Rodrigo y Gabriela
This Mexican acoustic guitar duo thoroughly rocked a sweltering, humid Ogden Theatre Tuesday night. Certainly, the drunken crowd greeted them as one would a rock band, screaming through the all-instrumental songs, stomping, clapping and chanting melodies. Unfortunately, the sold-out room was so packed that anyone arriving late or abandoning a coveted sightline was greeted with a wall of humanity.
That was a shame, since watching the pair trade off breakneck playing and percussive feats is part of the fun. Even a video display above the band was obscured by the Ogden’s inconvenient backroom design. Still, the audience participation (singing along to “Wish You Were Here”) and inventive medleys (a mashup of Metallica’s “One” and the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s “Take Five”) made this show unlike any other. An oddly inevitable and thoroughly exciting mesh of metal and flamenco, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s music is unparalleled in modern rock. |John Wenzel
Andrew Bird
While Andrew Bird’s music focuses on the subtle, his means of getting there are anything but. Bird’s carefully composed, melodic indie rock is all about the sonics, and his show at the Fox Theatre on April 25 was an experiment in sound, self-sampling and acoustics. The violinist created entire symphonies with only a few friends, including the gifted Martin Dosh on percussion and sampling.
Bird’s show was at times mind-blowing and at times a tad boring, but he was best when he and his companions would treat the audience to the giant soundscapes he’s become known for as a live performer. As Dosh would capture the right beat, Bird would start exploring different violin parts, building on each with the grace and expertise of a master composer.
Capturing violin passages with a foot pedal, Bird created complex layers of sound that built into sonic majesty. Before they knew it, the sold-out crowd was treated to a six- or seven-part live-sampled symphony with Bird jamming and singing along to it all on guitar. It was stunning, something you’d expect to see in a symphony hall, especially since Bird’s voice is sterling and recognizable and his sparrow-like whistling makes his name fitting.| Ricardo Baca
Bela Karoli/The Life There Is
Schizophrenic lineups often invoke the strongest emotions, especially when they’re out of the blue. Monday night at Three Kings Tavern sported the gorgeously affected (and stripped-down) Bela Karoli, the dreamy The Life There Is and the face-melting noise-punk of MVP. The odd genre blend served to highlight each band’s varying strengths.
Bela Karoli appeared as an upright bass-violin duo, its haunted indie folk songs nakedly beautiful in stripped-down mode. The plucked bass notes and gently careening violin in “Snow” felt like old friends by set’s end.
The Life There Is followed, its elaborate electro-rock bolstered by spooky sepia-toned projections and random (if obvious) “Donnie Darko” soundbites. The sparse crowd at first didn’t know if (or when) to clap, since each song bled into the next. But as the set picked up, veering from a Radiohead/Sigur Ros vibe to more straightforward emo rock, people engaged. Mournful pedal steel and heavy synths augmented “Who Are You,” a song that could have easily been a self-indulgent emo screed. Impressive variety saved it, and the night, from sliding into lullaby. |John Wenzel
