There wasn’t much room to dance in Eclectic’s main room, but the crowd was still able to enjoy Orquestra Fiebre’s reunion show on Saturday night. The student salsa band, which had performed Afro-Cuban music for crowds of up to 400, disbanded last semester because of the graduation of most of its members. The group came together, though, to play at senior cocktails on Feb. 23, and gave their last on-campus performance at Eclectic. The reunion concert, sponsored by the Student Event Collective [SEC], marked the SEC’s third collaboration with Fiebre.
Fiebre’s last campus performance, the Salsa Festival in April 2005, featured a twelve-piece band. For the reunion, however, they added two members, forming a fourteen-piece group made of a mix of new faces, returning members and alumni. Percussionist Rene W. Solomon ’07 stressed the importance of one alumnus in particular.
“We never sound right without the founder of the group, Justin Martinez [’05],” Solomon said. “Being a fellow percussionist he is the heart and soul of the group for me.”
The Eclectic performance did indeed highlight the two percussionists. Martinez, who decided to come back as bongocero, was the backbone of the percussion section. His beats kept the energy going all evening. According to Solomon, Martinez’s presence was a large part of what accounted for Fiebre’s tight sound.
“Last night was the first time we sounded good this semester except for a few shining moments during rehearsal,” he said.
In addition to Martinez, three other alumni returned to Wesleyan to perform. Lead singer Luis Miguel Henai ’04 lent a spirited voice to several tunes. Saxophonist Jon Shestakofsky ’05 and trumpet player Chris Brown ’04 brought their experience back to the Fiebre horn section.
Several musicians made their Fiebre debut alongside these alumni. Pianist Rob Cohen ’06 and trombonist Anthony Nikolchev ’08 were Fiebre’s instrumental additions. The other new members – Reyson Punzalan’07, Mike Tapscott’07 and Leslie Prado’07 – are all vocalists.
With this complete line up, Fiebre was primed to excite the crowd. Caliente! dance troupe, which often collaborates with Fiebre, gave a salsa dance lesson before the show. Some members of the large crowd tried to salsa in outer rooms once Fiebre came on, but most of the crammed audience simple cheered and enjoyed the music.
“The crowd and atmosphere was so good that I can’t really speak on it … I know when we play, we have more fun than anyone else in the room, which I think is contagious,” Solomon said.
Both the excitement about Fiebre’s reunion and the SEC’s large publicity campaign led to the huge crowd. If the effort the SEC put into promoting this show was greater than normal, it was for good reason.
“Back in spring 2005 when it was formed, the Student Event Collective’s sole objective was to organize the Salsa Festival with Orquestra Fiebre,” said Kingston Wong’06, president of the SEC.
The SEC was also responsible for bringing the Beat Notion to Eclectic to open for Fiebre. After playing for smaller crowds at venues such as the Bayit, the up-and-coming group’s first Eclectic performance featured their signature blend of rock and funk reminiscent of Sly and the Family Stone.
Formed in February 2005, Beat Notion has become one of the most promising campus bands. Pianist Nate Kaufman ’08 and lead guitarist Eric Lach ’08 give intricate instrumentations to the band’s songs, while vocalist Lily Costner ’08 contributes a soulful voice.
The Beat Notion will be playing at La Boca restaurant in Middletown on April 12. They also hope to continue their relationship with the SEC and play many more concerts on campus in the coming months.
Orquestra Fiebre’s fate is less certain.
“Fiebre may or may not come back in a different form next year when myself and other founding members Owen Roberts, Dave Cordes and Marc Anderson are seniors,” Solomon said.
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