"El Boliche" - A little milonga at the pub on Mondays

17/06/2026

Hi everyone,

Thank you for coming this Monday. It made me very happy to see you all back at our beloved Polo. 2 weeks break is a long time.

This week I featured one of the founders of tango music as we known it: Roberto Firpo. He was a pianist and an orquesta leader, and had quite a lengthy recording career: he kept going well past the Golden Age. Still, you don’t hear his recordings all that much at milongas. The reason is, well, his style is very particular. They are crusty, simpler, and rhythmic, and some recordings have a sonic quality that is a bit harsh to my ears. I sort of like the general vibe of "not taking things too seriously”, but more than one tanda of that style is tiring. There are some sweet loveley recordings too though. So I wanted to play them.

Also, he composed some pieces that are still very well loved by many (the versions recorded by other orquestas though!). So, I wanted to feature them too.

The first Firpo moment was a tango tanda recorded by his own tango orquesta in the mid 1930s. These are the ones I really like.They are surprisingly delicate and sweet, which aren’t the adjectives I’d use to describe his usual musical style.

After the first milonga tanda, I played a Biagi tango tanda. The third piece, “Didi”, was Firpo’s composition. This was followed by a D’Arienzo tango tanda with the singer, Mauré. The first piece “Vea vea…” too is Firpo’s composition.

After the Caló vals tanda, I played a Di Sarli 50s instrumental tango tanda. This was to feature another composition by Firpo, “El Amanecer”. There are many recordings of this piece, but the pinnacle of them is the Di Sarli 50s one (there’s also 1940s version by Di Sarli), if you ask me. The birds’ dawn chorus and all, it’s perfect.

I played a Laurenz tango tanda after this. This was to feature another killer composition of Firpo's, "Alma de Bohemio”. Again, there are many versions of this piece, as you’d expect with great compositions, but it is hard to beat Alberto Podestá's singing with Laurez. So, rather than trying to be a clever pants and do something different, I went for the best, as that’d be the most respectful way to feature Firpo’s contributions to the tango music that we love so much.

After this, I threw in a Firpo milonga tanda, as I thought I should feature some of his signature style. It’s very playful — almost like a comic relief. The sonic quality is a bit harsh, I feel, but it’s fun every now and then. I hope you had fun with it.

I understand Sophie Clayton and Nivan Lau will bring new tango friends to El Boliche as their graduation celebration next Monday. We met many of those people at the beginner’s milonga at La Mirada last Saturday, and it’s so exciting to be able welcome them to the Polo. I am grateful for these efforts to grow the tango community.

See you all next week!

Cheers,

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26/05/2026

Hi everyone,

Thank you for coming last night. It was a lovely night and it was also the national day of Argentina. Although the gender balance was sub-optimal, we still had a nice time chatting with people and listening to the music, as well as of course dancing.

This Monday I featured one of my favourites, Ángel D’Agostino. The recordings from his orquesta are gentle and subtle, especially with the singer Ángel Vargas (the duo is known as “the two angels”!). I featured his recordings in three different tandas.

The first one was a milonga tanda. They are delightfully playful, and I guess a bit more complex than most milongas, as the basic milonga rhythm isn’t as persistent as most milongas. I love the melodic quality of them.

I then played a tango tanda by D’Agostino and Vargas. I have so many pieces I adore, so I had to think hard which ones to play. I played one of the iconic pieces, “Café Dominguez” by D’Agostino last week, so I decided to stick to his 40s recordings. I opened the tanda with “Agua Florida” — straight into Vargas’s voice. Glorious. The last piece of this tanda was another iconic piece: “Tres Esquina”. I think it would be the best known song by D’Agostino and Vargas, and for good reason. That’s a perfect piece, if you ask me! Then, I finished the night with a vals tanda with D’Agostiono and Vargas. Gorgeous valses.

For whatever reason, the combo of D’Agostino and Vargas always takes me back to Buenos Aires in the way that no other orquesta does. It just reminds me of wandering around the quiet streets on a winter day. Many moons ago, I was there one winter and Jamie was living in Buenos Aires. One afternoon we decided to visit “Tres Esquina”, the location this song is about. Well, the place was far from being the barrio that I romanticised in my head, but it was one of the most memorable adventures for me, because the “Tres Esquina” did and does still exist. It was a bit special to imagine what it might have been like, and feel a connetion to the world that piece sings about so affectionately.

Ah, an additional music note: I threw in a tango tanda by Canaro with Roberto Maida in the middle of the evening —an unusual spot for me to play this combo. It wasn’t the most fabulous tanda, a bit of downer to be honest, but I decided to go for it just to play “25 de Mayo” — to mark the national day of Argentina. It was the day, so why not?

