Rodrigo and Gabriela and C.U.B.A. hit the Massey Hall stage on monday evening to lay down some Awesome for a diverse crowd and Tuco was there to catch some of it. Got to the venue with some time to spare but unfortunately could not locate the drinks in time for the start of the first act: Bobby Long from England.
Bobby Long, with the vibe of a hippie, started off with a song about love and hurt with the line "You owe me an apology". Somewhat appropriate as Massey was only about one-quarter full at this point.
Something has to be said about the guitar, voice and spotlight combination which is almost its own art form. It combines the visceral and the soulful - gotta give a performer credit for taking this gimick-free way to connect with a crowd. It seems like a tough gig; sometimes it can be as impersonal as a ranting lunatic on the sidewalk or as intimate as a lap dance.
BL was tending toward anguish. He had a song in remembrance of his grandfather who fought in the Big War. That's what guitar and voice is about - personal histories and quasi-therapy rather than harsh truths. I try to imagine an acoustic set from Kerry King - yeah, wouldn't work.
Spotlight is inducing sweat spray as BL works. He breaks a string, raps with the audience about the names for his guitars and picks up the rest of the song. Nice job. Another love song, spotlights lower and we get a chance to hear a song with some dynamic range which I absolutely love. (Why is it so rare for a band/artist to take the volume down?)
Last song is about Oprah - BL mines current Toronto events expertly - and death. Exits stage left. Nice session Bobby Long.
Brief interlude with some tracks pumping through the PA system at low volume. Hall is about half full now and I vow to go drinkless for the rest of the night. Panicmanual is in the house with some amigos - plum spot too: dead centre 2nd row.
And we are off with Rodrigo, Gabriela and C.U.B.A. taking the stage. The crowd is primed (three-quarters full) and supportive. C.U.B.A. is a Cuban band featuring an acoustic guitar, drummer, bassist, sax/flute guy, trumpet/percussion guy and pianist.
For the most part the band stuck to the jazz form where the band provided the beat and one musician did the solo. Each musician did a really good job with the trumpetter, bassist and pianist really impressing. The drummer did not actually get a solo spot. Seems like this is the only way to organize this many musicians and it was effective. Unfortunately, this has an effect of encouraging alot of crowd interruptions as the audience breaks out in applause after each musician finishes a solo, but this wasn't meant to be a Symphony.
The set is comprised of alot from their most recent album Area 52 and some snippets of past work from 11:11.
After an initial few tracks with Rodrigo and Gabriela roaming the stage, they settled for a seat at the very back of the stage at the centre of a semicircle with the band and people at the sides were craning to catch a glimpse of them. With some free seats available, alot of poachers migrated to the centre seats.
Rodrigo was the first to rap with the crowd and gave us the rundown. He didn't really go into the reasons why this was only the second time the band has played Toronto, but some references to how "civilized" the audience was behaving suggested they have alot more fun elsewhere. TO is a little too staid and buttoned-down. Have to agree with him, the audience participation on average in Toronto sucks. Zero energy and vitality in a typical Toronto audience. This was most glaring in that it took nearly the whole concert for people to get out of their seats and make their way to the area in front of the stage.
Gabriela was next on the mic exhorting the crowd to "dance naked" which was another playful jab at our collective propriety. She also gave us a partial setlist with the following tracks opening the proceedings:
- Santo Domingo
- Hanuman
- Los Lobos
- Ixtapa
Once Rodrigo and Gabriela got out of the semi-circle, they were ranging over the stage alot more which was much better. Also nice were the visuals where, projected onto the back screen was a live black and white feed from one of two cameras (alternating) with one shooting from the front of the stage and the other from the back.
Fortunately, the audience, while a little shy, was receptive to the encouragement from Rodrigo and Gabriela. Gabriela's energy was infectious and Rodrigo didn't have to do too much crowd directing. There was one really cool audience effect when Rodrigo got three sections of the crowd clapping with different rhythms combining into a great beat. Very cool!
The best moment of the night for me was when Gabriela did a solo combining her flamenco guitar stylings with a wah-wah pedal. Combining this with a "Boom" that she produced by hitting all the strings, Gabriella produced a really unique sound which somehow worked. In general, the effects were really well done and spare.
I should make a note about Rodrigo picking which is really amazing. I would call this the core of the band's sound. There is something about the unelectric sound of acoustic guitar that is a bit of a time warp. To think our generation grew up hearing more electric guitar than acoustic - opposite to the way it used to be. Rodrigo demonstrated how much can be done with an acoustic sound without relying on a bunch of pedals.
The finale was a last cycle through all of the musicians each taking a solo. My hands were numb from clapping. The outro music was AC/DC For those about to Rock We Salute You. Fans scrambled to the front and Rodrigo and Gabriella graciously signed autographs and took pictures - so unpretentious - a very classy duo.
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