Second gig of the year and already I’m travelling across the country to see a band I saw at the back end of 2014. A band that I hadn’t even heard of until they supported Gogol Bordello at The Academy in Birmingham. After braving rush hour traffic and narrowly avoiding the trams that seem to just appear out of nowhere, we made it (despite getting slightly distracted by the Ugly Bread Bakery). The Bodega in Nottingham was the venue and what a strange choice it was for this type of show. Seemingly perfect for smaller rock/metal gigs (Hawk Eyes playing there soon is a good example of this), but it didn’t seem right to have a Mariachi band playing there. Nevertheless, it was a much better than it would have been across the road in The Basement at Rock City.

 

Anyway, on to the gig, there’s something strangely warming about the Mariachi El Bronx guys. I'm not sure if it’s the beaming smile that vocalist Matt Caughtran wears for the whole set, or whether it’s the rather fetching outfits they all wear. What I do know is that the atmosphere is infectious. You can’t help but smile while they’re on stage, smile and dance. If you look around you, you’ll at very least see everyone swaying in time with the music as hits such as 48 Roses make an early appearance. The Bodega is a 250 capacity venue, but when a track finishes and the crowd erupts you could be mistaken for thinking you were in a venue 10 times the size. 

 

Caughtran’s vocals are soft and enticing and accompanying that with some trumpets, a violin and occassionally an accordian you get lulled into a sort of Mexican trance.

 

One of the most amazing things about these guys is not the fact that a punk band can be accepted so easily when making a complete change of scenery, that is easy to comprehend when you see how talented these guys are. For me it is how quickly and easily the various members can change the instrument they’re playing. I've seen them twice in a couple of months and the variety of instruments each member can play is impressive to say the least. Violin and accordian? (Not at the same time!) No problem. Guitar and trumpet? Fine. All done with a ruddy great smile on their faces