September 23, 2003 - I just paid some bills today.

September 20, 2003 - We went to see Cafe Tacuba last night and they were fucking brilliant as usual. They played at the OK Corral West for some reason. The venue is a Norteño disco bar with a samll stage for a live band off to the side of the dance floor. That's where they played. It was a terrible setup but the sound was alright. There were a bunch of people there; kids, people our age, and even some people older than us. The doors opened at eight, but those fools dodn't go on until close to midnight. There wasn't even an openning band or anything. It was the first time that Frank had seen them live, but Sarah and I had seen them at the Watcha Tour and at the Houston International Festival, so we were satisfied with another experience. Frank, on the other hand, wasn't very satisfied at first. He didn't like the venue, he didn't like that a bunch of kids started moshing(sp) as soon as the group started playing. People were screaming and cheering while they were playing songs and that really annoyed Frank since he just wanted to see them play and maybe dance around a little. I was very disappointed that in a city as big and diverse as Houston, they played to an entirely Mexican crowd (evryone was cheering as the announcer was shouting out to people from DF and Puebla and Sarah, Frank and I were just standing there feeling left out). Cafe Tacuba is a very diffucult band to classify, but I definately wouldn't classify them as Norteño! Whoever their shitty promoter was definately didn't try very hard to promote them. what good is a tour in the US gonna do if you're only accessible to immigrant audiences? I think they could've defintately filled a place like Numbers or the Engine Room or even the stupid Verizon Theatre. Teh venue would've been better suited for he type of show that it was and they would've got much more exposure in the Houston Press and other sources that are aimed at an audience that's always looking for something new. Cafe Tacuba never gets any kind of billing when they come to Houston and it dissapoints me because they're my favorite popluar band.

I really think that they don't get recognized by mainstream music in Houston because they're Mexican. It sounds stupid and racist, but I think that people in Houston have a stereotype of Mexican music that pervents Mexican music from getting any exposure outside of a very Mesican audience. I know that alot of people who aren't Mexican in Houston usually just hear Tejano and Norte&ntile;o music and not only have trouble distinguishing the two, but consider it to be as artistically legitimate as pop-Country music. I think this stereotype prevents alot of newer music from being brought to Houston.