{"id":1532,"date":"2012-04-20T07:41:29","date_gmt":"2012-04-20T12:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bourdaghs.com\/blog\/?p=1532"},"modified":"2012-04-20T07:41:29","modified_gmt":"2012-04-20T12:41:29","slug":"rodrigo-y-gabriela-vs-southern-all-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bourdaghs.com\/blog\/?p=1532","title":{"rendered":"Rodrigo y Gabriela vs. Southern All Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, we attended a terrific sold-out show by Rodrigo y Gabriela at the Chicago Theatre. For the most part, I agree with Greg Kot’s concert review in the Chicago Tribune<\/em><\/a>. The concert began with the duo backed by a band of supporting musicians from Cuba–but a bad mix often drowned out the guitars, especially Gabriela’s. The band departed the stage after five or six numbers, and then we got to the highlight of the show: two excellent, versatile guitarists strutting their stuff, and I do mean “strut.”<\/p>\n

Another highlight was the occasional patter between songs. Rodrigo went first, and then a few numbers later Gabriela stepped up to the mike. She apologized that she might be repeating things Rodrigo had already said, “but I never listen when Rodrigo’s talking.”<\/p>\n

The band came back for the final set of numbers, and the sound was much better this time around. The concert came to a rousing conclusion with “Tamacun,” followed by an extended encore (including a teaser version of “Stairway to Heaven,” the group’s viral video hit).<\/p>\n

I like “Tamacun” quite a bit, but I also notice a strong resemblance to another song: the Southern All Stars’ 1996 hit “Ai no kotodama.” Or am I perhaps just hearing the shared Latin roots of both bands?<\/p>\n

You can decide for yourself. Here’s Rodrigo y Gabriela performing “Tamacun”:
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