Los Rudos

"Los Rudos" appears to translate to "the rude", but Los Rudos club in Compton last night was anything but that, in fact, quiet casual and friendly while serving up fierce rock n' roll and metal en español.

Los Rudos is a night club hosted at Oasis Restaurant in Compton, CA that features local Rock en Español acts. I was there to see Pobreza Innecesaria, a Long Beach-based act, whose front-man, Lio, I've gotten to know recently.

Being the naive Anglo that I am, this was my first time seeing a full Rock en Español show, which was like many DIY shows I've been to over the years, with exception seemingly being that I was the only non-spanish speaking there. While at first, I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb, the atmosphere ended up being one of the more friendlier ones I've been to in awhile.

Last night was the one year anniversary of club, and the crowd appeared pretty tight nit. This is a true do-it-yourself scene, where everyone knows and supports each other and shares equipment. Only difference being I had no idea what the hell they were singing about. Chalk that up to my own ignorance and sleeping too much during Spanish class in high school.

I was struck by the enthusiastic dancing, not only during the bands, but also to the DJ tunes being played between bands. There was a common style being played, too: rock n roll, not really rockabilly, but a shuffle beat with emphasis on the 2 and 4, one-and-TWO-and-three-and-FOUR.

The music came off as pedestrian more times than not, but what can't be denied is the passion and enthusiasm at which it was played and the styles varied from straight forward rock n roll, to thrash metal. I have no idea who the rest of the bands were, but the scene definitely piqued my curiosity to learn more about.