reCAP :: Rodrigo Y Gabriela: 9 Dead Alive Tour :: 2015.06.19
If the limit of your experience with Rodrigo y Gabriela is their guitar-and-percussion assault as captured on records, you could be forgiven for wondering how that might sustain a full concert without growing repetitive. Carpers might tell you that, yeah, sure, it's exciting to hear two guitar virtuosos go at it, but how do you do that again and again without a solid amount of pacing or variation?
In fact it's in the live setting where Rod y Gab really come to life. Their energy is infectious as they prowl the stage, and while their excursions can go on a bit too long -- and their repertoire dips ever so slightly into the realm of the gimmicky -- when they're really hitting the note, it's a dazzling display. And hit it they did, again and again, in their first visit to the Cap, whether on their well-worn but still-corking version of Metallica's "Orion," or classic, cascading Rod y Gab journeys like "Tamacun," or newer entries like "Torito," off last year's sturdy "9 Dead Alive" album.
What makes this exciting is how, for a relatively simple set up between the two players, there's so much to grab on to. There's the visceral effect of the recorded songs brought to life live -- the spicy pinch of the strings, the tap of the percussion played on the body of the mic'ed guitars, the snatches of improvisation in between compositions that might falter if either player were just a step or two ahead or behind the other, the energy of the crowd in thrall and how they feed off that energy.
Beyond that, there are technical chops to marvel at, and sound collages to absorb, particularly as Rodrigo and Gabriela bend notes and play -- only sometimes gratuitously -- with warping effects that turn some of their collaborations downright psychedelic.
There are still other things they do to vary the pace and tone of the show, and at the Cap they included dragging up some 30 people onstage to dance and throwing out more well-known songs by Black Sabbath and Radiohead, including some sung by Rodrigo himself. They were amusing but went on too long; you smiled politely, hoping they'd soon be back to business.