Transitioning from being a solo artist (or in this case, a minimalistic acoustic duo) to having a full band behind you is a great risk, no matter what type of musician chooses to take it. Your songs transform, in scope and shape, in feel and form, and the result can either pull in a larger audience than ever before, or cause even the most adoring critics to suddenly turn their noses up at you. Such a dramatic shift in the mood and presentation of your art requires a great deal of work and dedication to perfecting your craft, and it may even require you to explore new methods of songwriting and arrangement that you had never approached within your career. When Mexican thrash-flamenco maestros Rodrigo y Gabriela traveled to Havana and recorded their new album, Area 52, with a host of 13 Cuban musicians (tonight appearing in the form of musical ensemble C.U.B.A.), fans and critics alike paled at the thought of the super-concentrated thrill of the pair’s frenetic guitar mastery drowning in a sea of lush but overwhelming sound. On their 2012 tour, the two have set out to prove that none of the magic that they’ve amazed audiences the world over with has disappeared; indeed, new life has been breathed into it, as it scales into a higher, deeper, and even more magnificent form.
Continue reading “Show Review: Rodrigo y Gabriela and C.U.B.A. at The Fox Oakland, 4/5/2012”