Latino Bands From the Past Drum Up Immediacy

Drums! Drums! Drums! How else to sum up Friday night’s salsa-pop revival at the Galaxy Concert Theatre? With 10 lively and gifted percussionists spread over three bands, this was a concert where rhythm definitely reigned supreme.

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Indeed, the throbbing percussive pulse brought a much-appreciated sense of immediacy to what otherwise well might have been an oldies event dripping with nostalgia. It has been years--decades, in two of the three cases--since the pioneering Latin American music of Tierra, Malo and El Chicano resonated with a strong sense of currency.

But all three groups managed to kick out the jams with a good deal of authority during this shrewdly packaged show. Each band spent ample time divebombing into various extended instrumental workouts that smartly played up the tightly synchronized and highly dynamic nature of the crack rhythm sections.

At times headliner Tierra had as many as five percussionists on stage. Timbales, congas and drum traps blended to create a tribal vibe that cut straight to the heart and soul of the matter.

The set by the eight-piece group from East L.A. was the evening’s most diverse and polished. Brothers and longtime group leaders Rudy and Steve Salas brought engagingly direct vocal richness to the band’s early-’80s hits, the R&B-flavored; ballad “Together” and the disco-pop “Memories.” A cover of Jr. Walker & the All Stars’ classy “What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)” also transported portions of the generally enthusiastic crowd into a state of rapture.

Historically, Malo, from San Francisco, may have been the most noteworthy band on the bill. Its debut album from 1972 (“Malo,” re-released earlier this year on CD by Warner Bros. Records) ranks as one of the most appealing works by any Latino pop group. Malo’s performance Friday captured chunks of the album’s magic. The groove established by two dueling conga players and a frenetic timbale master was airtight, particularly during the lengthy improvisational segments.

Malo also was the most visually alluring of the three acts. Dressed-to-impress singers Arcelio Garcia (the only original member) and Martin Cantu are hyperkinetic performers who broke into both impromptu and choreographed dance steps.

Yet the set was marred by a number of bland new pop songs that even the Miami Sound Machine might have found too mainstream. Most disappointing was Garcia’s lackluster reading of “Suavecito,” Malo’s most beloved number.

El Chicano, from East L.A., offered little of Malo’s stage flair. Leader Bobby Espinosa is a rather low-key figure with a passable singing voice. The group did shine brightly, though, whenever it let the instruments do the talking. Percussionist Rudy Regalado, former Tower of Power guitarist Bruce Conte and Espinosa on keyboards all provided moments of jaw-dropping dexterity. El Chicano wrapped up its set with its signature song from 1973, “Tell Her She’s Lovely.”