It’s just not tango. It is the music.

Yesterday was an amazing day filled with music.

Buenos Aires is renowned for its theater and music clubs. Walk Corrientes Avenida and pass by numerous large musical productions and serious plays; then, look down those stairs and see comedy clubs with stand-up comedians.

Smaller theatres are located all over the city, from Palermo to Recoleta, mainly on the smaller avenues. With me speaking Spanish for only three years, I do not understand the rapid-fire Argentinean Spanish spoken here. The idea of trying to follow a serious drama is a bit unnerving. Instead, we go to clubs and listen to music.

Going to a club is different here as the music starts at 10 pm. Some clubs offer 2 shows a night with 2 different musical acts.

We have gone to shows at the Beepop Club in Palermo, Jazz City in Recoleta, Swing City in Almagro, and most recently, Torquato Tasso in San Telmo.

Having heard the singer Lidia Borda while dancing tango at a milonga, I learned she was still alive and would be performing at a club in San Telmo. I bought tickets for us online at their website, http://www.torquatotasso.com. This process was relatively easy; they take credit or debit cards online. The tickets are all open seating with an admission price of 18,000 per person. The ticket is for general admission, and the club opens up at 20 hours, and the music begins at 22.

After buying tickets for the show several weeks later, we forgot about this until a day before, as my phone calendar reminded me.

That Friday evening, after dancing tango for a few hours, we took the # 24 bus on the corner of Corrientes and Callao, riding to Ave Defensa near Parque Lezama.

This San Telmo neighborhood is brightly lit and filled with people, unlike some other areas of San Telmo. The theatre is easy to find. Upon entering, you are asked your name, not to see your ticket.

Looking around the club, there are three levels of open seating.  Half of the space has tables with low upholstered chairs, while the other half has regular tables and chairs.

A few high-top tables and chairs are at the back of the room,  close to the bar area.
The first time, we arrived a bit late and decided to sit at the bar. It was a good decision as we had a clear vista of the stage. The acoustics in this club are excellent and can accommodate a solo singer with a piano player or a large blues band.

The two performances we attended were excellent and very different from each other, as were the attendees.

The first was Lidia Borda, a well-known tango, opera, and lyric singer. Her voice is strong,  she is very emotive, and her voice is very vibrant.  She is accompanied by a talented pianist, David Godfrid. It was 2 hours of listening to her voice with the accompaniment of a very talented piano player.

The crowd was very enthusiastic, and in the end, for an encore, they did a few more songs.

The 2nd performance we attended was for the group Memphis Blues. This group has played together for over 35 years, evidenced by all the gray hair on stage and the walking canes.

The sound is anything but old. These musicians produce a tight sound with a singer, a sax player, 2 guitarists, a bass player, an electric piano, and a drummer.

The show they performed lasted nonstop for 2 hours, playing the blues and raucous rock and roll with some fantastic solo performances by each musician.  But the singer kept everything moving and grooving, and his throaty bass singing was superb.

At the Memphis Blues show, we arrived 90 minutes before the show started to get excellent seats in the front of the club. We sat with another Argentinean couple and discussed travel, tango, and relationships.

This was done using my translator, as the conversations were lively. Yes, wine and food were involved. The food offerings were typical Milanese, pasta, Ensaladas, and steaks with wine and a complete bar.

Our next music venture will be the Biblioteca Club on Marcello t Alvear near Libertad.  Having visited this club before, we know it is a minimal venue seating maybe 50 folks but only 20 people showed up as the concert was quite early.

The show is a tribute to Piazzola with a fantastic pianist, Leonardo Marconi, bandoneonista, Carla Ageri, and another favorite singer, Isabel Minguez.

This is tango music for listening to. It comes from the souls of these three talented musicians who play their hearts out in their performances.

As you see, this city offers some incredible music for all tastes and budgets.