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Rodrigo y Gabriela
Apr. 13th, 2012 08:00 pmRodrigo y Gabriela are an acoustic guitar duo, originally from Mexico. They play an upbeat, vaguely Latin style. Rodrigo does "solos," while Gabriela generally strums and does a percussion thing. they put on a really fun show. Here's a video, to give you an idea: http://vimeo.com/7723075
Last year, the duo recorded in Havana with local musicians. On this tour, they brought a Cuban ensemble with them. The style is not a stretch, by any means, but it's a little different environment for them. Since their playing can get lost in the mix, the emphasis shifts from their playing to the songs themselves. The songs are good, and all of the musicians are very good at what they do, so you really can't lose. The backing band consisted of an acoustic guitarist (whom I never heard), a bassist (who had more than one solo), a drummer, a tenor saxophonist (who also played flute and some percussion), trumpeter, and a keyboardist. That last guy almost stole the show with his solo turn.
Rodrigo likes his heavy metal posturing. Gabriela jumps around a lot - pretty much all the time. They both have a lot of fun onstage. Neither of them left the stage for a long time after the house lights came up. Rodrigo played solo for a bit. I wasn't extremely impressed. He played some intricate arpeggios, but they were a bit repetitive, and didn't really feel like whole pieces of music. He was just kinda showing off. But when Gabriela played solo, you finally got the feel for what she does for the band. It's obvious that her unique style has a lot to do with where the duo's sound comes from, but when you see her solo, you realize how much. She's huge! You know she basically plays rhythm guitar and percussion, but even the musical parts are more elaborate than you'd expect, and she does some rather unique things. String-bending and slides right in the middle of it, for example.
So this incredibly up-tempo band takes the stage, and the audience goes wild... in its seats. Cindy and I were in the very back row, up against the sound board. There was a really tall guy in the very front row, who stood up and was dancing and clapping by himself. He kept hoping the rest of the audience would follow suit, but they didn't, and he sat back down. I saw a few other people sitting high in their seats, and kinda dancing, as best they could. Finally, at the end of the first song, Rodrigo waved everybody to stand, and with much relief, everybody did.
The opening act was a singer-songwriter-guitarist from England, whose name I did not catch, but turned out to be Bobby Long. He is a folkie, who is very reminiscent of Cat Stevens, at times.
Last year, the duo recorded in Havana with local musicians. On this tour, they brought a Cuban ensemble with them. The style is not a stretch, by any means, but it's a little different environment for them. Since their playing can get lost in the mix, the emphasis shifts from their playing to the songs themselves. The songs are good, and all of the musicians are very good at what they do, so you really can't lose. The backing band consisted of an acoustic guitarist (whom I never heard), a bassist (who had more than one solo), a drummer, a tenor saxophonist (who also played flute and some percussion), trumpeter, and a keyboardist. That last guy almost stole the show with his solo turn.
Rodrigo likes his heavy metal posturing. Gabriela jumps around a lot - pretty much all the time. They both have a lot of fun onstage. Neither of them left the stage for a long time after the house lights came up. Rodrigo played solo for a bit. I wasn't extremely impressed. He played some intricate arpeggios, but they were a bit repetitive, and didn't really feel like whole pieces of music. He was just kinda showing off. But when Gabriela played solo, you finally got the feel for what she does for the band. It's obvious that her unique style has a lot to do with where the duo's sound comes from, but when you see her solo, you realize how much. She's huge! You know she basically plays rhythm guitar and percussion, but even the musical parts are more elaborate than you'd expect, and she does some rather unique things. String-bending and slides right in the middle of it, for example.
So this incredibly up-tempo band takes the stage, and the audience goes wild... in its seats. Cindy and I were in the very back row, up against the sound board. There was a really tall guy in the very front row, who stood up and was dancing and clapping by himself. He kept hoping the rest of the audience would follow suit, but they didn't, and he sat back down. I saw a few other people sitting high in their seats, and kinda dancing, as best they could. Finally, at the end of the first song, Rodrigo waved everybody to stand, and with much relief, everybody did.
The opening act was a singer-songwriter-guitarist from England, whose name I did not catch, but turned out to be Bobby Long. He is a folkie, who is very reminiscent of Cat Stevens, at times.
