Las Vegas Weekly

May 23, 2009 · 1:28 PM

Hablas Spanglish? Ozomatli brings LA to the Hard Rock

By Sarah Feldberg

LA-based band Ozomatli played at the Hard Rock Pool on May 22.

Photo: Sarah Feldberg

LA-based seven piece Ozomatli brought their musical stew of hip hop, rock, salsa and funk to the Hard Rock Pool last night for a show packed with hip swinging rhythms and border crossing lyrics.

The bilingual band’s Spanglish songs drifted over the poolscape, the words bouncing between rap and straight song, as the group danced, jumped and sang into the exuberant crowd. Mixed into the eclectic melodies, were a few familiar covers. Charles Wright’s “Express Yourself” popped into the mix, as did a few bars from Sublime, each punctuating Ozomatli’s patchwork renditions of hits off their 2007 album Don’t Mess with the Dragon like a momentary mashup.

But while the interludes were a pleasant surprise, it was the Grammy-winning band’s tunes like “La Gallina” and “Can’t Stop” that really got the diverse crowd moving.

As night swept over the stage, Ozomatli sang out the call and response refrain from “Ya Viene el Sol” off their 2003 album Coming Up. With the audience filling in half of each line, the group sang out words that combined their bilingual flavor and high energy live performance: “Oye, baby. Oye, mami. Dónde está la after party?”

Hey, baby. Hey, mami. Where is the after party?

If Ozomatli is going to be there, I’d really like to know.

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