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Elly Roberts reviews
Rodrigo y Gabriela: 
Green with envy(and a lot of admiration) I watched Mexican guitar slingersRodrigo y Gabriela thrill the intimate Academy 3 with an hour-longmasterclass in arrangements, technique and style.This charismatic pairing is very special indeed.
On the second night of their sold-out eight-gig UKtour, pint-sized Gabriela Quintero and beefy Rodrigo Sanchez mesmerized thepacked – out venue with a dazzling display of finger-flicking wizardry,fusing flamenco, jazz and rock. The hot pair is making Mexican waves oftheir own right now, headlining the UK after supporting David Gray in the UKand mainland Europe.
Promoting their new eponymous album, they took no timeto unleash their high-octane setlist, kicking off with the primal rhythms ofalbum opener Tamacun, as Gabriela pounded the acoustic guitar, custom madeby Irishman Frank Tate. The percussive onslaught led to bobbing heads andfoot-tapping for the entire show – we did get a breather now and againthough.
Close-up, their almost telepathic understanding and digitaldexterity defies belief, as chord riffs and picks burned up the fret boards-the blistering pace was mind-boggling, : best heard on Vikingman. It wasn’tall blood and thunder, slipping-in some sophisticated covers: Dave Brubeck’sjazz standard Take 5 gripped the crowd, bringing the first big reaction.
Pink Floyd’s anthem, Wish You Were Here set the crowd on a retro-trip,singing every word – a rare opportunity in a totally instrumentalrepertoire. Rodrigo used his beer bottle to do the slide work – a novelapproach that brought more cheers. Their indigenous Hispanic passion neverlet-up even when things took a tenderer touch, with sublime dips in pace,Ixtapa, the best example.
A nod to their previous existence in a thrash metal band surfaced on mostoccasions, with Metallica’s lengthy Orion proving a clear winner.
An encore was always on the cards. Gabriela introduced the finale with,“We’re gonna play something special dedicated to you. Thank you very much,you’re great.”
Shooting-off with some individual show boating – incrediblesolos that raised the roof, finally leaving with a crescendo of classicrock: a spell-binding rendition of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven. Bothbeaming at the ovation, they waved and headed for the dressing room.
A sensational night.
Weblink:RodGab.com
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.