Between Helene and Milton, There was Cyclone Cimafunk
[There were NO photographers at this show. These were taken by Val Chaparro Yacaman @veechaps
at the Cimafunk show October 5 in Miami.]
The West Coast of Florida took a battering it hadn’t experienced in more than a century with off-shore Helene and and on-shore Milton doing the damage. In between those disasters was a cyclone of a different sort, swirling like a tornado through Tom DeGeorge’s amazing club Crowbar in Ybor City (Tampa) on Sunday October 6. Cyclone Cimafunk filled the club with incredible great music, great vibes, and great love. Kudos to Phil Benito and Brokenmold Entertainment for bring this show to Crowbar.
In fact, Benito is one of the first promoter to bring Cimafunk to Tampa in March of 2022 for Gasparilla Music Festival, and his ensemble tore the figurative roof off the sucker. So it’s Benito’s fault I’ve been fortunate enough to catch Cimafunk six more times before this Crowbar show.
Cimafunk are in the middle of their 2024 World Tour, with 13 more U.S. shows into November before they cross the ocean for 11 European dates. This tour is in support of the band’s new album issued in August: Pa’Tu Cuerpa.
The October 6 show was very, very special for several reasons. This band continues to get even more amazing with each show, and they blew out all the stops for this one. Six of the previous shows were at music festivals and one outdoor show in 2022 at The Cuban Club. This show was the first time where the Latino crowd outnumbered the rest of us, and the result was pure magic. Most of “us” don’t speak Spanish and cannot understand most of the lyrics or his witty stage banter, but they sure did, and they could sing back the refrains to all of the songs. That call-and-response groove kicked this show into the stratosphere as the band responded in kind.
Doors opened at 7:30, and DJ Blenda kept the crowd dancing with deep Latin grooves.
Cimafunk band are: Raúl Zapata Suri, drums; Mario Gabriel Mesa Meriño, percussions; Ibanez Hermida Marrero, bass; Diego Barrera Hernández, guitar; Arthur Luis Álvarez Torres, keyboards, piano; Ilarivis Garcia Despaigne, trombone, vocals; Katerin LLerena, tenor saxophone, vocals; and Miguel Enrique Piquero Villavicencio, minor percussions, vocals.
The band walked on stage at 8:50, with Cimafunk shimmying and shaking a moment later to a great roar of approval. The ripped into a great warmup intro that morphed into “Caramelo,” and everyone stepped into the groove with this titanic band. Don’t bother searching for a weak link in this ensemble; you won’t find one! The back line of Meriño on drums and Villavicencio on percussion were non-stop providing that magical Cuban groove, and the unsung hero for me was Marrero, one of the baddest deep bass players you’ll ever hear.
“Caramelo” yielded to “Cocinarte,” and the party was ON! Next up were three of the new tunes from Pa’Tu Cuerpa, beginning with a gorgeous slow keyboard feature from Torres that rapidly sped up into “Playa Noche.” Then the ladies stepped up for the hot “Catalina.” I know this is a Cimafunk show, but let tell you this is for damn sure also a Despaigne and LLerena show, trombone and tenor respectively and fabulous vocals from both. In fact, almost everybody in the band sings… and sings very well.
The first great crowd singalong came during new tune “Dime,” and with that the room transformed into something truly special. And this is as good a time as any to say that the sound engineer NAILED this assignment PERFECTLY!
LLerena’s slow tenor playing led to “Rómpelo,” a true band favorite, and the party blasted into space. Cimafunk and LLerena had a great close-up duet, Marrero blew it up, and outstanding guitarist Hernández ripped a righteous solo. A great surprise occurred during smokin’ tune “Paciente” as excellent Tampa alto sax player Trace Zacur blew one hell of a solo as LLerena made sure her vocal mic was available. Then she and Despaigne soloed, followed by Meriño on percussion, and more killer bass.
Next up were two more new tracks well received by the appreciative audience: “Cuchi Cuchi” and “La Pomada”; the latter featured more great guitar and lead vocals by Villavicencio, who sings backup and adds expert percussion to the picadillo marinating on stage. He also busted some awesome dance moves a bit later. More singalongs popped up during “Cun Cun Prá” and “Relajao.”
I had previously considered the logistics of what would unfold when Cimafunk got those unmistakable open guitar notes to the band’s signature tune “Me Voy.” I considered, but Cimafunk always (OK, didn’t work on Jam Cruise, but…) invites a host of ladies on stage to dance in the middle of the song. The Crowbar stage is tight, but still they managed to get a dozen or so on stage to shake it with Cimafunk.
He walked off the stage briefly as the band launched into “Funk Aspirin,” the tune he co-wrote with George Clinton containing lots of P-Funk grooves, most prominently “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker).” He returned after taking off his shirt! The band always crushes this one (well, the whole damn set).
After a soul-stirring hour and a half, the band walked off. I assure you there would have been riots had they not returned for an encore. Equally, I assure that nothing could have prevented the smiling band to return for one more tune.
And it was done. Cimafunk’s Cuban James Brown on steroids continues to blow minds. This is glorious, feel-good music, and they hit the mark every time.
Catch them every chance you get.
DJ Blenda kept the dance party moving for those waiting to talk to band members who were gracious with their time.
[10.06.24: Intro > Caramelo, Cocinarte, Playa Noche*, Catalina*, Dime*, Rómpelo, Paciente, Cuchi Cuchi*, La Pomada*, Cun Cun Prá, Relajao, Me Voy, Funk Aspirin; E: ?]
* songs from new album Pa’Tu Cuerpa
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