Anyway, we will have two weeks break as we have two consecutive public holidays. I hope everyone enjoys their long weekends. See you when we get back!

Cheers,

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20/05/2026

Hi everyone,

Thank you for coming this Monday! It was yet another lovely night. We had a few newer tango friends as well as an interstate visitor, so that was nice.

I featured Máximo Mori. A bandoneonista and an arranger. He played with a few orquestas — for one year with Miguel Caló in 1936, then in 1938 he joined the orquesta led by Lucio Demare. In 1945, Demare disbanded his orquesta. Then Mori joined D’Agostino’s orquesta. I played three tango tandas, one from each of these three periods. Plus one Demare vals tanda.

The first Mori moment was a D’Agostino tango tanda from the 1950s. I love D’Agostino from the 40s with the singer Ángel Vargas, so I rarely play D’Agostino from this era. I thought it would be a good opportunity to try something different. And… well, I’m the first one to admit that this was a bit of a B-list tanda. The second piece in particular was suboptimal. The last piece was absolute gold though — "Café Dominguez”. This is such a singular recording. It’s fabulous, but I find it difficult to create a satisfying tanda. Still, I really wanted to play this one this week, since Mori's bandoneón solo at the end is definitely worthy of featuring.

This tanda was followed by some classic Demare, including everyone’s favourite “Malena”.

At the end of the night, I played a gorgeously melancholic Demare vals tanda, followed by a Caló tango tanda from 1936. I love those Caló pieces so much. They are quite early recordings, but have such a different feel from other recordings from that time, say, by Canaro, Lomuto, or Donato. Caló's recordings are sweet, sophisticated, and lyrical. Added bonus — Osvaldo Pugliese was on the piano in this orquesta then. How good is that? The third piece was recorded in 1935, so it predates Mori, but Mori would have been on bandoneón for the other three pieces.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed the night!

Also, did you notice that your table cloth was very fresh and lovely? Big shout out to Sacha, who offered to take them home, wash and iron for us (well, for everyone really). You know, my Japanese biological makeup should have driven me to merrily do this, but I miserably fail Japaneseness test at almost every turn, and this time was no exception (Another reason to leave the country!). So, THANK YOU, Sacha!! Lots of regulars help us in all sorts of ways. We cannot keep doing this without your generosity. I am so grateful.

We will have two consecutive public holidays in June, so don’t miss next Monday. Otherwise you will have to wait for a very long time to get your Polo goodness.

Cheers,

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13/05/2026

Hi everyone,

Thank you for coming this Monday! It was a very nice lively night. Maybe we are all on a high from the great lessons with Cecilia and Luciano, and then the live music by Revenge Tango. Whatever it is, it's great!

This Monday I featured the singer Alberto Rivera. He was a singer for Lomuto’s orquesta in the 1940s. I don’t have that many of his recordings, so I played only one tango tanda of his singing. I like Lomuto. Lomuto is always very danceable with a clear rhythm. His early recorgdings are often playful and fun. The ones from the 40s have more emotional oomph to it, but not excessively so. His recordings never lose dancers. I might even say it’s the kind of music that make more people dance well. This is a very important thing for the DJ: when people dance comfortably and well, the floor flows more nicely. And then the night feels more enjoyable for everyone.

The tanda I played included one of my favourites, “Solamente Ella”. I also play Demare version of this piece, which is another gorgeous one. There is a lovely Di Sarli version too, so if you are interested, Spotify them and have a listen.

I hope you enjoyed the night! This weekend we will have a special Practica hosted by Kathi, and then the Club milonga. So see you all on the weekend, and then next Monday.

Cheers,

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06/05/2026

Hi everyone,

Thank you for coming and supporting our special event: “Revenge Tango returns to El Boliche”. It was so great to see our beloved Polo packed with happy tango lovers. We were very excited with Canberran’s support for the musicians. The tickets were sold out rather quickly (in 2.5 days!). The ticket sales minus venue hire cost went to Revenge Tango. So, you directly supported the musicians by coming last night!

We had some special guests too. It was so lovely to have Cecilia & Luciano — we know how busy they had been with all the workshops and private lessons. Big thanks to Serkan and Christian for bringing such great teachers to Canberra, and also bringing them to El Boliche. We also had Ambassador Gowland. So it was very festive indeed.

Since the focus last night was Revenge Tango, as DJ I didn’t have any theme in mind. I was focusing on playing music that would complement the live music part of the night. The only thing I planned was the cortina: "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk" by Meco. Hey, it was May the Fourth, and the Force was indeed with us. I’m allowed!

