Classiccal Modernistc Bliss: a 10/10 Rodrigo y Gabriela review

Whenever a concert mixes flawless frantic classical guitar with the technicalities of metal, Metallica riffs, and an ode to Pantera, a reference to Spinal Tap, and a talented Mexican woman telling everyone that they can “dance naked,” you can pretty much guarantee it’s a hell of a time. Rodrigo y Gabriela quite literally blew away the entire crowd at House of Blues on Saint Patrick’s Day as they delivered the best live performances I have ever seen, some of the craziest guitar work within the last two decades, and just an overpowering presence that stunned the crowd from the first second to the encore---which then lasted another 10 spine-tingling minutes. House of Blues didn’t stand a chance against this powerhouse duo as they impressed everyone, from the newcomers, to the people that were already fans.

Before ranting happiness towards the concert, a little background. As anyone who reads my reviews and blogs (the two of you) you know that I personally think that Rodrigo and Gabriela are among the most talented musicians in the business today. They had two of among the better albums in the 2000s (11:11 and their self-titled album) and the best song of the last decade, which was the incredible Diablo Rojo. Last year, this was my comment about the song:
“In this song, you have two guitars dueling, working together, becoming temporary drums, progressing the song from one stage to the next, and engaging in one of the most epic finales in any song you’ll ever hear. The song doesn’t need lyrics, all it needs is a title and the guitars work out the lyrics through their melodies, riffs, changes, and dramatic chords. The song is about a roller coaster, and the song plays like a wild and fun coaster. Rodrigo y Gabriela has the attitude of Santana, the experience of metal, the culture of Paco De Lucia, and the skills of the best classical artists. The songs themselves are a perfect mix of classical guitar, acoustic metal, and Spanish flair.”

Despite the utmost praise I’ve given the duo within the last several years; their fame has to reach the level they deserve. They had trouble finding success in Mexico and were not content with the music scene so they moved to Ireland and started building a fanbase there. An MTV special, a few successful television appearances later, their popularity in North America is beginning to grow. With their 11:11 album still charting around in Billboard, they started a U.S. tour to promote the album. In Florida, they planned on hitting Miami and Disneyland—er, I mean Orlando.

Back to the concert. Before the epic duo played their music, it was started by a much lesser-known group known as the Alex Skolnick Trio. Despite some good instrumental performances (including a jazzy version of a Kiss song) the audience was rather unruly towards the back and was antsy about seeing the duo. One hour after the concert officially started, Rodrigo y Gabriela showed up on stage. Without uttering a single word, they started playing. The amount of energy in the House of Blues pretty much multiplied infinitely. By 10:00, that energy had not dissipated in the least bit.

Rodrigo played with plenty of expert skill, flair, and energy. His guitar work is some of the best you’ll ever see, and when he busts out his Les Paul at one random moment, his metal roots are easily revealed. This duo is honestly a metal artist at heart, but is disguised behind classical guitar. But, the one driving the show with her energy, her movements, her sense of humor, and easily the best guitar playing I’ve ever seen from any female artist out there is Gabriela. From the first moment to the last, she was running around, she was playing relentlessly, she was slamming her fingers against the guitars with such force, and the clapping of the audience couldn’t keep up. The cameramen couldn’t keep up. Not even the lightning could quite match and maintain the pacing of the incredible music happening on stage. There are only two guitars simply because that is all these two need.

Their musical selection was a mixture of their latest album, with some older classics, and some jam sessions with the other band that was performing. The best part of these two is that they will play the familiar tunes perfectly, but they also add a bit of variation to each song. You’ve heard it in the albums, but when you hear it live, it’s a different sound, it’s a different hook, runs on a different tempo, but ultimately delivers the same smile on your face. Their rendition of Diablo Rojo had the entire audience cheering, hollering; but we still could not manage to keep up with the clicks, smacks, strums and whatever other guitar technique you could possibly imagine. The House of Blues didn’t contribute much visually with the exception of a curtain that displayed some images or closer shots of the duo performing.

No two songs from the incredible duo sound the same. The entire 11:11 album was different variations and tributes to different musical artists over the years. Rodrigo y Gabriela usually played some heavy, fast, skillful, and entertaining rhythms, but did manage to sneak in some quieter, calmer, melancholy tunes that catch the audience off-guard. The power ballad-like guitar work never lasted too long, with them jamming to a crazy song shortly after the lights dim and the speed stalls. Every song was amazing, every moment was impressive.

The best part of this concert was after they were done and left the stage, and the entire audience just desired so much more. To get their attention, the entire audience managed to break-out in a harmonious soccer chant (the famous “Ole Ole” one). All of House of Blues for a minute turned into a soccer match with the chanting. Gabriela comes out and starts jumping and chanting it with the audience. With this, Rodrigo follows, they bust out more songs to play (amazingly by the way—with some of them unrehearsed), and they ultimately last so much longer than the original anticipation the curtain in the background actually went down towards the end, revealing the House of Blues logo instead of their album logo. Let’s just say their big finale, was quite, quite big. As they strummed dozens of notes a second, the first several rows of the audience in the middle joined together in collective jumping and headbanging. It is not often to see a musical artist return back after the original grand finale and manage to deliver even more music without skipping a beat.

Bottom Line: This was worth every single penny, no question about it, no doubt about it. Rodrigo y Gabriela are currently among the best artists in music today, and their incredible concert (which more amazingly was done nearly at the end of their tour) is just more evidence for the cause. If you want excellent instrumental work, I shall repeat it again: Rodrigo y Gabriella is the answer, the solution, and the destination for quality. Rodrigo y Gabriela plays like they were put in this earth to do so. They look like they are having a blast up on stage. It had been my goal to introduce them into the lives of all whom I still keep in touch with, and the struggle continues. It is sometimes sad because I wanted to claim my happiness towards watching them play so closely, but nobody at my department even know them. And the next time they roll around in Central Florida, I shall be there waiting for them, and hopefully with more fans.

Grade: A+