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Nearly 3,000 fans of the Latin beat filled Lions Wayside Park and much of Delucchi Park across Neal Street Friday night to dance, clap or just sit back on hundreds of blankets to enjoy the music of La Ventana and its unique brand of salsa rock.
The music was part of a series of free Friday night Concerts in the Park that so far this summer have entertained close to 40,000 fans, with three more concerts to go in the annual summertime series.
La Ventana came together in January, 2005 from a core of long-time Bay Area musicians who all shared the same musical vision. The eight-man band’s first CD “Window to Your Soul” has gained rave reviews throughout the Bay Area, and copies sold briskly during Friday night’s performance.
La Ventana music is a cross between Salsa, Rock, Gypsy Rock and Soul, with the band mixing it all together Friday night in a very unique way. The energy from the group’s music and performance on stage has labeled the talented musicians as “the band to see live,” and several hundred crowded below the front of the stage to dance to the lively Latin beat.
This band of eight featured the sensational and crowd-pleasing, long-time Bay Area frontman and lead vocalist Carlos Elizalde, his co-writing partner and guitar master Johnny De La Cruz, bassist Gordon Rehm, dual keyboarding wizards Blaine Hoopes and Jose Angel Amador, percussionist Mio “Timbalero” Flores, time keeper, Gary DiGrazia Sr. and Bobby “Boy” Gaviola.
A highlight of the evening was the drawing of winners of special gifts donated by members of the PDA who had filled out coupons from last Friday’s Pleasanton Weekly. Nickie Hoppe, PDA’s Events Coordinator, held a shopping bag filled with hundreds of the coupons as seven were drawn. The winners and their prizes were:
Bill Jorgensen, a $100 gift certificate for dinner for two from Blue Agave restaurant; Carol Higgins, a $15 gift certificate from Three Dog Bakery; Tim Dopee, two flights of the week’s featured wines from the Wine Steward; John Roberts, two weeks of free training from Velocity Sports Performance; Brenda Patrice, water bottles and a canvas bag from Valley Plumbing; Charlene Dopee, a barbecue package for six from Gourmade Cookery, and Kathy Dubois, free consultation from Eastern Medical Center;
To be eligible for the prize drawings, concert-goers must fill out a coupon printed each week in the Pleasanton Weekly atop a promotion advertisement by the PDA, deposit it in special box at the concert and must be present to win.
Coupons will be printed in this week’s newspaper above the promotion for the Magic Moments ’50s rock n’ roll band this coming Friday night. The group combines four tenors, three guitars, a keyboard, a sax, drums and vocals with three and four part harmonies.
After next Friday, the two concerts remaining this summer are:
• Aug. 31–The Tom Rose Band, R&B. Formerly known as Tom Rose and the Thorns, the current lineup plays anything from Hank to Howlin’ Wolf to Hendrix.
• Sept. 7–Public Eye, dance and top 40. The band returns for its fourth year to close the 2007 Concerts-in-the-Park season.
In addition to the PDA, the summertime concert series for 2007 is also sponsored by Zzippies, the city of Pleasanton and the Pleasanton Weekly.
– Jeb Bing
– Jeb Bing
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