For the first time in history, 80s new wave band A Flock of Seagulls shared the stage with Latin Grammy Award winners Los Palominos Saturday, Oct. 6 at the Ford AutMus Fest.
The musical event’s extraordinary bill also included Turbo 350, The Flamin’ Hellcats, Girl in a Coma, Vallejo, Tex-Mex Kadillaks, Dean Seltzer, Fastball, D.J. Flaco, L.A. Guns with Tracii Gunn, and the Pocos Pero Locos crew.
Rockabilly band Turbo 350, named after a Chevy transmission, kicked off the concert, followed by psychobilly band The Flamin’ Hellcats.
“It’s a privilege to be a part of such an eclectic lineup. I had a blast opening,” said Richie Vasquez, Hellcats’ drummer.
“We like Laredo a lot. People really seem to appreciate the music,” said Jeremy Jacob, drummer of Turbo 350, who will be returning to Laredo to play at GW’s Roadhouse next Saturday.
Alternative band Girl in a Coma took the stage next and played songs from their album Both Before I’m Gone. Hailing from San Antonio, the band has played in Laredo at various venues including the Laredo Center for the Arts, Average Joe’s, GW’s Roadhouse, and Kush lounge. The band’s members, Nina Diaz (vocals/guitar), Jenn Alva (bass), and Phanie Diaz (drums), described the AutMus Fest as “good and hot.”
Steering the music scene in a different direction, Latin rock group Vallejo performed next.
“Vallejo was beyond excellent. Kudos to them. Two thumbs up,” said Pando, bass player for A Flock of Seagulls.
The evening set then began with Tejano group Tex-Mex Kadillaks, who performed for a growing crowd, and a performance by country singer Dean Seltzer followed.
James Cooper (also known as CooperStar), a 106.1 DJ, enjoyed Seltzer’s performance and eagerly anticipated seeing the Pocos Pero Locos crew, sponsored by the radio station.
The music took another turn when 90s pop rock band Fastball rocked the show. Made famous by their MTV hit, “The Way,” Fastball opened up with “Fire Escape,” and continued to play old favorites like “Island” and “Outta my Head” along with new tunes “Little White Lies” and “All I Was Looking for Was You.” Many in the crowd applauded and sang along.
Born and raised in Laredo, Fastball’s guitarist Miles Zuñiga took a moment to address the audience, beginning with a shout out to Nixon High School, his alma mater.
“My parents were always frustrated with me for not speaking Spanish. The reason I couldn’t speak Spanish was because they never spoke to me in Spanish. The only time they ever spoke in Spanish was when they were talking about something they didn’t want me to know,” Zuniga told the crowd.
As a result, he never learned to play any Spanish songs.
“It’s high time I started learning one, so I decided to start with the best.”
“This next song is dedicated to my mom,” Zuñiga said before the band played “Volver,” during which Zuñiga tiro gritos.
“They [Fastball] are one of my favorite bands,” said 2008 Miss Belleza Latina, Margaret Garza, who enjoyed their performance.
After performing, Harmoni, the band’s bass player, said, “I thought it was great. The crowd was awesome. The campus is beautiful; I like it.”
Immediately following, DJ Flaco transformed the musical atmosphere and played dance and techno songs on his turntables.
Later, Orlando Navarro, President of the Alumni Association Board, introduced the L.A. Guns and bid the audience to “get those hands up in the air!”
He added the band knew about the AutMus Fest and wanted to participate as entertainment. The L.A. Guns had the audience jumping, cheering, and chanting with their rock-n-roll set.
Paul Black, the band’s front man, said after performing, “It was a lot of fun. I loved the crowd. They were into it and having fun; I like to make everyone have fun.”
Noting the variety of music, Black gave a positive review of the festival, a sentiment shared by many performers.
The rock music then shifted to hip-hop. The Pocos Pero Locos crew entertained the crowd with a performance by Question. Like most of the artists, Question autographed posters and merchandise and posed for pictures with his fans, including Lizette Ortega.
“[Their] performance was good,” said Ortega, who also looked forward to seeing Los Palominos.
“I really like Laredo and the campus.. The people are nice,” said Question, who literally got a taste of both; earlier that day, he ate at Dusty’s Diner.
Finally, the moment that most artists and audience members had been waiting for arrived, and A Flock of Seagulls provided yet another change in musical genres.
Drawing the largest audience of the event, A Flock of Seagulls performed “Space Age Love Song” along with other tunes and closed with their hit “I Ran,” which thrilled the crowd.
Pando described the band as “more than enthusiastic” about the audience. “The grounds are beautiful. Laredo knows how to show their love,” he said, adding, “What more could you ask for?”
Subsequently, Pocos Pero Locos returned to the stage with a performance by Down, best known for his recent radio hit “Lean Like A Cholo.” Down announced he wished to return his fans’ love by giving an audience member his sunglasses, which he threw into the crowd. Also, he thanked radio station 106.1 for bringing him to the AutMus Fest.
“Give it up for my man, A-Train [D.J. for 106.1]!” he told the crowd.
The night of assorted music ended with a performance by Los Palominos. The crowd danced and sang along, and the band thanked the sponsors and everyone for attending.
“I listen to [Los Palominos] on the radio, and they put on a great show,” said spectator Sylvia Leal.
Manuel Granado, director of music technology at the Vidal M. Treviño School of Fine and Performing Arts, expressed his appreciation for festivals like AutMus.
“This event introduces versatility to the people of Laredo. It shows the culture of Hispanics, that we can play any style of music. There’s a little bit of everything; I imagine that the repertoire of the performing bands is extensive for TAMIU. We need to see more for the youth to experience live performance [in order] to produce local talent. They’ve got to see it live; I don’t think a garage can give the same experience,” Granado said.