Los Cogelones combined brotherhood and Aztec punk Sunday night at Kilowatt Bar, on the heels of what Psyched! Radio SF deems three pillars of this new San Francisco scene: Thank You Come Again, Buzzed Lightbeer, and (my personal favorite) Fauxes. Fauxes and Thank You Come Again shared a bill for night three of their brief NorCal run; their respective vocalists, Scarlett Levinson of Fauxes and Izzie Clark of TYCA, had quite the summer playing in newly formed femme grunge pop trio chokecherry. They opened for Pure Hex in May, dropped 2 banger singles, and gained more than 135K Spotify listeners in the meantime. Between chokecherry and their other two projects, Scarlett and Izzie have played with Buzzed Lightbeer on several occasions, yielding close relationships between this local music coalition.
Although new to the Bay Area stage, Los Cogelones employed rock mexica experimental, together with indigenous whistles and percussion, to gain full mastery of the venue. Four months into Fuego Tour 2023, they played shows across Mexico and Spain before reaching the States less than 2 weeks ago.
The band was launched in 2008 by brothers Marco Antonio, Víctor Hugo, José Alberto and Jesús Adrián Sandoval. Performing at the intersection of cultural heritage and punk resistance, they use rock drums and the huéhuetl, an ancient percussion instrument for sacred music and warrior gatherings, to preserve what is rightfully theirs. Through traditional Aztec garments, hair, makeup, and sound, Los Cogelones brought a piece of their hometown Nezahualcóyotl to this Psyched Radio lineup.
They call themselves “sons of the sun,” in accordance with their 2020 record titled Hijos del Sol, and the music video for track nine of this album “500 Años” pays homage to the last Aztec emperor Cuauhtémoc. This kind of ancestral memory was omnipresent Sunday night, as many audience members in the first couple rows of the pit not only echoed native lyrics but came to the show wearing traditional makeup and dress. In fact, before Los Cogelones even took the stage, whistle noises punctuated the room, just like they do at the beginning of major crowd favorite “Hijos de Puta.” Whistling is distinctive to Aztec history and Chicano culture.
My favorite songs of the night were definitely “Mexica” and “Yaotecatl,” mainly because the señora to my left was so unabashedly hanging onto every gritty bass riff. She interacted with the lead vocalist like family, taking his hand at one point, recording most every song on her phone camera, and then braving the moshpit just in time for the encore. Whether you showed up for Thank You Come Again, Fauxes, Buzzed Lightbeer, or the headlining band of the evening, Los Cogelones’ initial departure from the stage gave rise to every single person at Kilowatt chanting “OTRA” in unison.
Last weekend, this band of brothers from Nezahualcóyotl transcended my conception of punk. Their message and stage presence bespeak indigenous power, as they safeguard Aztec cultural memory in Spanish and Nahuatl alike. Los Cogelones are decolonizing the stage for chilangos and marginalized people everywhere. Thank you for shedding your light on the Bay.
The first cut of their performance can be found on Psyched Radio’s YouTube channel. Also, special thanks to the station for organizing this sold-out show and working so hard to bring diverse music lovers together via sound.
Article by Nico Chodor
Photos by Lex Andersen
