Paco Pena, Nothing Short of Spectacular

Friday February 25, 2011

from The Royal Gazette Online

Nothing short of spectacular
By Vejay Steede

Flamenco Vivo Esta Simplemente Fantastico!

Monday night at City Hall was a revelation. I went in expecting an A&E special featuring some dudes hoofing around a stage to a bit of rudimentary Latin folk music. What I got was nothing short of spectacular!

Paco Pena and his band of merry Flamencistas (is that a word?) simply blew the roof off our capital’s main hall and cultural centre.

Monday’s premiere performance was so astoundingly powerful that I was immediately enthralled to the point where I never even took a moment to jot down a note on my trusty pad.

There was no time for writing, the performances demanded your attention; it was like 1000 judges slamming 1000 gavels and yelling order repeatedly for two full hours! Oh, and it was extremely impressive.

Two singers, three guitarists, three dancers, and a percussionist conspired to set the stage ablaze, and left the near-capacity audience breathless on more than a few occasions throughout the evening.

Describing standout pieces from this wonderful show is a bit futile, because every moment this group was on stage, whether it be just Paco with his guitar, or the entire ensemble, was beautiful.

Opening with a blast of primal ‘Cante Flamenco’ courtesy of Jesus Corbacho, the show was powerful from the start.

Seductive Spanish guitar and aggressive traditional Flamenco dance kept the presentation strong.

Syncopated rhythms and precisely-timed rhymes dominated the proceedings, and oohs and aahs spilled from the onlookers early, and often.

The solo pieces were special, highlighting the kind of technical excellence and artistic elegance that has recently elevated Spanish athletes to the top of the world.

Ramon Martinez was especially charismatic during his pre-intermission tour de force. Indeed, the one word that will always be associated with this kind of performance is ‘power’.

These pieces were full of strength, vigour and virility, and Martinez was perhaps the evening’s most vivid embodiment of these characteristics.

Angel Munoz was also impressive, delivering the kind of rapid-fire rhythms with his feet that would make an M-16 blush.

If you have never witnessed a traditional Flamenco performance live, imagine Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Michael Flatley, and the entire cast of ‘Stomp the Yard’ on steroids.

Then give them all a case of Red Bull to drink.

The simple physics of the dances presented on Monday night were pretty astonishing, to say the least.

Daniel Alvarez added another level of syncopated bliss with his fantastic percussion work, while Paco Arriaga and Rafael Montilla provided depth to the wall of sound with their sweet supporting guitars.

Read full article here

La Guitarra Solista	6:15
Alboreá	9:42

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