The Argentine rock legend blends classics with new music in a spirited NPR Tiny Desk set
What better way to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month than with an Argentine rock icon on Tiny Desk? On Monday, NPR shared Fito Páez’s performance, which saw him play songs from across his lengthy discography and also offer the “world premiere” of a new track.
Páez, dressed in a sparkly coat, opened his set with the classic “A Rodar Mi Vida” from 1992’s El Amor Después del Amor, backed by horns, sax, and a pair of backup singers who harmonized with him. “An unusual version of a very popular song,” Páez declared.
The musician continued into “Mariposa Tecknicolor,” one of his most recognizable songs, from 1994’s Circo Beat, enhancing his futuristic keyboard solo outro. The musician then snuck in a newer track, “Sale el Sol” from his March album, Novela. “This is going to be a live world premiere,” he explained before playing the song.
Páez closed his set with a mash-up of “Circo Beat” and “Tercer Mundo.” Páez held up a megaphone to live up to the circus energy of the song. “Beat Circus is an old provincial circus, filled with scoundrels. It’s more fun than town life… Everything will change in a matter of seconds. There will be romance, a storm. And there’ll be love,” he declares in the megaphone before going into the fan-favorite.
Páez is set to go on a brief U.S. tour in November, performing in Los Angeles on Nov. 15, Miami on Nov. 20, and New York City on Nov. 23.
“I think music allowed me to express myself and experience happiness, to liberate personal ghosts and make up imaginary worlds, to enjoy a life that became more lucid and fun,” Páez told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “Music transports you to unknown territory. As long as you continue expressing yourself through art, life will continue to lighten up.”
