Fresno Famous

Last night my band (trike shop, blake jones & the) played at the Starline.
The band played well, the audience was sparse but growing
(we started earlier than normal, and earlier than originally advertised).

Late that night, the headliner Mad Juana played. They were cool; they were quite the spectacle, had lots of interesting instruments [accordion, trumpet, violin, plus the more normal rock gear].

BUT,
the band that grabbed me by the shirt and made me stand up and cheer was a small flamenco combo: flamenco guitar, singer, dancer, percussionist.

The group is led by Jasmin Caris and Omar Nare'. I'm not sure they have a 'group' name.
I wish I was a better writer and could convey the magic that was there:
the communication with the audience, the intense skill well-displayed,
and the cohesion of the group----the cross-rhythms provided by the guitar/clapping hands/dancing feet/ and the smacking of the percussion guy-----James Brown himSELF would've been proud of how it
interlocked and just plain out ROCKED.

I absolutely *love* happening upon new music to get excited about, and totally dig it that talent in our area keeps reaching up, slapping me across the face and waking me up.

Go see these guys/gals. I am told they play at Flamencos every Friday and Saturday---that's the Brazilian restaurant on Palm and Herndon.

[thanks to Jon Kapetan for putting this eclectic bill together!]