And a special shout out to Patrick and Betina. They came 2 hours before the starting time to help us set up the stage. (And stayed till the end and helped pack down too). Legends!

I hope you all had a good night. Let’s look forward to the next opportunity to hear them in Canberra: their Piazzolla concert at Jamie’s house in a few weeks. And they promised to add Troilo and D’Arienzo for the next time we dance to them!

Cheers,
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04/05/2026

Ready to go! See you soon people

22/04/2026

Hi everyone,

Thank you for coming this Monday! It was a very nice night, lots of people and good energy right until the end.

This week, I featured a female singer, Mercedes Simone. We don’t get to hear female voices much in tango (apart from the notable exception of Lita Morales in Donato’s orquesta), and it was close to her birthday. So, I decided to give it a go. I admit that I don’t have a big selection of her recordings, so some of the songs I played were a bit borderline as dancing tango, but I figured an oddball theme every now and then wouldn’t hurt. I hope it was ok with everyone.

I played Mercedes Simone in three different tandas. The first one was a tango tanda with mixed orquestas. I acknowledge that the first two pieces of tanda were a bit tricky for dancing, though not impossible. But, her voice is delightful, and the other two pieces were pretty solid, so I hope you enjoyed the novelty of it.

Then I played her in the second milonga tanda too: the second piece, “Milonga sentimental”. It is a popular milonga, but the version you normally dance to would be the one by Canaro with Ernesto Famá/Ángel Ramos. Mercedes Simone’s verision is more folky, accompanied by just a guitar and bandoneón, not full orquesta, but it’s still a fun one to dance to, in my view.

I also played a vals tanda featuring her voice later in the night. This one was also a mixed orquesta tanda. It’s a bit on the slow side, but I rather like it. I hope you enjoyed it too.

We have a public holiday next Monday, so there is no El Boliche. But, we will have a club milonga on Saturday, and the following week will be the workshop week with Cecilia Gonzales and Luciano Bastos. I suspect most people know how good teachers they are, but our newer tango friends may not know — GO! It’s an invaluable opportunity to be able to learn from the teachers of their caliber at the beginning of your tango journy. They will set you on the right course! In fact, their classes will be great for dancers at all levels. Let’s go and learn together from them. Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXv1NsfInQ2KeESMSdf1nME7QGz5w3YcqxLZ1IG0u96a_2Kg/viewform

See you on 4 May at El Boliche with Revenge Tango (booking only), if not before.

Cheers,

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16/04/2026

Hi everyone,

Thank you for coming this week!

We came back from the Easter break happy and refreshed. As some of you may know, Gary and I spend our Easter at the National Folk Festival every year. This year was no exception, soaking up the wonderfulness of live music for the entire weekend. As a tango DJ and an afficionado of the old tango recordings, it was interesting to contemplate on the joy that live music brings to me, and also that I get from my favourite and frankly phenomenal tango recordings to which people have been dancing ever since they were recorded — like for 80+ years. They are such different forms of art. And I, for one, need both.

As such, we are bringing a bandoneon and piano duo, Revenge Tango, to El Boliche in a few weeks time! Thank you all for your warm support. We sold out the tickets in just 3 days. (There is a waitlist on the booking site, and if you booked and can’t come please let us know!) I am really looking forward to sharing a special night with everyone.

Now the music theme this week. I featured Edgardo Donato. Donato’s music is cute, fun, and always dancer friendly. Donato tangos are something that DJs have in their back pocket to adjust the energy of the room. Want to warm up the room at the beginning of the night? Donato works. Lots of new people in the room and need somthing comfortable for them? Donato works. The room has a strange hyper energy that you would like to calm down a bit without completely killing it? Donato works. He is the gaffer tape of tango DJing.

As the first Donato moment, I played a playful tango tanda. It had “Gato" as the third song — the one with cat mewing. Good and silly. Then, I played a Donato vals tanda for the second vals tanda of the night. They are solid, fun valses to dance to. The second milonga tanda of the night was also Donato. The first piece, “Ella es así”, is a classic. Comfortable speed, lovely. I rather like the second one “La milonga que faltaba” — particularly the piano. The last piece, “Campo afuera”, is also great. There is another great version by Biagi — you may be interested in comparing the two. I played another Donato tango tanda right at the end of the night. I just wanted to end the night with one of my favourite pieces, “El día que me quiras” (The day you would love me). It’s such a romantic and lovely piece, although I learned that the use of the subjunctive form “quiras” indicates that the person isn’t sure that would happen. Not as optimistic as it may seem at the first glance.

Ah another thing about Donato: Accordion! To my knowledge, his orquesta is the only one which had accordion as well as bandoneon, and used it tastefully.

