Andres Bedoya/Staff Writer
Every year St. Patrick’s Day is an excuse to go out, wear green, and have a drink, or five.
This phenomenon was no different at The Stage in Miami’s design district. As soon as we arrived to the bar, the Irish pride was running strong with friendly faces and Guinness beer.
On March 17, The Stage was host to the first annual Latin Funk O’delic Dia de San Patricio Music Festival. The place was packed with an older crowed that Nacho from the band Arboles Libres described as a “crowd from Coral Gables.”
The Stage is divided between the inside area which includes the stage, two bars parallel to each other, and the outside patio with its outside bar, nice chilling areas and the food truck. Due to the rain, no one was outside making the place inside seem like a full house.
The show started at 12:15 a.m. with Ketchy Shuby taking the stage and starting out strong with fun crowed interactions and dance music. Throughout most of the set the crowed was moving, and the music was on point.
The band has been together with the current lineup of seven members for three years, and it really showed in the chemistry they create on stage.
When the rain stopped, about half of the people moved outside but just as it seemed like they were about to mellow down, Ketchy Shuby played their last and most powerful song “Out of My Mind,” leaving a rush of energy in the ears of the half-drunk audience that greeted them with satisfied cheers and applause’s, a well appreciated response to redeem the last time they played the venue and had a unappreciative crowd.
Photo by Andres Bedoya
We left the venue to get some fresh air and returned to a complete cultural mood change.
Conjunto Progreso came on at 1:30 a.m. and had about half of the crowd dancing in couples to the sounds of salsa.
The horns were blowing hard and bright to the rhythm of the congas and the upright bass, and the singer’s soulful flow kept the music alive. Conjunto Progreso covered the song “No le Pege a la Negra,” and most people started singing along to the popular salsa classic by Joe Arroyo.
By 2:10 a.m. the mood was more relaxed even if some people refuse to take a break from dancing. In order to get the audience a second wind the band invited a girl to the stage to do the “Sugar Dance.” This consisted of left and right hand extensions followed by fingers pointing to the eyes and up to the sky. The final step was placing the arms in front and thrust the hips forward, repeat it fifteen or twenty times and the dance is done.
We left The Stage at 2:30 a.m., satisfied and with good reviews from other local artists like Sean Wouters from The Deaf Poets.
“It was really impressive,” Wouters said. “I was surprised so many people came here not really expecting anything and it ended up being amazing. Ketchy Shuby was awesome and Conjunto Progreso was ridiculous, I haven’t seen a salsa band this tight”.
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