Divided celebrated its 35 years of existence this Saturday and in front of nearly 50,000 people who literally overflowed the margins of the Amalfitani stadium as has rarely been seen in recent years.
With a rousing show that lasted just over three hoursthe trio formed by Ricardo Mollo (guitar and vocals), Diego Arnedo (bass and voice) e Catriel Ciavarella (drums) reviewed songs from his ten studio albums and he took his revenge on that black Vélez in September 1994.
At the time, fired up by the huge sales of their third and perhaps most successful album, The age of Boludez (yes, the one on the cover with an Arnedo making the gesture of “Don’t Touch Button”), the decision to build a first stadium seemed a logical consequence of artistic growth.
But the problems had already arisen from the beginning, when the then record company Polygram “strongly suggested” to the opening act was to be Colombian Carlos Vives. Something they refused to.
Without the support of your company it became difficult then to fill such a space with a sufficient audiencein addition to several sound problems and a disastrous organizational one, which finally determined something akin to bankruptcy. At least for Mollo and company’s sake.
This meant a kind of Freudian trauma for which the trio would never perform in stadiums again.. Unless it was a festival, of course.
return time
nearly thirty years laterHowever, on 13 May the Theater de Liniers (as Vélez is curiously called) was overflowing to capacity, and fifty minutes after the scheduled start time people kept pouring in.
After a series of shows this year and on this same stage where Lali, Ricky Martin, La Konga and Fito Páez have paraded, finally rock sounded great again in El Fortín. And here is the first good news.
At a time (the real era of boludez?) where, in addition to trap, reggaeton, freestyle, urban music and Traditionalist songs are like a pandemic that is devastating the ears of millions of people all over the planet, on radios and payment platforms (sorry, someone has a sincericide), Divided has now become the long-awaited vaccine. Or, as the punk rock band Dos Minutos would say…!, Joy is back, old lady! Why the legitimate rock and roll of the West is back.
How was the concert
The beginning of the show was with a video that leaves no room for doubt: Mollo gets on a bulldozer in the middle of the field and destroys everything in his path. The lights go out and the trio jumps onto the stage, with an amazing performance to say the leastwhich will have psychedelic and even kaleidoscopic moments.
Hurlingham Countryman Split the night in two like a freshly sharpened razor and the 50,000 souls are shaken by the crushing sound coming from Ricardo’s legendary Gibson SG (connected to six monstrous Fender Bassman connected in line), Arnedo’s Jazz Bass and catriel drums, more hyperkinetic than ever.
From then on the recital will not let up, with three men who have their own quest for the Holy Grail: to blow everything up. And wow if they succeed! The first live hits come from the album Caressing the Rough (On the 38th, Saturday, Il Burrito) which will continue in the second part of the show with “a little pogo” (in Mollo’s words) on horseback cute sky.
But here there is also room for Sumo music and, as was to be expected, the classics from “Prodanesi” sound like The blonde idiot, then Crua Chan and already at the end a powerful version of the armored eyewith shoe included.
“Thirty years ago we traveled far from home to record with someone who at that moment was like an angel who arranged, harmonized and made us make a beautiful record: Gustavo Santaolalla”. And then the first of the guests appears, together with the violinist Javier Casalla.
Accompanied by his inseparable ronroco (a rural instrument very similar to the charango, but bigger, the same one he used for the music of the series The Last of Us), Santaolalla, producer of The era of stupidity next to Hannibal Kerpel, he resembles a white-bearded Buddha. And the now quintet rehearses a beautiful version of You see?
For those unfamiliar with the rock trio, which in Argentina has a long history through names like Manal, Vox Dei, Invisible, Human Color, Polyphemus and from now on Pappus bluesthe musical work of that formation may seem simple.
But here’s the catch: why playing rock in a trio is one of the most difficult tasks for any musician, whether you play guitar, bass or drums. The trio requires pinpoint precision, tremendous teamwork and a vastly different approach to performance than the quartet.
and in this respect Diviso can hold a conference on it. Diego Arnedo’s work on bass is simply colossal. Playing the bass without a pick he manages to raise a wall of low notes which, in the style of Jack Bruce (that legendary bassist of Cream, the trio with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker) seems to not need any close harmonic instrument for an authoritative sound.
Ciavarella (for 20 years with Divididos, fourth drummer of the group) is an improved version of the ex Invisible Pomo Lorenzo. Demonic precision and flawless handling of the double-pedal bass drum.
It would be redundant to talk about Mollo at this point. But suffice it to say his voice has become synonymous with Argentine rock and, when he wants, he sets himself on fire with solos hendrixians which however they never stop having that well-silvered flavor that makes it so characteristic.
A brief proof of this is Pappus’ dizzying version of the classic, dirty and messy. A song with a dizzying and interspersed riff that requires great skill because it doesn’t stop playing while you have to sing it. Norberto Napolitano himself couldn’t help but congratulate the band when they recorded it for the tribute album dad and friends (2000).
With an average age range of 45 yearsmostly men although there is also a strong female presence, superpopulation belonging to the West of the GBA (Rock West is considered from Flores, in CABA, to Moreno, passing through El Palomar and henceforth Hurlingham, land of Sumo ), the audience gave a special frame to this real birthday party.
average of the night the lights went out and Mollo appeared aloneon a small stage set up in front of the enclosure of lights and sounds, for an emotional performance seafood spaghetti. And since then the climate has changed.
Divididos’ passion for Argentine popular music is well known. Without going any further, Arnedo’s father, Mario Arnedo Gallo, was a celebrated musician and composer from Santiago, whose songs were sung by greats such as Mercedes Sosa, Chalchaleros and Huanca Huá. Diego himself has an excellent command of the legüero bass drum.
The other leg is obviously Ricardo Mollo, who this Saturday with his colleagues dedicated himself to reeling off the versions of the muleteer (by Atahualpa Yupanqui, mixing zamba with blues), Windy of Tucumantogether with the catamarcan singer Nadia Larcher, e guanqueandoby the rural master Ricardo Vilca.
An out-of-print closure
However, the icing on the cake was yet to come. And it came from the hand of Chizzo Nápoli. The La Renga singer and guitarist joined the trio to make Pineapple Sober and Who Has Drank All the Wine?conforming with Ricardo a pair of infernal guitars.
Let’s remember that Mollo was the producer of four of that other trio’s albums. But don’t settle and showing an absolutely generous attitude for these selfish times, Divisi left the stage to make way for the other two-thirds of La Renga.
A hallucinated crowd watched like this a new recital where those of Mataderos (once again the West present) stormed the night. Chizzo, Teté and the Tank unstitched it, as the tribune Velezana would say, in a version of The end is where I left off. By the way: a joint play of the lame and the divided in the future wouldn’t be a bad idea.
“What more could you want?”Mollo asks at one point. Nothing Ricardo, stay calm because they gave everything. Artists and audience. The end almost has no end, because Divided want to play a lot tonight. It’s her party and nothing can dim it. Thirty years have gone by without setting foot in a stadium. Up front, just bliss in motion (thanks Cipolatti).
And, once again, in a time of so much musical aridity, of overwhelming mediocrity… Who said all is lost? Divided arrives to offer its rock and roll.
Source: Clarin
