Recently, Off The Wall in the town of Mayagüez, has been host to various shows featuring indie musicians from the island’s west coast and the metro area. Among these were rapper-singer Gyanmarckus and former Grumpa and Mal De Ojo guitarist, Xavi. Last Friday, February 23, the well-known spot was the home to a rock show, which celebrated pop-punk band Corre Forrest!’s first album Nadie Nos Enseño a Crecer. After kicking off with the indie-rock influenced Chasing Nomads, the party ended with Corre Forrest! performing songs off of their debut project demonstrating their ability to control a crowd.
(promotion for the show as found on Off The Wall’s Facebook page)
The environment at Off The Wall featured young adults from all walks of life. From skaters to punks, trappers and goths, one could see it all. Starting with the alternative-rock influenced Chasing Nomads; the band gave the audience a boost of energy that would be required for the rest of the night. While the group demonstrated a bit of what they could provide once they perfect their sound, they merely scratched the surface of what the night would need if one were to truly match the ferocity provided by Corre Forrest!
(picture of Corre Forrest! and the audience)
Once Chasing Nomads was done, it only took the closing group a few minutes to set up in order to start off their set, but once they started it was hard not to move your body. As soon as Corre Forrest! started performing the start of their set, Off The Wall immediately got packed. If you tried to get in and see the band, you were going to have a very hard time. However, that showed the anticipation the crowd had to finally see this band perform and as soon as they started rocking their socks off it was really hard for the audience not to interact with the singer and the band’s guitarists. By performing songs from their debut album, Nadie Nos Enseño a Crecer, the pop-punk/Vans Warped Tour influenced group managed to see the amount of people from the island’s west side who were in-tune with their music to the point where singer Adal Olivera thanked the spectators for their love. However, despite the adrenaline fueled energy provided by Corre Forrest!’s repertoire, it demanded dancing, head banging, jumping and moshing. This was only limited to the first three, but this doesn’t mean that mosh pit hints weren’t seen. At one point in the performance one could see said pit beginning, but it was interrupted by the bar’s security. Nevertheless, the celebration of Corre Forrest!’s debut project was a great one.
(picture of Corre Forrest! performing)
Off The Wall has been host of many shows featuring artists from the west coast and the metro area providing a connection between both sides. Hopefully, in the future this will bring forth more collaborations amongst musicians around the island. This show is just another example of how great partnerships can bring the culture together. With the music of Chasing Nomads, audiences were given a brief glimpse of the band’s alternative-rock influences. Meanwhile, Corre Forrest! closed the celebration of their debut album with an adrenaline fueled performance which had audiences going wild, albeit under some restrictions. Nevertheless, last Friday’s show at Off The Wall proved to be a great cultural connection and entertaining experience.
Listen to Corre Forrest! and Chasing Nomads