Hard Cash at the Hard Rock

The Cosmetics + 6 million dollar wierdo + Los Dynamite

Hard Rock Live

4 August 2006
 

The Hard Rock, situated on the corned of Campos Elisios and Reforma and the lower end of Polanco, is spacious enough to accommodate 1000 people yet intimate enough to give everyone in attendance a decent view and a suggestion of interaction with the band. The floor in front of the stage has a unique perspective, almost sunken below the stage like an orchestra pit one truly feels part of the performance. The upper area (reserved for the non-paying elite) must give an excellent vantage point almost level with the action on stage. Adding on the acoustics of the venue, which are generally accepted to be of top quality and you have on the surface an excellent place to experience live music.

The night’s entertainment started with The Cosmetics, apparently making their first live performance. The band based in Naulcapan has been receiving heavy airplay recently with the related rise in myspace traffic (15,000 plays each for their two songs). Their music is unashamedly English is style; influences are stated as The Cure, Bowie, Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Stone Roses etc etc….and the lead singer Eduardo wears a Fred Perry T-shirt and flat cap on stage giving him the air of an East End geezer.

In fact Eduardo's fascination with English music has existed from the age of 10 when he receive his first Cure album and his understanding of English slang has been aided by close contact with Brits over many years. This insight is incorporated into the lyrics of the songs, mostly inspired by everyday events but given a sardonic twist.

The Cosmetics still have a long way to go from their roots as a cover band, but the group shows promise. The two songs receiving exposure “Mag Queen” and “Newcomers” are extremely popular and have created a real vibe that they need to take advantage of. There is a fine line between innovation and imitation and there are strong suggestions of the influences the band look to in the sound they create; but there is also something fresh within the limited portfolio of songs the band presently play.

Time, as ever, will tell whether the band will develop from the strong foundations they have created for themselves in the relatively short time that they have been focusing on original material. Maybe the Six Bells pub in Hoxton on the East side of London would have been a more appropriate starting point for their live career rather than the Hard Rock Live in Mexico City!

With 6 million dollar weirdo’s glam rock parody and Los Dynamite to finish the evening off with their polished stage show that has been used to support the strongest of foreign acts (including Bloc Party a few days later) the evening provided solid entertainment for a steady crowd. There really was only one problem; the $250 entrance price was verging on the ridiculous for two up and coming bands and one quality, local, act. Add on $35 a beer and a taxi home from the recommended “sito” outside that charged $180 for a ride that is usually $50 and you have New York not Mexico City prices.

The Hard Rock seems to be more about hard cash than anything else; it has as much to do with rock and roll as Mcdonalds have to do with a balance diet. The real danger is that this trend towards higher prices is emerging across the board with regards to live music in Mexico City and it is in danger of stifling the nascent scene.

Pasaguero a week later charging $100 for The Cosmetics 5 song set and Frenetix are just as mistaken in their pricing strategy as the Hard Rock. Profiteering is just as much piracy as file sharing and this applies to CD prices as well as the cost of events. Local income levels must be considered in making music available to all. Perhaps that is just it, how does one define local? Certainly the prices at the Hard Rock reflect per capita income in Polanco rather than el DF as a whole.