Even by rock's rollercoaster standards, the story of RODRIGO Y GABRIELA is a bizarre one. Part of Mexico's burgeoning rock/metal scene for several years, they were involved in a band set for stardom who even had a potentially big deal on the table. Faced with this impending stardom, Rodrigo and Gabriela freaked out, jumped ship and made for Ireland, of all places.
Yet, the apparent madness of this move has since paid the most unlikely dividends. Since being discovered busking on Dublin's Grafton Street, RYG's profile has risen enormously in their adopted homeland and with hlp from much-vaunted singer/ songwriter Damien Rice have quietly become crossover stars in Ireland and begun surfing waves of cultdom in the UK process.
So, after two critically-acclaimed studio albums in "Foc" and "Re-Foc" and with an awesome stage reputation, it's probably inevitable that a live collection would be forthcoming. Enter "Live Manchester And Dublin": an all-live, no embellishments, accept no substitutes document from two shows in (wait for it) Manchester and Dublin over the last twelve months.
Extracts from the gigs are both the same and very different. Yes, the rhythms Rodrigo Y Gabriela play are drawn heavily from Latin-American sources, but if you're waiting to draw the obvious flamenco comparisons and expecting to file them alongside The Gypsy Kings you're in for something of a surprise.
The first section of the album is from a show at The Manchester Academy. The crowd are brimming over with excitement all the way through, and the atmosphere is electric. RYG reciprocate in kind with the intricate and hugely percussive sounds of tracks like the dramatic "Foc", allow their blackened diablo spirit to possess their unlikely cover of Metallica's "One" and segue it seamlessly into old jazz chestnut "Take Five". They even slot a brief snatch of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" into "Mr.Tang", the cheeky so-and-so's.
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It's undeniably impressive, although at times the virtuosity threatens to undermine the soul. The Dublin show is recorded in a church (Christ Church) to a crowd who are a shade or two less radio rental, and on the likes of "Paris", they meander too far away from a fine original idea, even though the speed of the fretwork is utterly remarkable. However, they're later joined by violinist Zoe Conway, whose interplay ensures "Libertango" is reined in and magical and the closing cover of "One" (with added harmony vocals) goes from moody and pastoral to full-blown diablo blowout in some style.
While Rodrigo Y Gabriela are without question superb technically - and at times electric here - too much of "Live Manchester And Dublin" is in thrall to expertise and even allowing for the (not entirely gimmicky) forays into the thrash metal/ punk songbooks they also clearly love, there's not enough focus to sustain them across an entire album without vocal foils. On the basis of this, your reviewer could imagine seeing them live once, thinking "that was great - technically" and not needing to bother again.
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