Off the top of your head, how many times do you remember telling someone that a certain event they couldn’t attend was a ‘you simply had to be there’ type-deal? It doesn’t have to be a concert, it could have been any kind of event, ideally one involving a large gathering of people. Maybe from the moment the event kicked off, it was clear everyone would enjoy themselves and be fully engaged in the festivities. Maybe from this one all-encompassing moment it berthed several smaller, individual and unforgettable moments. Maybe all-in-all, the vibes were truly just that immaculate. Why was the opening question asked? Because Divino Niño’s concert Tuesday night at the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville may well have been that type of event.
Divino Niño’s co-headlining tour stop at Somerville’s Crystal Ballroom was my first live music experience at the very young venue. As the night progressed and the Chicago-by-way-of-Colombia five-piece continued to captivate their audience with their blend of Latino-influenced dream pop tunes, it became clear why the spacious and dance-friendly venue was chosen as the night’s live music haven. Front-to-back, the band’s recently released second album, Last Spa on Earth, motions to the listener to bring their best self to the dance floor with its combination of indie psychedelia and dream pop harmonies laced with the best beats that nuevo reggaeton has to offer. Add the signature kind of singing particularly found in neoperrea and it becomes impossible to, at the very least, not want to sway your body at least a little bit.
And thus, Divino Niño needed this ample dancing space for their very infectious, dance-inducing music that only Crystal Ballroom could provide; ample space so that their devoted audience could lose themselves to the music, which they did. It’s pretty easy to dance along to every rhythm when the band members give off a very mellow, easygoing, and welcoming stage presence, musicians whose steadfast devotion to their own gallery of songs becomes very apparent immediately after the first couple of notes of played; artists who, if it’s effortless for them to become hypnotized by their own work and translate that state into a show, it’s every bit as simple to mesmerize their audience, and then quickly transform that mesmerization into a spirit that’s more animated. The group’s live music, the crowd being one with the music, the energy being exchanged between the two parties—it was truly a baile you would feel bad about not being able to attend.
Of course, the party doesn’t get going on its own. Someone must always be there to get the crowd pumped, to usher them onto the dance floor and get them moving. Such was Pieri’s role as the opener for this tour. Combining experimental and aggressive strands of hyperpop that can still maintain a graceful tone, all the while also flourishing in the waters of musica urbana, Pieri is an artist providing music that can get you moving one moment before rapidly kicking you in your senses the next moment, and making you resume dancing as if nothing just occurred. She boasts both a small setlist and a presence full of swagger, loading each Spanish-language lyric with the confidence of an already established pop star. Despite only EP and a handful of other songs, those songs are loaded to the brim with production that runs the full spectrum of moods. Add in a voice that demands to be played repeatedly, and I’ll leave it at this: I would be equal parts shocked and heartbroken if Pieri was not headlining her own shows within a few years time.
On a final note, I must say, if we had more of these Divino Niño—Little Jesus—Pieri concerts, where enjoying some fantastic live musica urbana was the short-term goal and giving yourself up completely to these most danceable of rhythms was the long-term goal, on a more regular basis at the Ballroom, unbeholden to any concert tour and just as this dependable outlet to go for some dancing, we’d all be much better off.
Check out our gallery from the show below.
