Caifanes
It’s been a few years since Caifanes headlined in San Diego, which is strange since this would seem a tailor-made audience for their prog-leaning, British-inspired, Latin-branded rock en español. They first emerged in the late ‘80s near the forefront of the Spanish-language rock scene, which at the time was picking up enough steam to nearly qualify as a movement. Their eccentric, slightly bent approach was honed while working with King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew, who produced their 1992 album El Silencio. Here in San Diego, their videos were staples on late-night TV music shows, anchoring early programming blocks for MTV en Español during its debut year (1993–1994) in the same way that the Buggles and Duran Duran dominated early MTV.
However, members were already splintering off before their Mexico City gig opening for the Rolling Stones in 1994, and they split the following year, remaining estranged until a 2011 reunion tour. The lineup playing Observatory North Park on November 5 features four founding members, though only two have been along for the entire project; singer/guitarist Saul Hernandez and drummer Alfonso Andre, who together waged a legal battle for the Caifanes name, but instead called their next band Jaguares (which also ended up playing for Maná-sized stadium crowds). The other two (bassist Sabo Romo and keyboardist Diego Herrera) bailed a couple of years before the 1995 split, but all four have remained united since regrouping.