Coachella 2015: Chicano Batman, sun-splashed and smiling
Kevin Bronson on
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Who: Chicano Batman at the Outdoor Theatre
In 3 or Fewer Words: Buenas vibraciones.
Memorable Because: It’s quite possible that Chicano Batman sweated all the way through their powder-blue tuxedo shirts by their third song, but the L.A. quartet, one of the few Latin acts booked at Coachella in recent years, was still the coolest band playing on Sunday afternoon, exuding nothing but positivity during their 40 minutes on the Outdoor Theatre stage. Singer-guitarist-keyboardist Bardo Martinez’s infectious smile and agile vocals immediately set the tone; the material on the quartet’s sophomore album “Cycles of Existential Rhyme” did the rest, a mellifluous mix of retro guitar-pop and psychedelic soul as filtered through Tropicalia and cumbia. Whether sung in Spanish or English, their songs translated to simpatico with a small crowd of hip-swaying devotees.
What I’d Tell My Friends Who Were in the Sahara Tent: You know those flowers you’re wearing in your hair? This was the music for it.
— K.B. (Photos by Bronson)
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