February 02, 2015

Mr. No Shame

         I went to see the Latin band, Mr. No Shame, at the Stephen Talkhouse on October 1, 2014. Luckily, I saw them perform there before and made friends with them. Their style is infused with rock, dance, folk, and pop elements. The reason I like their music is because it is so diverse and unique. The band is made up of six members: Carolina plays the piano and is the lead vocalist, Fabian is the lead electric guitarist, Willy is the bass player, Jorge plays drums and the father-and-son-percussion-duo Aquiles Jr and Sr play the bongos, jambe, congas, and timbales.
         The Stephan Talkhouse is a bar setting; it is a very old-school wooden shack. The stage always has this Indian banner hung up in the background. In front of the stage is a bar and in the middle are a row of seats. The venue is built to have people standing up or dancing, rather than sitting down. The inside is much smaller than a concert hall. It makes the concert more intimate because the performers can definitely see everyone in the audience. For the night of the Mr. No Shame concert, the venue was filled with their fans and friends. The concert attire is usually very mellow and casual; people usually sport jeans and some hipster top. Typically for this concert, what is expected is a lot of dancing and just jamming out to the songs. People are usually drinking and just grooving to the music.
         At their concerts, Mr. No Shame dress very casually: jeans and a graphic tee. Sometimes, they even wear fedoras. They are known to dance along to their songs and move around with their instruments. They are very energetic and never play sitting down and usually invite someone to come up and dance on stage or play a beat on the bongos. For this concert, they played their full album Impudens. Each song was played as it appeared on the album. When they play, there are lights constantly changing and fog is provided to add this edgy feel. I loved their show and not just because I got to perform. They inspired me to write my own songs and perform them because they have such an energetic stage presence and are so passionate about their music.
         Mr. No Shame is known for their elaborate ensemble including trumpet, violins, bass guitar, lead guitar, bongos, rain shaker, and piano. The lead vocalist is Carolina and when she sings she has this soft, light tone. Her vocals are talk-like, but can shift to more operatic qualities. The songs are mostly about self-righteousness and having “no shame” in who you are and what you do. My favorite song is "Es Vivir." The lyrics are in Spanish, but the first verse translates to “ It’s to walk, to get lost, it’s to laugh and suffer. It’s to believe and create. My truth may vary. And in the end you and me in whatever place is an illusion, reality, I die to live even more!”
         This concert was one of the best because it had been such a long time since I had seen them perform. The whole night I jammed alongside my friends and relished in their energy. The lights changed all the time and the fog just made the performance so much more fun and exciting. I would like to see them again because they are such great performers. This was definitely a memorable experience. To be with all these people in the shack just jamming to Mr. No Shame’s songs was amazing!

-Veronica Chumbi, Fall 2014