Rodrigo y Gabriela played an amazing sold out show at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater. The John Anson is one of my favorite venues in all of Los Angeles and it’s unfortunate that there aren’t more shows there. It’s an intimate outdoor venue that was perfectly suited to Rodrigo y Gabriela.
Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero (“Rod and Gab”) are a boy-girl flamenco meets rock guitar duo hailing from Mexico City. They have a most amazing history. Rod and Gab met as teenagers after their love of heavy metal drew them together and caused them to form a failed metal group. From this failed metal band, Rod and Gab began honing their chops on the acoustic guitar and moved to Ireland to play in the streets where they eventually met up with Damien Rice and got a record deal, which brings them to their sold out show at the John Anson.
Rod and Gab seemed to inspire the audience with their playing. Both are incredibly talented at playing the guitar, and each have amazing finger picking skills. They both also have great rhythm as shown by their ability to strum and beat on the body of the guitar at the same time to create a drum beat. Their solely instrumental music is heavily influenced by flamenco, tango, and rock n roll, but sounds like nothing else you’ve heard.
While their original material is amazing, Rod and Gab’s covers prove to be their most entertaining songs. At the John Anson, Rod and Gab of course played Metallica’s “Orion” and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” both of which appear on their most recent self-titled release. They also played an amazing version of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” and got the whole audience singing the lyrics, like a campfire sing along. What’s even more great about their covers is that they are truly unique and sound like completely new versions of familiar songs.
Their love of metal can also still be heard in their music, in the way they play acoustic guitars with such fervor. This passion for music and performing transfers to the audience who becomes wrapped up in the show. It’s nice to see that two people with acoustic guitars can still do this to an audience.
