Angel Corsi's Comeback Concert: a night of confidence, startling storytelling and DIY ambition
Raymus Media - Rio Grande Valley music magazine. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram
On Thursday January 9, a small-scale solo concert took place at a secret shutdown building in downtown Harlingen. The acoustic show could have easily been like any other that we’ve seen in our indie community for decades, but the stealthy promotion, the humble venue and setup, the respect from the attentive audience, and the story of the man behind it all, Angel Corsi, make this a unique experience that sets a new standard of ambition from solo artists. Recorded live as an upcoming album, the success of the event marks a comeback for Corsi, who has not been active lately as a performing musician, despite being involved in local music in almost every other way.
Corsi has been in the Rio Grande Valley music scene since 2010. His early work includes the hosting of McAllen’s Music After Hours, recording musicians with his now-defunct Sun Fish Records studio, and formerly owning an all-ages venue in Harlingen, called The Prelude, which showcased singer-songwriters in a special setting that asked audiences to silence their phones and themselves to focus on the performer. He continues to be a Harlingen-based promoter today.
Besides performing as himself, he has recorded and performed under the names: Something Solar, Echoes & Embers with his wife Rachel, and The Vangoes as a guitarist. All of these projects have concluded years ago.
In 2017, Corsi and his wife closed The Prelude. The venue that was also a music instrument store, repair shop, and a classroom for songwriters seeking mentorship, had been scaled-back to selling and repairing instruments under the name “Corsi Guitars” in a new building. After a flood in June 2019, Corsi sold off what he could from the wreck and closed the shop.
After all his ventures and setbacks, Corsi created an event that ignited his revamped music project, starting with this live album and moving on to doing more shows, including an East coast tour. The concert was promoted without revealing the location of the venue, and relied on his Facebook and Instagram followers responding to his flyers in order to rsvp and get the address days before the event. The questionable legality of the location didn’t stop him from connecting with potential attendees. Powered by a generator in a shutdown building, minimal lights, one speaker, one microphone, and one acoustic guitar made up the entirety of his floor-level setup in front of an audience of at least 50. With a large print of his cover art behind him, which features a crow perched on the barrel of a revolver, and a round mat underneath him, he had all the stage he needed to unleash startling stories through his album’s protagonist.
Folky songs and strong vocals divulge troubled stories that includes the protagonist’s father, drugs, criminal activity, lying to oneself to get by, being surrounded by bad influences, and the recent passing of his mother. The theme of the night was personal disclosures and self-honesty. Opposite of the stage was a narrow hallway with a typewriter at the end. A sign above it asked users to type about a lie they had to tell themselves for the sake of survival, and then to put the paper in an envelope.
Eddie Saenz introduced Corsi by speaking of his history with him. After coming down from Tennessee, Saenz was looking for his way into the local scene and eventually connected with Corsi, who has been a mentor and inspiration to him. “When someone asks who’s the best songwriter around, I say the best in the RGV is Angel, one of the best in the state and the nation,” said Saenz before Corsi walked up and revealed a Muhammad Ali G.O.A.T shirt he was wearing underneath his jacket, signaling his newfound confidence under the spotlight.
After years without a string of shows, his stage precence and audience engagment was as alive as ever. The ambience of the night was set before the show began. Announcements were sent in advance to ban photography and livestreaming, making the event more quiet, secluded, and intimate. For a smooth live recording, the audience only applauded after each song when Corsi made his last strum and stepped away from the microphone. The room joined in a chant during the closer, as they were instructed to sing the line “in the quiet hours” in a song about making life-changing decisions in solitude.
Humor was a major factor in the enjoyment of the show, not only to relieve some of the darkness from the lyrics, but to keep the show moving. When Saenz was having a bit of trouble starting the recorder on a tripod, Corsi chimed in, “you don’t know how to work that thing? What kind of millenial are you?” Then an audience member joined in as the room laughed. “He needs a touch screen.” The exposition before the songs were interesting too. One song was about the difficulty of improving yourself when you’re surrounded by bad influences. “People ask me. How did you end up with Rachel? She’s so nice,” Corsi said with self-depricating humor and as praise to his wife and business partner’s good nature.
The music event was also a social one. Major figures of the RGV music scene were in attendence including Ray Perez, Bobby Villarreal, and Seems Fuentes, among others. At the end of the night, the room was welcomed to stick around to view the art and mingle, as the members and fans of the singer-songwriter and art community that Corsi helped shape gladly obliged.
Follow Angel on Instagram here, and his music company page here.
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