Photo Marc Goldstein
There was a galvanizing connection between the music of Mexico City natives Rodrigo y Gabriela and the Vic crowd. It might have been emotional fallout from just three days earlier when 150,000 immigrants marched in protest through the city’s downtown or perhaps the duo was getting a jumpstart on the next day’s Cinco de Mayo. Either way the energy was inescapable the moment they took the stage.
Back-dropped by an extreme close-up live action video screen, the duo
sat like king and queen ambassadors upon two chairs and unleashed its
compelling blend of thrash metal, flamenco and mariachi. Gabriela alternated
from violent picking—her hand resembled a gracefully swift gyroscopic
tarantula—to transforming the guitar’s surface into a percussion
instrument. Rodrigo showed his chops and masterful fret work that
mesmerized and pulled no climatic punches. Rodrigo laughed as
he chucked the tired tour setlist and spontaneously shuffled from their
2006 self-titled disc and 2003’s Re-Foc while dipping into and
redefining “Hotel California,” “Stairway to Heaven” and Metallica’s
“Orion.” Without any vocals, albeit hilarious in-between song
conversation, The Vic nearly erupted via the pure carnal rhythms,
scorching chords of tribal outbursts and the pounding of 1,000 feet on
the venue’s vibrating floor.
The pure nonstop rhythmic jubilation slowed for a bit when Rodrigo
led—and then handed over to the audience—the sing-along chorus of “Wish
You Were Here.” The Pink Floyd classic was brilliantly transformed into
a road-weary traveling love song to their newfound fans.
|
