Los Amigos Invisibles Irving Plaza October 7, 2006 Written by Eve Hyman Photographed by Linus Gelber

Walking into the Los Amigos Invisibles concert felt like an imaginary trip to a party in Caracas, Venezuela. That night, Irving Plaza was a pan-Latin smorgasbord of the hip and lovely.

Los Amigos Invisible have steadily built a reputation as a great party band. Having relocated to Brooklyn, they’ve bred a loyal fan base and play frequently in NYC. A couple of years ago they played regularly at SOB’s. On November 1st they’ll headline at Crobar. At Irving Plaza they entertained a crowd of mostly twenty and thirty-somethings with their brand of diverse, sexy, Latin pop with tireless forays into seven and ten-minute renditions of crowd favorites. The show’s overall momentum was a perfect ride – build up, booty shaking, sweat, more booty shaking, leveling out of energy, cooling a bit, build right back up and repeat.

The enthusiasm of the crowd equaled the energy of the band. From the choreographed bouncing of guitarist, vocalist, and bassist to the DJ-like approach of the keyboard player, the band kept the action constant. The crowd stayed right with them - fans sang along, cheered, jumped up and down and kept up with the band for the entire set. It was the perfect paring of performance and audience reception.

Los Amigos Invisibles look the part of the hip, sexy Latin band. The bass player was mustachioed and wore a busy, butterfly-collared button-up shirt and hip-huggers. Vocalist Julio Briceño played wearing a fedora a la Justin Timberlake while the guitar player rocked an afro and similar busy button-up and tight trousers. There was plenty of interaction within the band; they were animated and ready to party.

The distinct mood of a lounge band was set by the choreographed production. There were oohs and ahs on backup vocals. The lighting matched each song, switching from a pulsating red and yellow to blue fade-ins and fade-outs. The band moved in syncopated bounces; the string players stood wide legged, flanking the vocalist. Sirens, tabla drums, wah-wah guitar, and congas were toys employed to keep it interesting as the girls responded to the sweating, smiling singer Briceño.

Los Amigos Invisible’s songs matched the crowd with pan-Latin diversity that night with everything from bossa novas to salsa to disco and even some reggaeton in their set. There was the Spanish pop cover that inspired couples dancing. There was also a rhythm heavy, funk-inspired rap song. The funk/rap song was followed by the sexy, 70's jazz song in English "Ease Your Mind."
The keyboard player even threw in a Guns and Roses cover and blended it into a sync sound and rhythm that suggested house music. The crowd loved it. The band satisfied every flavor of Latin party that the diverse, hip, NYC Spanish crowd could demand.