Rodrigo Y Gabriela & C.U.B.A. - Brixton Academy, London - 24th February 2012 (Live Review)
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Written by Tim Cox
Rodrigo, in a rare moment separated from his acoustic guitar, grabs hold of the microphone with both hands and addresses the crowd directly ‘We first got together with these guys about a year ago’ he says gesturing back to the band (C.U.B.A) behind him, ‘We met when we were on tour, and decided to do an album together. We had been touring for ages, so we thought we would release the album, and then we could have a rest’. To those that have heard ‘Area 52’, the idea of taking a break from touring after its completion may seem a bizarre notion. A notion perhaps akin to taking a break from eating after baking a huge delicious cake, or deciding take a break from running for your life in terror after covering yourself in raw meat and breaking into a lion enclosure. Made up of previously released R&G material reworked with 13 piece Cuban orchestra C.U.B.A., Area 52 was made to be played live. Obviously this dawned on Rodrigo and Gabriela at some point between then and now; as they are on stage at the Brixton Academy standing in front of a sellout audience.
Tonight is the fourth date on their tour, but R&G with C.U.B.A. don’t yet seem to be operating as a single unit. Despite frequent flashes of brilliance from individual players, including astonishing piano solos and unbelievable bongo ...er... bongoing, as a collective the moments of cohesion are few and far between. Live, C.U.B.A do add energy to tired tracks and create a fuller party atmosphere but it is an atmosphere that is never tempered. With horns constantly stabbing in over the melody and intrusive percussion bursting off in all directions, it is often hard to hold on to the beat that runs through the heart of the music. You could equate listening to C.U.B.A., live, at full blast to staring into the mind of a madman: bizarre, erratic and disorientating, as well as admittedly occasionally oddly entertaining and intriguing too.
On stage Rodrigo struts and quips with presence and wit, while Gabriela, ever in the background provides the solid rhythm with extraordinary technique. Still, even they appear to be thrown off now and then by the backing band. Switching to electric guitar for ‘Hanuman’ with Gabriela flanking the right hand side of the stage and C.U.B.A. behind; Rodrigo looks comfortable taking on a role as makeshift frontman sending distorted wails through the Academy and throwing up his arms to the crowd. His furious solos cut through the surrounding blare as he takes charge and leads all into an arena style rock off with aplomb – only missing the dry ice and lazers.
Whilst the band dynamic is novel, the highlight of the show remains Rodrigo Y Gabriela stripped back to their simple acoustic beginnings, just the two players and their guitars. With their near telepathic, lighting speed guitar interplay they improvise and bounce off one another. Interacting with the audience, touching on the refrain to ‘Stairway To Heaven’, dropping into the riff of ‘Sweet Child ‘O Mine’ and incorporating in a nod to ‘Very Superstitious’. They may have reinvented themselves and their sound for this tour but it is still the undeniable chemistry the two lead musicians share that provides the main focus for those in the crowd.
The line up on stage varies throughout, presumably to give the various musicians a rest. With the show clocking in at almost two hours, physically, it is an endurance feat for all involved, but because of this revolving line up the performance can seem a disjointed affair at points. Rodrigo and Gabriela play first with backing band, then on their own, Rodrigo solo, Gabriela solo, then the band members play solos until all come together for the end. With so many drawn out solos, gaps and laborious introductions attention spans are tested to breaking point. There can be too much of a good thing; these musicians exhibit extraordinary technical ability, but there are only so many blistering solos you can be exposed to before their potential to melt your face off is diminished. When all come together as one for the final time, they find the power to lift everyone off their feet. ‘Juan Loco’ ‘Diablo Rojo’ and ‘Tamacun’ bring the house down. Now firing on all cylinders they make the hour and forty minutes leading up to this finale feel like a warm up. Unfortunately it’s the encore.
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