Review: Tijuana Cartel at Freo.Social

Tijuana Cartel at Freo.Social
w/ Fieldsy, Jordan Mac
Friday, April 21, 2023

Friday night started out slow with the main space in Freo.Social’s drill hall mostly empty, and when Tijuana Cartel’s first opening act got going, she had a lot of air to fill. But Fieldsy was well up to it; straight in she was battering her acoustic with some intense strumming, battering the budding audience with double foot stomps, and revealing her Irish roots with Celtic melodies and Cranberry-esque yelps and moans. Her whole set served up passion and heartache, demanding enthusiasm, and pulling people onto the dance floor before they knew what hit them.

Now with the room half full, Jordan Mac appeared, big-headed guitar in hand and looper at his feet, to pull off some impressive rhythm and lead work – not an easy task on a 12-string. Mac commands an improbably wide range of instruments, which was on full display throughout his set, as he folded some percussion stick-and-hand work into a series of grooves before scratching the funk out of his guitar to the delight of the crowd. That was backed up by some flat-pick bluegrass lead work and a heck of a voice. From heartfelt tones reminiscent of Cat Stevens through to his own thing, Mac had great phrasing, tone and melody. Only problem, if you call it that, was that his music was so up-tempo and vibrant that it was hard to make out the words. Which a body would want to hear, given how good he seems to be at everything else. Even heavy metal, apparently, as Mac pulled off a credible System of a Down cover using only his guitar and a stomp box.

The room faded to darkness for the last break before Tijuana Cartel came on. Now the space was full, and the audience was as eclectic as you’d expect for the band, with everything from paisley and neon pink, to black t-shirts, sequins, and flowing summer dresses in the crowd. There was even a silver-haired boomer in full punk regalia, metal collar and everything. The Cartel crept onstage in the dusk and started making noise with no fanfare. With a heavy beat and percussive guitar lines, the summer dresses were up and dancing. Violin and trumpet appeared next, playing mesmerising melody lines in unison with the guitar, loose and swaying, as if transporting us to the banks of the Ganges.

The band then eased the tempo, and served up a slower number that might owe something to flamenco. But they couldn't hold it back for long. The man behind the keys (of both piano and QWERTY varieties) broke into a heavy bass beat to satisfy the ravers while the congas and other hand drums worked over the top to hammer home a compelling groove. The violin player started getting some wild tones out of her little box, while at the back the laptop released its inner accordion! What’s next? Well, pearls over a kimono on the heaving dance floor, naturally.

By now the crowd was at the point where the band could slow down or even stop playing, and the punters would have kept dancing. The band then took us back to the Gangetic plains for more hypnotism, with sweet and sour microtonality coming out of the violin, a tabla channeling through the congas, an elephantine bass beat, and a sitar sound from the guitar. Coming up close to something, you could feel it. The deep deep beat, the rave, and then a break to an island groove, maybe even ska, and there’s no better excuse for a golden trumpet, is there?

Even the punters too tired to keep dancing were held rapt until the lights finally came up. There’s a Friday night for you! The Cartel says, you’re welcome.

MIKE JEFFREY

Photos by Alan Holbrook