Eugene weekly., July 12, 2012, Page 15, Image 15

OREGON COUNTRY FAIR 2012
Mambo, Down and Dirty
Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta has mastered the creation of flawless Latin and big-
band sounds. The Tucson-based group thrives on kinetic energy, fast beats, a
foundation in mambo and a knack for improvisation.
With keyboards, cowbells, maracas, trumpets, saxophone,
accordion, timbales and drums, there’s a lot happening on stage. The
energy is fierce and the music will have you grabbing a margarita
and someone tall-dark-and-handsome to bust a move with.
“We are mainly a Latin big band,” Sergio Mendoza says.
“We play mambo and cumbia, but with a bit of a
psychedelic quality. There’s more usage of the pedals and
different sound effects like extortion.”
The group’s sound possesses conventional elements
that showcase each musician’s talent, but it does so
with a twist of creativity that turns the music a
little rugged.
“We will take the traditional mambo and just
speed it up, play everything a little faster,” Mendoza
says. “Almost with a punk-like attitude. It’s a little dirtier.”
Mendoza is currently touring solo with Devotchka,
the band behind Little Miss Sunshine’s soundtrack.
If you are a fan of Latin music, or even if you’re not,
the energy of Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta’s sound is
sure to entice you, evoking smiles and maybe some
dancing. “If people have fun along with us, there’s
nothing better than that,” Mendoza says.
Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta plays 5:45 pm
Saturday, July 14, at the Oregon Country Fair Main
Stage. — Ali Enright
Dosio’s Dance Trance
Anyone accustomed to cruising the national festival circuit will tell you that Papadosio is the perfect
band to set off a Friday evening crowd at the Oregon Country Fair. Wakarusa, Bonnaroo and
Lollapalooza are just a few of Papadosio’s high-profile stomping grounds, where the band has made a
name for itself as well as the trance-fusion livetronica style it commands. Sweat, dance and dust are
elements these guys are more than accustomed to — that’s where they thrive.
Papadosio’s live show is a thumping dance party that inspires screams and undulation like no other.
Take the psychedelic sound-layering of a band like PnumaTrio and mix it with the neo-jam-band quality
of Sound Tribe Sector 9, and you might come close to pinpointing Papadosio’s musical aesthetic. Analog
synthesizers mix with Hammond organs and ethereal guitar riffs to create a sound that some fans refer
to, oxymoronically, as “earthy electronica.” No lie: The music is killer and contagiously danceable.
Anthony Thogmartin (guitar), Billy Brouse (vocals, keys), Rob McConnell (bass, vocals), Sam Brouse
(vocals, keys) and Mike Healy (drums) don’t just pump out infectious groove sorcery when they play live;
they also record clean-sounding albums that are well-worth picking up. Check out Observations (2009),
By the Light of Stars (2008) or the group’s debut masterpiece, Magreenery (2007), if you need convincing
— but you probably don’t. Chances are you know someone who went to a festi and danced her ass off to
Papadosio — if not, catch this band on the main stage and you will be the one dancing.
Papadosio plays 5:15 pm Friday, July 13, at the OCF Main Stage. — Dante Zuñiga-West
PHOTO BY AARON LINGENFELTER
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