2 SOLD OUT NIGHTS @ UNITED CENTER - CHICAGO WELCOMES MANA FOR THEIR "VIVIR SIN AIRE" TOUR
Chicago showed up and showed out for Mana this last weekend (9/26 & 9/27) - selling out both of their weekend shows. Mana performed many of their longtime hits such as "Mariposa Traicionera," "Labios Compartidos," "En el Muelle de San Blas," and ultimately closing out with their (undoubtedly) most famous song "Oye Mi Amor." BUT, that's not all! Would you believe that their [collective] favorite band is The Beatles? They covered many songs throughout their performance, including The Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down," but they also covered songs like "El Rey" by the late Vicente Fernandez - and performed their joint song [with Santana] "Corazon Espinado." Of course, this wasn't all, but I can be here all night naming all of the songs that they performed and covered.
I have to give credit where credit is due.. the whole band played amazingly! With that said, Fher Olvera has still got what it takes to conquer the stage - somehow sounding better live than in any recording. However, the person that really took my breath away this night was Alex Gonzalez. Watching him play the drums is surreal. Just like it was fresh out of the film "Whiplash," Alex was on a moving (elevated) stage performing, what I can only describe, as the performance of a lifetime. As the other band members went from the front of the stage to a second back stage, Alex would perform the longest live drum solo I had ever heard. I do not even know how long he was actually performing, because when you thought it was over, it was just the transition into another solo. I was smiling ear-to-ear for the entire [what felt like] 20 minutes. Still, the performance, the music, and the atmosphere couldn't be what it was without everyone on stage. With this one performance, I understand why Mana continues to rank so high in popularity - even after over 40 years of doing this. This is just a group of friends who absolutely love what they do. It made me remember why I enjoyed listening to them so much, and why they remain one of my Mom's favorite bands.
Mana is so much more than music. Listening to Mana is to bring joy to your soul - to remember those who you love or once loved. Fher is one of the few people who I've listened to speak that make me, both, cry of laughter and cry of sadness - from simply longing for those that I miss. To be here, experiencing them for the first, has probably been one of my favorite experiences. What an honor it was to be apart of all of this. After seeing them live, I can confirm that they are 1000000% worth seeing! After the show, once I got home, I made a promise to my mom that we would go see them live when I returned home.
The band is taking a few days between their Chicago shows and their next shows, in which they pop into Canada for two nights, but then they come back and continue their tour in the US. They're still only at the beginning of their tour, so if you've been on the fence about purchasing a ticket, I urge you to show up and enjoy. Life, after all, is all about the experiences we live.
Y si por in caso que alguien del equipo lee esto, muchas gracias por un gran concierto! Espero en verlos otra vez!
