Enjambre, Los Abandoned

ENJAMBRE, LOS ABANDONED
JC FANDANGO, ANAHEIM
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14

Lady P: unflappable. Photo by Matt Otto

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Holiday-mas is here, so I'm happy to report two of my favorite local Latin alternative music groups arrive bearing gifts: Anaheim rockeros Enjambre nabbed three nominations for Univisión's Golden Globes-esque Premio lo Nuestro, while Vapor Records (of Jonathan Richman and Tegan & Sara fame) signed up the bilingual Los Angeles pop-punk quartet Los Abandoned. So their co-bill last Wednesday at JC Fandango was hopefully a send-off—a last waltz for us locals before Enjambre and Los Abandoned leave for bigger and better places.

Enjambre went first with their melancholic Goth-pop about 'tards and love. I've seen them maybe 30 times, but they always seem to debut something new—what exactly was that harpsichord-sounding finale this time around? As always, the ensemble soared thanks to the double harmonics of the Navejas brothers, bassist Rafael and rhythm guitarist Luís; drumming by Nico Saavedra as fierce as a coal miner pounding at a fresh vein; and extraordinary guitar work by Osamu Nishitani, who fretted and picked and fingered his guitar to make it sound like any number of different instruments: Melodica, Wurlitzer, Hammond, even the aforementioned harpsichord. Too bad immigration won't give the boy a green card—can't someone go to SanTana and buy Osamu a fake one?

While Enjambre skewed toward the dark end of the pop scale, Los Abandoned lit up the stage like a million Maglites. Although each part of the pulsing punk-tinged pop quartet excelled—special shout-out goes to manic guitarist Don Verde, the only man besides Roy Orbison and porn star Peter North to pull off the wearing-sunglasses-indoors look—the brightest point was Los Abandoned's unflappable chanteuse Lady P, gawky but beautiful with her pink guitar or ukulele, who chastely cooed or shrieked through numbers like the reggae-punk tumbler "Me Quieren en Chile" and a sweetly frenetic cover of Selena's "Como la Flor." Gracias for the good times, Enjambre and Los Abandoned—just make sure to acknowledge the little folks at the Arrowhead Pond's upper levels when you co-bill there in 2008.