dejó de sorprendernos con su cámara discreta e inquisidora a la vez.
Entre abrazos, regresamos al camarín de paredes marrón claro. Amigos de diversos rincones planetarios, los integrantes del grupo de tango electrónico Tanghetto, Dominique Heslop, Gonzalo Gil y el empresario Alan Faena, entre muchos otros, constituyeron la fauna cosmopolita que festejó el éxito de la organización. ¡Hubo ruido en serio entre esas paredes!
Al mediodía siguiente, hicimos nuestra despedida del Reino Unido, tomando fotografías por Richmond Way y caminando por Sinclair Gardens Road, sabiéndonos con
(Fernando Samalea – “Mientras otros duermen”, Sudamericana, 2017)
GUSTAVO CERATI | Ahí Vamos Tour.
?? On October 12th 2006, Gustavo Cerati performed for the first and only time in London as part of the “Ahi Vamos” tour. The show took place at The Forum in North West London, England.
Gustavo’s band for “Ahí Vamos” consisted of Richard Coleman (guitar), Leandro Fresco (backing vocals, synthesizers, samplers, piano rhodes and percussion), Fernando Nalé (bass and double bass), Fernando Samalea (drums and percussion).
Photos of this Point of Interest and banner on main page: Courtesy of Marcelo Capotosti IG: @marcello_capotosti_photography
…the European tour of “Ahí vamos” was progressing steadily, but the excitement grew even more with the proximity of London, where we flew to from Madrid. The scenery changed dramatically and everything was turned upside down, literally: the drivers were sitting in the passenger seat!
After boarding the bus that would take us from the airport to the hotel, I put on my headphones with the album “Fragile” by Yes. I wanted to discover the city accompanied by the soundtrack of my childhood. From the window, I observed the suburbs of the metropolis, fascinated for the first time by its architecture with Georgian, Victorian, Gothic and a lot of High Tech British style.
As soon as we were staying at the K West on Richmond Way, a hotel with a flat metal and glass structure in the heart of Shepherd’s Bush, we didn’t hesitate to set off for Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Bond Street and Soho, where Gustavo bought a pair of silver trousers that he proudly showed off to anyone who wanted to admire them. Then, in solitude, I boarded the tube subway from Shepherd’s Bush Station, to imagine rock music history in 3D, between red double-decker buses and 1950s black taxis. I was dazzled by the Thames.
Although those red-and-white brick buildings exuded style and an elegant imaginary soundtrack seemed to fill their atmosphere, all was not ideal in the land of the pound: activity ceased at midnight. “This didn’t happen in our time,” we reflected with Gustavo and Richard. We solved it unexpectedly in the lobby of our own hotel, which had no time limits on the colourfully lit bar with bowling alley music. Adding a touch of conflict, two young men started punching each other and ended up rolling around on the lobby floor, separated by others. We witnessed a classic drunken brawl.
At breakfast on 12 October 2006, we realised that the big day of playing in England had arrived. After sound-checking at The Forum, we took a stroll through Camden Town with engineer Adrian Taverna. It was a dark, pro fashion and very sophisticated area. We returned to Kentish Town after negotiating the wrong roads to the Highgate Road venue, as show time was getting dangerously close.
The venue was an old theatre, with no seats, but with boxes and a drinks bar at the back. It had a capacity of three thousand people. It was said that Gustavo was the first Argentine rock artist to play independently in that city, without local festivals or government support. It was a risky move, but it worked out very well. The venue was packed with a majority of Latin Americans and a few Europeans, who paid the £22.50. Others did not get in at all. Others, however, did not manage to get in.
After doing the “Om” in the dressing room – the five musicians holding hands – we took up our instruments with the curtain closed, not without first doing gymnastic jumps to gain courage, looking at each other with complicity. A light demarcated the edge of the stage and, as on the entire North American and European tour, the fixed black and white curtain was behind us.
“Thank you for coming from so far away,” Gus joked as he heard the Spanish chants over the intro to “Al fin sucede”. He was wearing his black shirt with badges, the silver trousers he had bought and two wristbands. He alternated between the red Telecaster and a black Les Paul. Serene and connected, he set the rhythm with his left leg out, strumming strings and making capo chords or raging riffs at every turn. As he was wont to do, he propped a glass on the floor beside the mic stand, bending down every so often to pick it up and take sips of tequila.
“Jelou, Goodbye”, he said before the song. When the setlist ticked off “Echoes”, he introduced us with a sneer: “In the early eighties we met Richard and another delinquent henchman, Fernando, with whom we premiered this song”, to shortly after shout “Malambo!” over the beginning of “Impossible Things”. “Prófugos” gave way to “Planta”, flooding the stage with green, and then resounded “sentir algo que nunca sentiste”, with open chords, as well as the coda of “sos el paisaje más soñado” of exploding choruses and guitars, until the rock allegory at the end in which Nalé, Gustavo and I were braided together. During “Lago en el cielo”, I punished as never before the gongs, octobans and my faithful red roto-tom. At that point, we could play with the teachings of British rock and hit instruments like The Who.
The concert was eternalised by the lens of the Italian-Argentine Marcello Capotosti, an adorable Persian sultan-like character, who had appeared backstage during the soundcheck and we became friends. He kept surprising us with his discreet yet inquisitive camera.
Amidst hugs, we returned to the light brown-walled dressing room. Friends from various corners of the globe, members of the electronic tango group Tanghetto, Dominique Heslop, Gonzalo Gil and businessman Alan Faena, among many others, made up the cosmopolitan fauna that celebrated the success of the organisation. There was some serious noise within those walls!
The following midday, we made our farewell to the UK, taking photographs along Richmond Way and walking along Sinclair Gardens Road, knowing that we were heading in different directions: Gustavo was going to stay on holiday in Europe, Fer Nalé was soon to enjoy his beloved “London” for a few more days, and Richard, Lean Fresco and I would return to Buenos Aires…
(Fernando Samalea – “Mientras otros duermen”, Sudamericana, 2017)
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