Cinco de Mayo is a huge occasion in Dallas, and this was the ideal night; beautiful weather, an outdoor venue, and a party band meant a perfect storm was underway.
05-May-2016: The sold-out Gas Monkey Bar N’ Grill, known for their many live music events, hosted a concert this night that turned into a party, then a festival. Everyone enjoyed the music, had fun, and went home happy.
The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd quickly got into the spirit when opener Skarmas opened their set. They’re a feel-good band from Mexico City and lived up to their billing.
The audience came to see Metalachi (the world’s only heavy metal mariachi band), though. Fans responded with shouts and applause as soon as the band stepped onto the stage.
Vocalist Vega de la Rockha wore his red-headed Sammy Hagar wig this evening and set up behind his microphone stand that proudly displayed a size 60 GGG bra waving like a flag. It was much larger than the bras waving from the other mic stands.
The band showed what the night would be like right away with Dio’s “Rainbow In The Dark.” The song was quite different when played with a fiddle solo from the beautiful Queen Kyla Vera. Her musical prowess caught the ear while her tight leather pants and studded bra ensemble caught the eye.
The Mad Max-dressed trumpeter, El Cucuy, took the spotlight on “The Final Countdown.” Again, it’s not what the listener expects, but it works wonderfully.
The dancers then commandeered the floor on a long tribute to the recently departed Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead. However, a rock n’ roll fiddle adds lots of flavor to “Ace Of Spades.”
The jam ended with “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” Listening to the Def Leppard hit, as well as “Here I Go Again” and “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” done mariachi-style is unusual but unexpectedly entertaining.
A rock n’ roll trumpet changes the dynamic of “Thunder,” especially when El Cucuy takes center stage and leads the party. Queen Kyla led the next few tracks with extended solos as she explored every inch of the stage.
“Rock And Roll All Night” sounded different than performed by Kiss. The same goes for “Welcome To The Jungle” with Slash’s haunting guitar riff replaced by a throbbing trumpet, but Metalachi made both work.
Vega told a couple of “too soon” jokes regarding Prince’s recent passing, but more than made up for it with a stunning tribute to the Purple One on “Purple Rain.”
Then, “Hot For Teacher,” with its unforgettable drum intro, took on a whole new level of fun when Queen Kyla played it with a wicked beat on her fiddle.
The band brought a woman on stage who was celebrating her birthday so that a shirtless Ramon Holiday could sing “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” to her. She cringed and turned red, but loved every minute of it as they followed up with “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Queen Kyla showed off her tremendous musical abilities with an outstanding orchestral violin performance that mesmerized the audience. To get back to the theme of the evening, though, she got on Ramon’s shoulders to play “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.”
“Enter Sandman” with the trumpet as the main instrument is a wonderful way to end the show. It holds up well, and it rocks.
Their encore started with a native Mexican song that again showcased the excellent musicians. They finished with the highlight of the night as Vega perfectly imitated Ozzy Osbourne’s laugh to start “Crazy Train.” It was a great tribute to heavy metal. Metalachi ended the song and the night with a long mariachi jam to send the fans home happy.
The crowd wanted a fun night and got it. Metalachi aims to entertain and has put together a show that emphasized their musical abilities, humor, and crowd interaction. The band members are all incredibly talented and enjoy their time entertaining fans.
Metalachi tours constantly, so catch them on this leg of their tour now through July.
Joe Guzman of National Rock Review was on hand to photograph the event.
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