Molotov y Café Tacuba por los inundados

Los mexicanos participarán el próximo 19 en "Rock pa'l sureste", un concierto a beneficio de los damnificados por las inundaciones del estado sureño de Tabasco.

El espectáculo, en el cual estarán también sus compatriotas La maldita Vecindad y Zoé, será al aire libre en el Bosque de Tlalpan, una zona verde al sur de la capital mexicana.

Molotov expresó durante la presentación de su último álbum (Eternamiente) en noviembre su intención de buscar algún tipo de iniciativa para colaborar con los afectados, siguiendo el ejemplo de otros artistas mexicanos. Alejandro Fernández donó recientemente todo lo recaudado en uno de sus recitales, mientras que otros como Julieta Venegas y Natalia Lafourcade participaron también en un concierto solidario.

Para los que están cerca, las entradas costarán unos 300 pesos (unos 27 dólares). ¡A colaborar!

¿No me verás volver?

Después de haber tocado para más de un millón de personas en 9 países diferentes (Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, México, Panamá, Ecuador, Perú y Los Angeles y Miami en Estados Unidos), Soda Stereo anunció desde Miami que no seguirá tocando durante 2008. Todo terminará en el mismo lugar donde empezó, Buenos Aires, donde queda por llenar el último estadio, el 21 de diciembre.

"Soda Stereo ratifica que el show del próximo 21 de diciembre en el estadio River Plate será el último de su gira de retorno y todas las versiones sobre conciertos en el año 2008 son absolutamente infundadas", informaron los encargados de comunicación de la banda. Según dicen cada uno seguirá por su lado, Gustavo Cerati, Zeta Bosio y Charly Alberti volverán a separarse. Entonces, no esperen más Soda. Por ahora...

Metallica, de nuevo en camino

¿Ansiosos por saber cómo va a sonar el próximo disco de Metallica? Bueno, James Hetfield tiene algunas palabras para calmar a las masas, por ahora. "No queremos hacer algo muy bueno, queremos algo excelente y Rick Rubin está ayudándonos a conseguirlo", adelantó el cantante en la revista del club de fans oficial de la banda. James habló así del trabajo que están realizando junto al famoso productor, uno de los más importantes de la industria discográfica, que buscará llevarlos de nuevo a la cima de los charts mundiales.

• Molotov
• Café Tacuba
• Soda Stereo
• Metallica

Coldplay's Chris Martin
Photo: Karl Walter/Getty Images

UNIVERSAL CITY, California — Chris Martin only forgot the words once.

After taking more than a year off from performing, Coldplay returned to the stage over the weekend, headlining influential public radio station KCRW-FM's annual A Sounds Eclectic Evening concert on Saturday at the Universal Amphitheatre and warming up the night before at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. (Click for photos from Saturday's show.)

And while Martin stumbled through the opening of "Politik" during the encore of the KCRW show, the singer more than made up for it by treating fans to five new tracks from X&Y, due June 7, and six old favorites.

"When you have a record coming out and everyone's talking all this sh-- about you, there's a fine line between arrogance and total fear and dread, and I like to think we tread the line extremely badly," Martin joked of his nerves late into Saturday's sold-out show.

Still, Coldplay showed confidence in their new material, opening the set with an ambitious, Radiohead-ish tune, and later boasting that a different new number is "f---ing good."

The former, called "Square One" according to Coldplay's Web site (Martin never said any song titles), features a techno beat and guitar effects that could score a sci-fi movie.

Coldplay led the opener right into A Rush of Blood to the Head's "In My Place," during which Martin danced around the stage, hopping on one foot and proudly announcing, "We're Coldplay, from Britain."

Another new track, "White Shadows," a U2-inspired number that featured Martin joining Jonny Buckland on electric guitar, followed. "It's been a while," Martin then said during their first breather. "Some of us have cut our hair or grown our hair, but you guys came out to see us and took a shot once again."

