POP MUSIC REVIEW : ‘Revolucion’ Keeps Audience on Its Feet

You say you want a revolution? Well, try something else, because this one isn’t quite working.

For the second time in a month, a politically charged rock en espan~ol festival failed to draw the sold-out crowds that “regular” Latin rock concerts usually attract.

Following the recent Big Top Locos benefit at the Universal Amphitheatre, Monday’s “Revolucion ‘95” at the Greek Theatre drew 4,000--considerable, but nevertheless disappointing for an annual festival that is hyped as the ultimate rock en espan~ol event in the United States.

Whatever the reasons for the low turnout, the bands did keep the audience on its feet for most of the five-hour-plus evening.

As they have done for the last few years, Maldita Vecindad concentrated on songs from their 1991 “El Circo” album, adding several tunes from their upcoming, long-overdue third record. Their eclectic mix of everything from punk to world beat to Mexican popular music reaffirmed the instrumental progress they’ve shown in recent live shows and the new songs left the crowd hoping that this time the famous “new album” will actually be ready soon.

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La Lupita, the best of the younger Mexican bands, and La Castan~eda, a favorite Los Angeles group, delivered their familiar ingredients: La Lupita a furious, humorous package of funk, pop, metal, norten~as and a little disco, and La Castan~eda a depressing but hard-driving view of “the world’s most polluted city.”

Fobia, one of the most popular Mexican pop-rock bands of the last few years, was the night’s tightest act. Of all the major Mexican bands, Fobia is the one most closely identified with British pop, showing no interest in the “ethnic fusion” of Mexican alternative rock. Their new songs and solid musicianship seem to indicate that this might be their best year, after living in the shadows of Caifanes and Maldita Vecindad for a long time.

Aurora Negra and Voz D’Mano, two of L.A.’s best rock en espan~ol bands, were treated as fill-in material at the beginning of the show; they were allowed only short, three-song sets. So much for home field advantage.