Shakira, Shakira.

Shakira is coming to Ecuador. And I’m sitting here, on a Friday night, with my girlfriend in the next room – me playing Splinterlands, drinking beer, alone. And writing, right now. Listening to a group-call of her and her friends trying to get on the overloaded website with 20min waiting time, getting kicked off several times, then having trouble with the payment-app of the bank that was chosen to handle the payments (obviously failing at that, I mean who could’ve thought that more than 2 people per minute would like to see Shakira…), shouting at each other, laughing, totally unhinged and full of adrenaline.

The concert hasn’t started yet. This is the pre-sale.

It was supposed to be one day, it sold out within… well, the time that the application of the bank owned by the last president of Ecuador (the one before the current one) allowed. (He ran the country like he ran the bank, and it shows.) So, a second concert was set. Shockingly, that sold out as well. Equally shockingly, a third date was chosen – at least with one day break for Shakira between. I mean, she’s in good shape, but 3 consecutive days? I wouldn’t want that. And it gives her time to explore Ecuador, which is beautiful, so she’ll like that day off, no matter what the invoice will be.

Talking about idols…

Where do fans fit into my idolization theory? There certainly was idolization about Shakira during her break-up from that soccer player, and the whole situation that caused for the kids. And vilification, when she wrote a song about it. Ellie said that the high demand is because so many women identify with Shakira and that story: “It’s all the ‘despechadas’ (guess that translates to something like melancholically bitter women?) that want to go.” There are many of those. Idealization of both men and women lead to many deceptions, often intended, but I won’t go into the fascinating double-moral of Ecuadorian (or Latin-american from what I was told, I only know Ecuador) dating culture.

That’s not important right now.

I liked Shakira’s music when I was younger, but not her recent works. I could probably sing along to a few songs, the ones that were on the radio when I still listened to radio, so, 1995 – 2005, more or less. A friend recently send me a pic of him on a Mad Caddies concert. That would be something I’d go to again.

But they won't come to Ecuador anytime soon.

Anyway, the girls on their group call are happy. They got some tickets, not enough as everything was failing. They tried several times, and even if they had gotten more than they needed - that would probably result in a very good investment, as ROI on those tickets tends to be around 100%. If they don’t establish for a fourth concert, that is. Yet, they’re still shouting. Still high on adrenaline. Those digital deadlines and the perspective of not getting what you want is a good business, too. I should put implement that into my bakery…

It's Saturday. Let’s talk tunes, as this is about music as well, and Galen is hosting that on Saturdays. Last time, I got totally hooked on his Electro-Contribution, Stoto. Great work music. But sharing his share is not as much fun, so let’s start with fun – Mad Caddies!

A Ska-Punk band that went more towards reggae in the recent years - decade, to be precise, they're a band of my youth. They started in the style of skate-punk with ska elements, same topics in lyrics and such – that’s when I got to know them, in my teenage years, where skate punk speaks to you. They published a new album in 2024, listening to it right now, but too comfortable for me.

Mad Caddies – Tired Bones

On their 2007 “Keep it Going” they already went in quite heavy on the slower side, but Tired Bones is a great summary of their years before, going deep into Ska-Punk. The whole album is great, and to me the last great one, compared to the ones before. My favorite album is “Just one More” from 2003, a time when I was starting to listen more to this kind of music. In our band, we played this song:

Mad Caddies – Last Breath

A little slower than the rest of the album, a little more down beat – though not as much as “Drinking for 11”, the emblematic song of this album. Oh, I could listen through the whole album over and over again. So many memories.

Their 2001 album “Rock the plant” was another great one, with a song that kind of has a stand-alone in this album, breaking a little with the rest and yet fitting so nicely:

Mad Caddies – Weird Beard

I hope you enjoyed these songs, even if you don’t have the nostalgic connection with them like me. Have a nice weekend!