Martin, whose hair was in fact visibly more shaggy, then led the band through "The Scientist," "Daylight" and "Sparks," during which Buckland played both the piano and guitar. "He's the most talented person, as are the rest of the guys in the band ... except for me," Martin quipped. Actually, Martin's got his talents as well, as he showed at the end of "The Scientist," when he sang a verse backward (something he learned while shooting the video). "Check this out!" he bragged with a boyish grin.

After "Sparks," with fans mostly relaxed in their seats, Coldplay introduced the new balled "A Message," which had a similar feel. "My song is love, is love I know/ And I've got to get that message home," Martin sang.

"You don't have to sit down for this one," Martin said as he pounded the piano opening of "Clocks," which easily brought the audience to its feet.

"We're proud of this song, but if you don't like it, f--- it, listen to the old stuff," Martin said to introduce "What If," a moving mid-tempo almost certainly about the singer's new child, Apple, with wife Gwyneth Paltrow. "What if she should decide/ That she don't want me there by her side/ That she don't want me there in her life," Martin sang over atmospheric, Sigur Rós-like backing.

After "Politik," Coldplay brought out "Speed of Sound," the first single off X&Y, which goes to radio stations in mid-April. The tune also has a breakbeat similar to "Square One," but the guitars are more prominent and the solos in the bridge make for a more anthemlike number.

"Hopefully we'll see you soon with a proper live show and even more new songs, proper outfits, everything you could dream of from 'Pop Idol,' but better," Martin said before the finale. "This is an oldie but goodie."

That "oldie" would be "Yellow," during which Martin begged for the house lights to come on (and it took some begging) and then asked for the audience to handle the singing.

KCRW, especially Nic Harcourt's flagship show, "Morning Becomes Eclectic," was the first American radio station to spin Coldplay, so Saturday's annual benefit for the station was a chance for payback.

Although past A Sounds Eclectic Evenings have featured surprise guests like Beck, Pete Yorn and Flaming Lips, Joseph Arthur was the only unannounced performer Saturday (not to take anything away from his intriguing live show, which finds Arthur building backing tracks live with the help of technology).

Rock en español stars Cafe Tacuba, Paul Buchanan (formerly of the Scottish cult band the Blue Nile), Prince-inspired soul singer Van Hunt, English singer/songwriter Aqualung, piano-pounding songstress Nellie McKay and female rock trio the Like rounded out the four-and-a-half-hour show.

Coldplay's only two confirmed North American dates for 2005 so far are on April 29 at Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and the following night at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California (see "Coachella Snags Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Bright Eyes, Wilco"), but according to the band's management, a 40-city North American tour is scheduled to kick off in late July.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• KCRW's "Sounds Eclectic Evening" With Coldplay

• Coldplay
• Café Tacuba
• Van Hunt
• Nellie McKay

Julieta Venegas at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards Latin America
Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images

The united colors of the Americas were on display at the third annual MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, as the Black Eyed Peas, Avril Lavigne, Maroon 5, Julieta Venegas, Café Tacuba and La Ley all took home awards.

The show's performances were equally diverse: the Peas, Lenny Kravitz, the Beastie Boys and rapper Pitbull represented the U.S., while Venegas, Molotov, Juanes and others held it down for Latin America. Unity was on display during the Peas' show-opening set, as the group was joined by Diego Torres, La Ley and Venegas for Spanish-language covers of songs including "Yeah!," "Hey Ya!" and their own "Hey Mama" and "Let's Get Retarded."

The show, which took place Thursday night in Miami, saw multiple awards handed out to Venegas (who dominated the show with three wins), Mexican group Café Tacuba and L.A.'s Maroon 5, who each took home two awards.

