Ximena Sariñana At The Commodore
Friday, August 19, 2011
This experience with Hilary was a first for me but that did not prevent us from enjoying ourselves. The main reason is that before I ever met Les Wiseman I was a snob. Once I had I became a popular music snob, courtesy of the best teacher in the business, I learned to be choosy of the popular bands I listened to. For example Wiseman once told me, “If you have to like one heavy metal band it has to be Motorhead.” Wiseman knew his bands and he had an uncanny talent (before the existence of the internet) to spot trends and know which bands were good and which weren’t.
As snobs (and consider we never ever had to pay to get into the Commodore) we would go to listen to and interview warm-up bands and leave right after they played, avoiding completely the main act.
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| Mary Joe Kopechne, Buck Cherry, Ian Noble & Randy Carpenter |
Hilary and I did just that tonight. The headline act was some Australian called Sia. We didn’t stay for her or for the act between her and Ximena Sariñana, the singer we were there to see and hear.
My friend Les Wiseman would have understood and immediately discerned that Mexican-born Sarineña is unique in a field of young women who mostly sound alike and wear a minimum amount of clothing for effect. Sariñana’s musical partner, a handsome young man ended up being her brother Sebastián. Even that was refreshing.
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| Ximena Sariñana at the Commodore |
On our way out I noticed that T-shirts were being sold. I bought one for Rebecca. The person who sold it to me was Randy Carpenter. I had not seen him for at least 15 years. For him and for me the Commodore has changed. But briefly, as we shock hands, everything was as it was once.
