The brainchild of producer Andres Levin, Yerba Buena named its sophomore effort Island Life after its home island — the island of Manhattan. The NYC collective emits a high-energy, sometimes schizoid potpourri of styles that coalesce into nothin' but a party, y'all. YB's stylistic foundation is decidedly Latin — a good place to start these days — but Latin in a very broad sense, from salsa to cumbia to Tex-Mex to reggaton. Splash in funk, hip-hop, Afro-beat and other high-spirited elements and you get a sound that's nothing if not irrepressible. Island Life is probably a little too all over the map for its own good, but when genre-mashing bands such as Yerba Buena get on stage, it's a much better than even-money bet that they'll rip it up. Shine up your dancing shoes and dress for sweat.
Yerba Buena, Thurs., 7 p.m. Sept. 22, State Theatre, St. Pete; $12 advance, $15 d.o.s.
This article appears in Sep 21-27, 2005.