Although the ceremony was scripted entirely in Spanish (including an introduction from Bono and banter from other English-speaking artists), international acts were well represented. Maroon 5 were crowned Best International Rock Artist and International New Artist, besting acts like Franz Ferdinand and Yellowcard. Avril Lavigne won Best International Pop Artist for the second consecutive year (beating out Beyoncé, Hilary Duff, Joss Stone and Nelly Furtado), while the Black Eyed Peas won the new category of Best International Hip-Hop/R&B Artist over 50 Cent, Beastie Boys, Outkast and Usher.

Latin award-winners included Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz, who won for Best Pop Artist (for which host Rubio was also nominated), and up-and-comer Belinda, who took home a trophy for Best New Artist: Mexico. Rockers Airbag won Best New Artist: Argentina, and Torres won Best Artist: Argentina. (Mexico, Argentina and Central America received individual awards for the artist and new artist categories.)

Instead of receiving a Moonman statue, as the winners of the U.S. VMAs do, each winning artist at the MTVLA VMAs was presented with a replica of a large pink tongue pierced with the MTV logo, which represents the Spanish language that unites most Latin Americans in the region.

Nominees in each of the 18 categories were chosen by the MTV Music and Video Academy, which is made up of music-industry professionals and MTV viewers. The winner in each category was determined by Latin American viewers who cast their votes online at MTV Latin America's Web site between September 7 and October 5.

The awards show, which took place at the Jackie Gleason Theater, will air on MTV on October 30 at 11 p.m. PT/ET.

• Julieta Venegas
• Café Tacuba
• Black Eyed Peas
• Lenny Kravitz
• Beastie Boys

Sonicnet Music News

The lineup for the Watcha 2000 Tour, the rock en español extravaganza that includes Mexico's edgy Café Tacuba and hip-hop/rock hybrid Molotov, Colombia's pop/trip-hop duo Aterciopelados, veteran Argentina rockeros Enanitos Verdes, and East L.A.'s worldly Ozomatli, is so impressive that even the bands are excited.

"For us it is a very good thing to play in big venues with other great groups. We are very proud to be part of this tour," Enanitos Verdes (Green Dwarves) singer/bassist Marciano Cantero said from a rehearsal studio in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Darryl Eaton is equally proud to be associated with the second coming of the Watcha (Spanglish for "check it out") Tour, which debuts August 11 in Universal City, California.

Eaton, a Creative Artists Agency representative, started the Watcha Tour last year along with Kevin Lyman (with whom he had created the Vans Warped Tour) and Latin band manager Jorge Mondragón. Eaton, who is Molotov's agent, recalled being invited by Mondragón to the "Vive Latino" concert, a two-day showcase for rock en español bands, in November 1998.

"I asked Kevin Lyman... 'What if we took out the U.S. bands and added in Latin bands? Just kept the same production, the same stages, and dropped all the Anglo bands in Miami?,'" he said. "It was a total experiment, but something we just decided to try to do."

Last year's Watcha Tour was remarkably successful for a new event, Eaton said. "The amazing thing is, the first-year Watcha actually did better numbers than the first-year Warped Tour. And the Warped Tour has now been around six years, and we're probably going to see 400,000-plus people this year [for Warped] in the U.S. alone."

Last year's Watcha lineup of "alter-Latino" bands included Café Tacuba (which returns to the latest edition after opening a tour for Beck earlier this year), Todos Tus Muertos, Argentina's Illya Kuryaki, and Puerto Rico's Puya.

"I think we were lucky in that we had great bands. It was just a great collection of very talented bands in the area of rock en español," Eaton said.

Eaton also is trying to entice the Warped Tour fans to attend this year's Watcha, which includes an August 14 showcase in New York in conjunction with the Latin Alternative Music Conference.

Last year, Molotov played on both bills. This summer, Argentine metal rock outfit A.N.I.M.A.L. is doing the same. (Warped wraps August 6 in El Paso, Texas.)

"That's what we're hoping. We try to put one of the rock en español bands on the Warped Tour every year," Eaton said.

