Orquesta Típica Fernandez Fierro

What a fantastic show!

We learned from our narrative tango tour guide Francisca, that the traditional typical tango orchestra is made of four bandoneónes (accordion-like instrument), four violins, a cello, a bass, a piano, and in later years, a vocalist. She said they don’t often have a full orchestra at milongas, but if we were interested in seeing one, we should check out these guys playing at the Club Atletico Fernandez Fierro (CAFF)—they play most Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Though the Orquesta Típica Fernandez Fierro website still had only an image to promote last week’s gig, we found through CAFF’s website that they were indeed playing there this Wednesday.

After walking to the address we found ourselves in a dimly-lit area with no signs of a concert hall or theater. We did see a couple of guys standing outside what looked to be an opening to a warehouse though.

“Fernandez Fierro?” one of the guys asked, “Go on in.” A friendly welcome to a couple of confused tourists. We walked down the dark entryway, brick wall on both sides and continued through a curtain of strips of plastic.

Cover was $150ARS each (~$10USD) and we were ushered into the room, which was really a warehouse with a stage. Our ticket numbers were 53 and 54, but you could already tell this was an intimate space. All sorts of mismatched chairs confirmed the casual vibe and groups of friends and couples were enjoying wine, beer, and empanadas from the bar next to the stage. Ages ranged the entire spectrum, from young couples on a date to groups of friends my parents’ age.

We arrived at 10pm on the dot, right on time for the start of the show, but as empanadas kept coming out and folks continued to arrive, we figured we may as well have a bite to eat before the show.

At 10:40 or so the lights dimmed until only the red ones on stage were left, eerie atmosphere complete with accompanying smoke machine. We heard a few notes of the orchestra and the curtains dropped, a dramatic start to a sensational show.

It was full of turbulent emotions and spectacularly complex rhythms. The band played for an hour almost completely non-stop, taking only one intermission to thank the lights/sound guy, bartender, and chef (and that couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes).

I recorded part of my favorite song of the night, here.

What emotion!

The whole experience was impressive. The unassuming entrance, the low-key venue, and casual dress of the orchestra members added to the intense vibe. Orchestra members rocked partially shaved heads with dreads, long hair, sunglasses, hats, and whatever comfortable clothes they felt like wearing that night.

I feel like we were treated to a look into the real heart of tango: the sad emotions of loneliness or love lost.

I know I left wanting more. They’ve got songs up on their CAFF page, as well as YouTube and Soundcloud if you do too.