I was at the Fox Theater in Oakland to see Rodrigo y Gabriela last night. If you haven't been to the (newly renovated) Fox Theater you should buy tickets post haste. It's wicked majestic like vanilla pudding should be and they get all the really great acts coming through. Seriously, step up and embrace Oakland.
The show was iocaine deadly. They rocked harder than most rock bands I've ever seen. These two can really shred, particularly Gabriela, who uses her right hand like an armada of conga players let loose on a Santana live DVD circa 1968. The music is very rock and roll...which is sort of amazing considering the only instruments are two acoustic guitars. The crowd was all souped up like a Def Leppard show. All Rodrigo had to do was lift his hands and he got a huge roar in return. One clap in rhythm and he had 75% of the crowd clapping in rhythm. I felt like we were in Estadio Azteca a couple times (this is hyperbolic but you get the drift). RodGab had us hynoptized. I have to admit a thought that kept running through my brain was "I can't believe this music is this popular." The show was sold out and all these people are here to listen to instrumental guitar music? Anyway, it was just one of those mild double-takes when moderately dorky but very cool things you like are accepted en masse...don't mistake me though: these guys definitely warrant lots of public attention.
Here's a highlight from their first (self-titled) album:
"Diablo Rojo"
These are the fastest guitar players I've ever seen live...definitely reminiscent of that classic John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, Paco de Lucia record "Friday Night in San Francisco." I notice RodGab gives them all individual "shout out" tracks on their new record 11:11, which is supposed to be a tribute to eleven musicians that have inspired them. Seeing as how you're about 29 years late on that John/Al/Paco tour...this is about as close as you can expect to come to that style of guitar wizardry.
Rodrigo is the showman. Dude is jumping around, controlling the crowd, and playing lead primarily. He is crazy fast. At one point he used a beer he was drinking as a slide for some really sweet out-over-the-soundhole melodic stuff. Gabriela is mainly rhythm, but don't get thrown off track as she's likely the more insanely talented one (of two insanely talented people). She uses all five fingers and knuckles and her palm to simultaneously strum the hell out of the guitar while also keeping crazy polyrhythms all over the body. They have it mic'd up so that a flat hand slap sounds like a big bass drum, and she fills out an entire rhythm section on her own with absolutely no problem...the type of stuff usually accomplished by 3 people. Their intense strumming patterns combined with their multiple percussive guitar hits and near supernatural command of dead strings make it sound (as I said) way more rock and roll than most "indie rock" bands I've seen in recent years.
Check this little video of them teaching you some of their (right hand) moves...still this does not do the rock justice:
Although I thought the show ran a little long...I'll forgive them that since the crowd was seriously eating it up. Long Dick Dale dead string slides up the board, a little "Master of Puppets" on command, and a one and half second "More Than Words" tease...the show was a flying guillotine to the headstock on a Wednesday morning at the cupcake factory.
These are the fastest guitar players I've ever seen live...definitely reminiscent of that classic John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, Paco de Lucia record "Friday Night in San Francisco." I notice RodGab gives them all individual "shout out" tracks on their new record 11:11, which is supposed to be a tribute to eleven musicians that have inspired them. Seeing as how you're about 29 years late on that John/Al/Paco tour...this is about as close as you can expect to come to that style of guitar wizardry.
Rodrigo is the showman. Dude is jumping around, controlling the crowd, and playing lead primarily. He is crazy fast. At one point he used a beer he was drinking as a slide for some really sweet out-over-the-soundhole melodic stuff. Gabriela is mainly rhythm, but don't get thrown off track as she's likely the more insanely talented one (of two insanely talented people). She uses all five fingers and knuckles and her palm to simultaneously strum the hell out of the guitar while also keeping crazy polyrhythms all over the body. They have it mic'd up so that a flat hand slap sounds like a big bass drum, and she fills out an entire rhythm section on her own with absolutely no problem...the type of stuff usually accomplished by 3 people. Their intense strumming patterns combined with their multiple percussive guitar hits and near supernatural command of dead strings make it sound (as I said) way more rock and roll than most "indie rock" bands I've seen in recent years.
Check this little video of them teaching you some of their (right hand) moves...still this does not do the rock justice:
Although I thought the show ran a little long...I'll forgive them that since the crowd was seriously eating it up. Long Dick Dale dead string slides up the board, a little "Master of Puppets" on command, and a one and half second "More Than Words" tease...the show was a flying guillotine to the headstock on a Wednesday morning at the cupcake factory.
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