"You know, just because we're disbanded doesn't mean you have to not buy our songs on Bandcamp. It means you should continue to buy our songs on Bandcamp, okay? That money goes right here," Chris Vargas implored the audience from the edge of the Garrison stage, gesturing to the front pocket on the laced-up legs of their pants.
As Pelada, Vargas and producer Tobias Rochman have carved out a vital space over 10 years of activity, Rochman's alien hardware techno bolstered by Vargas's hardcore punk agitprop. The formula's boosted in live settings, where Vargas's incensed slogans are delivered directly to a crowd immediately affected by the atomizing, world-decimating violence they rail against.
Having announced in February they had made the decision to put the project to bed on January 1 of 2025 and sharing the news with a list of tour stops, the group's final Toronto performance was originally set for an April 4 gig presented by Venus Fest, but that came with the caveat that the group would still be "accepting bookings until then," and Project Nowhere took them up on it.
Fest scheduling conflicts prevented us from catching the start of their set, but we arrived to a densely-packed house already locked into Rochman's rave-ready revolutions and Vargas's confrontational recitations, many singing along in Spanish as they sweat out the toxins of neoliberalism and environmental destruction.
It was all bangers from there, including a full-throated rendition of Pelada's first single "No Hay" ("There Is No"), a track Vargas offered "for our day ones." While Vargas challenged the notion of any single power's divine authority, singing "No hay la solución" ("There is no solution"), Rochman's sparsely produced acid synth backing let dancers lose themselves and find a new groove as a collective.
The penultimate track in their set, it was a fitting intro to a finale that had Vargas leading the crowd in a chant of "¡Palestina Libre!" Rochman layering in urgent pulses that intensified the atmosphere.
Returning for an encore, Rochman rendered a blocky grid of rhythm and summoned Ahora Mas Que Nunca's Backxwash joint "La Gente Se Levanta" ("People Get Up") to rally the crowd to immediate action, everyone chanting along in no uncertain terms, "Hoy, no mañana."
"Today, not tomorrow," indeed. Long live Pelada.