When Mary's Band enters a club to set up for the night, she is as likely to have a cell phone in her hand as not. But the band members know what is expected of them, and they quickly check with Mary on small but important details, keeping up an intense energy, even when they have been going for nearly 36 hours.
The group usually opens with a number performed by Mary's singing partner. She joins the band on stage immediately afterward and launches into a vigorous Merengue or a pulsating Cha Cha. Within moments, the singers will explode into syncronized dancing, keeping the song flowing and showing the audience how to stay in time with the beat.
With a younger audience, though, Mary steals a few moments from the performance to provide instructions and an impromptu dance lesson. The band never misses a beat. They keep playing, watching Mary for subtle cues.
Her direction is firm and precise, conveyed through hand signals and occasional facial expressions. I have watched entire conversations unfold on stage while Mary keeps the dancers dancing and the audience captivated with her energetic singing. Sound adjustments are made, instruments are retuned, the tempo is regulated, the next song in the playlist is replaced with a more appropriate number. For all I know, the band even orders a round of drinks without ever saying a word.
I ask Mary how she views herself when she is on stage. She replies, "I'm just 'myself' when I'm on stage. I love what I do. It was my dream since I was 5 years old to make people feel the passion I have inside for music."
And just as she communicates with her fellow musicians while delivering a killer performance, Mary also attunes herself to the audience. "My goal is to make people happy with my music," she says. "They decide how the show is going to be. We can never please everybody at the same time, but I go...with what the majority...wants to hear."
Well, it doesn't always come down to shouting "Salsa!" or "Cha Cha!", though I admit that my friends and I have done that a couple of times. But I understood just how much attention she pays to the audience when she turned to me one night at Elvia's. I was sitting with friends and we were all pumped, waiting for the show to start. Mary smiled and said, "You're ready, aren't you?" Oh yeah. Always ready for Mary's Band.
NEXT PAGE
|
|