I also played a few of his compositions played by other orquestas. “Muchacho” in the D’Agostino tango tanda, “A media luz” in the Rodoriguez tango tanda, and “El huracán” in D’Arienzo tanda were Donato’s compositions.

I hope you enjoyed the night.

We will have a tango famine this weekend, as we have no practica nor milonga. So, save up your energy for Monday night!

Cheers,

Yuko
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25/02/2026

Hi everyone,

Thanks for coming this week! We were at Port Macquarie Summer Tango Festival over the weekend (strong recommend for your next summer — it’s such a beautiful part of the world). We had an early start and drove back on Monday. So,a we were a bit tired, but it was really nice to be back at the Polo. Each time we go somewhere and come back, I feel really lucky that we have the Polo as our home venue.

This week, I featured Eduardo Arolas. He is one of the early composers who contributed massively to the tango repertoire that we love to dance to today. I played quite a few of his compositions.

For the first tanda of the night, I played an Orquesta Típica Víctor tango tanda. The third piece, “Cardos,” is Arolas’ composition.

After the vals tanda, I played a Canaro tango tanda. The first piece “Rentintín” was also Arolas’s composition.

The first milonga tanda of the night also had a composition by Arolas: “Papas Clients”. This tanda was by Donato.

This was followed by a Tanturi tango tanda. The first piece “Una noche de garufa” was also Arola’s work. Then I played Di Sarli’s tango tanda. This too contained Arolas’s work, “La Cachila”.

After the second vals tanda of the night, I played a D’Arienzo tango tanda. The first piece “Rawson” is an Arolas classic.

And towards the end of the night, I played a couple of compositions by Arolas as part of the Pugliese tanda: “La Cachila” (again) and “Derecho Viejo”. This version of “La Cachila” is equally as good as Di Sarli’s, but in very different ways. I do suggest listening to both side by side if you are into that sort of things. It will illuminate the style difference of these two orquestas.

You can get a feel for how important Arolas was, by how many great recordings of his work I could play in one night!

Last week, I said this week will be the last one from us for a while. Well, as it happens, I was incapable of reading my own calendar. I will be your DJ next week again, then will take some time off. Sorry to disappoint you if you were looking forward to Jamie’s DJing. But, he will be with you after the Canberra Day public holiday though!

The March DJ schedule will be:
2/3 Yuko
9/3 Public holiday, no El Boliche
16/3 Jamie
24/3 Jamie
31/3 Yuko

So, see you all next week!

Cheers,

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17/02/2026

Hi everyone,

Thank you for coming last night! Lots of people arrived early last night, so we had good energy going from early on, so that was nice. We had a first-timer joining us too. I’d like to thank everyone who welcomed the new person. It’s hard to join the milonga when you are just starting. I hope they had an ok time and return soon.

The music: I featured Ángel Villodo this week. He is one of the founding figures of early tango, and composed some of the most beloved tango pieces — most notably El Choclo. This is a piece that people often recognise even if they are not tango dancers. So I went a bit bananas on El Choclo last night. I played four very different versions.

I opened the night with an Orquesta Típica Víctor tanda. The first piece was El Choclo from 1928.

Then after the first vals tanda, I played a tango tanda by D’Arienzo from the 1930s. This one had three compositions by Villodo: El Cachafaz, La Morocha, and of course El Choclo.

This was followed by a Biagi tango tanda. El Trece in this tanda was also Villodo’s work.

The milonga tanda after that also contained a Villordo work: El Esquinazo.

This was followed by a D’Agostino tango tanda, which also included El Choclo. I think this is one of my favourite versions. Ángel Vargas’s singing adds such a different texture, compared to all the other versions.

Then, a bit later, I played the fourth El Choclo. It was introduced by Di Sarli’s words. I could have started after the speaking bit, but I thought it would add a bit of drama to this week’s special song. This tanda was made of recordings from the 50s, and also included La Morocha, which I played a D’Arienzo version of earlier in the night. Did anyone notice? I wouldn’t be too upset if no-one recognised them, as they sound sooooo different. It’s a good example of tango not being just about the tunes — arrangement is just as important.

Oh, and I played another one of Villodo’s milonga — El torito — in the second milonga tanda of the night. It was recorded by Donato. Cute one.

I thought 4 El Choclos in a 3 hour milonga was enough, but trust me, I could play waaaaay more.

I hope you enjoyed the night, as much as your DJ did!

This week some of us are off to Port Macquarie Summer Tango Festival. We’ll be driving back on Monday to run El Boliche though. So, see you all back at our beloved Polo!

And next week will be the last one from Gary and I for a while, as we will be taking a bit of time off. El Boliche will keep going though, thanks to Jamie and Grace.

Cheers,

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