Watcha 2000 is loaded with bands such as Argentina's Enanitos Verdes, who have a following in the United States but nothing compared to what they have in South America. In 1995 they played to 60,000 people on a beach in Lima, Peru. "We have pictures," singer/bassist Cantero said, as if he couldn't quite believe it himself.

The Argentines will be emphasizing their latest album, 1999's "Nectar," which includes the anthem "Cordillera" (Mountain Range) and the ominous sax- and flute-spiked "Tequila." But "we will be playing songs from all our albums," Cantero said. He'll be joined by guitarist Felipe Staiti, drummer Daniel Piccolo, and guest guitarist Marcelo Lucero.

Twice nominated for Grammy Awards, Enanitos Verdes have 11 albums in all, including 1996's "Guerra Gaucha," which was produced by friend Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers). In fact, having been around since 1979 (with a brief separation at the start of the '90s), the trio is older than the Watcha Tour's target audience.

The musicians speak to the history of rock en español, especially in Argentina, where they don't even represent the first generation of rockeros.

"We have a little bit of Argentinean music, but not the traditional or the folk music. But we have a lot of years hearing Argentine rock, with musicians like Luis Alberto Spinetta and Charly Garcia," Cantero said.

"When I was a kid, I hear Spinetta and Charly Garcia," he added. "So we have a lot of background in the rock of Argentina."

The current itinerary for Watcha 2000:

• 8/11 - Universal City, CA @ Universal Amphitheatre
• 8/12 - Chula Vista, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre
• 8/13 - San Jose, CA @ Santa Clara Fairgrounds
• 8/14 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza (Watcha Showcase)
• 8/16 - Denver, CO @ Fillmore
• 8/18 - Chicago, IL @ Aragon
• 8/19 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew's Hall
• 8/22 - Worchester, MA @ Palladium
• 8/23 - New York, NY @ Tunnel
• 8/25 - Santo Domingo, DR @ Quisqueya Stadium
• 8/26 - San Juan, PR @ Hiram Bithorn Amphitheatre
• 8/27 - Miami, FL @ Bayfront Park

• Café Tacuba

Café Tacuba, Ozomatli, and Molotov will be among the artists flexing their Latino pride on this year's Watcha tour, which kicks off in August.

Enanitos Verdes, Aterciopelados, and A.N.I.M.A.L. will also be on board when the tour begins its 18-city run in Los Angeles. As we previously reported, one of the tour's stops will find Molotov headlining a Watcha Tour showcase on August 14 at Irving Plaza in New York, as part of the Latin Alternative Music Conference (see "Molotov Headline Latin Alternative Music Conference").

For Café Tacuba and Molotov, Watcha 2000 marks a return to the festival as both bands played the tour's inaugural run last year with Puya, Illya Kuryaki, Todos Tus Muertos, Bersuit Vergarabat, and others.

This year, there will be a charitable twist on the tour as well as 50 cents from every ticket will go to a scholarship fund at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities with scholarships being awarded to students in each of the l8 cities the tour will visit.

If you want to check out what "Spin" magazine described as "a seamless marathon of bandsŠ packed with Latino punks, Goths, rockeros and generic hipsters flying various national flagsŠ a day of well-earned brown pride," here's where to check out the tour (as always, tour dates are subject to change):

• 8/11 - Los Angeles, CA
• 8/12 - San Diego, CA
• 8/13 - San Jose, CA
• 8/14 - New York, NY
• 8/16 - Denver, CO
• 8/18 - Chicago, IL
• 8/19, - Detroit, MI
• 8/20 - Washington, DC
• 8/22 - Boston, MA
• 8/23 - New York, NY
• 8/25 - Santo Domingo
• 8/26 - Puerto Rico
• 8/27 - Miami, FL
• 8/30 - Houston, TX
• 8/31 - San Antonio, TX
• 9/1 - South Padre Island, TX
• 9/2 - Dallas, TX
• 9/3 - El Paso. TX
• 9/4 - Phoenix, AZ

• Café Tacuba
• Ozomatli