I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: August 1, 2023] Zeta

Zeta (pronounced Zeh-tuh) is a band “of immigrants from Venezuela” as they put it.  They are now based in the U.S. trying to deal with the immigration deal.

I had listened to a little of their music before the show and I was absolutely intrigued.  I arrived just before 7:30 but they had already started by the time I came in.  I don’t think I missed too much, but as I got to the stage, the band was in full flight.

There were four members of the band.  As I walked in Juan Chi (Juan Ricardo Yilo) was whaling lead guitar and singing.  Right in the front of the stage was drummer Eduardo Sandoval.  He was front and center because this is a band that loves drums.

The wall of sound was really loud, but not harsh.  Sandoval was a maniac on the kit–it was amazing to have such a fun drummer right in the front of the stage.  Standing behind him was bassist Antonio Pereira.  Pereira was the one constant through the set–his bass was fast and steady keeping the song moving forward and also keeping it in perfect time.  He kept everybody moving.

As the opening song segued into the next, “Completar” I was able to see everything that Daniel Hernandez, who I was now standing in front of, was up to.  He had a guitar, he had a table with all kinds of effects on it and he had two drums.  As “Completar” started he and Chi shared screamed vocals and then both of them played solos while Periera kept the pacing steady (and Sandoval was a blur).  After a few minutes of trippy echoing soloing, the song slowed down into a reggae beat while Chi sang in Spanish.  (I think all of the lyrics are in Spanish, but there was often so much echo it was hard to tell).

Sandoval kept the drums going as the segue into “La flor del tiempo.”  For this song Hernandez took lead vocals (and played synth) while Chi was playing the congas.  The song was a lengthy jam and in the middle as Sandoval slowed the drum to a simple patter, Hernandez Saud played his own drums, hitting cymbals in sync and basically making the drums twice as loud.

No one could keep still–the music was everywhere and it was infectious.  There was a woman behind me dancing full on, everybody else was nodding and bobbing.  During the Sparta set, lead singer Jim Ward said that if you hadn’t heard of zeta before seeing them tonight, you just saw your new favorite band. And he was right.

Hernandez Saud stepped up next with a two minute blast of drum filled punk called “El Canto de La Victoria.”

Ya no hay chance, Ya no hay chance Ya no hay chance Pa’ que nos quiten la libertad

There is no chance anymore, there is no chance anymore There is no chance anymore So that they take away

“Afrontar” had a cool slow moment in the middle where everyone could catch their breath (except Sandoval who was playing the hi-hat quietly but very quickly).

The band didn’t talk much.  Chi gave the band’s backstory and said they had two more songs left.

It was kind of hard to tell when songs began and ended since they never stopped playing around with sounds.  I also knew that they were definitely pushing their “first band” time allotment.  But I hoped they’d keep going and going.  “Sufrir” proved to be kind of short and it segued into the set ending majesty that is “Magia infinita.”

Starting with a flurry of drums and guitars the song launches and doesn’t let up for about a minute, when everyone settles down into a cool trippy mellow section.  After some solos, Ricardo Yilo sang intensely over the quiet music.  And then the band exploded.  Neil Hennessy, drummer for Sparta came out and sat behind his own kit.  Hernandez Saud hit a chord on the guitar that echoed while he started playing the keys.  Then all the music cut out and he walked to his drums.  Ricardo Yilo went to his congas.  Pereira grabbed two tambourines and Hennessy started playing as well.  They played a full band drum grand finale for about two minutes and it was joyous and amazing.

And their merch was amazing as well.

1. La flor de la palabra @
2. Completar ∞
3. La flor del tiempo @
4. El Canto de La Victoria @
5. Afrontar ∞
6. Sufrir ∞
7. Magia infinita ∞

@ Todo Bailarlo (2022)
∞ Magia infinita (2018)/reissued 2024