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I haven't seen any live flamenco since Carlos Montoya in the early 60"s. Wonderful artists come to the SF Bay area on occassion, but that is 150 miles from where I live in N. California. So last night was very special. Flamencura performed in Chico. Here is what I wrote to a friend:
My son Mo and I went to see Paco Pena's performance in Chico last night. It was a complete production, with two very good singers, two extraordinary dancers, and three wonderful guitarists, including the great Paco Pena. The small concert hall on the Chico state campus was full, and the audience was the other half of what became a grand performance. To say we were enthusiastic would be an understatement. Such a strong feedback to the performers brought them to an emotional and artistic peak. They gave everything they had to give. So much love was passing between the audience and the stage it couldn't be otherwise. It became transcendent.They will be performing in Napa Nov. 2. Hope you can go!
The performers were: Paco Pena, Francisco Arriaga, Rafael Montilla Guitar Angel Munoz, Yolanda Osuna Linares, Dancers Ignacio Lopez, Percussion Immaculada Rivero, Bernardo Miranda Luno Vocals
I was at the Livermore performance on Thursday. I totally agree with your review! My expectations were far exceeded. All the performers were excellent but the dancers really blew me away. I HIGHLY recommend to anyone that they check it out. I get the feeling that the shows are not being promoted very well. I caught wind of the Livermore show through Paco Pena's facebook page one week prior, and I was still able to score second row center. Follow the link on his Facebook page to find dates. It looks like it's updated regularly.
Your story reminds me off one of the first time I came in contact with flamenco. And especially Paco Peña. More than 25 years ago, Amsterdam, Concert hall, one little guy with a sweath shirt. Very shy looking, One chair, one guitar, one spotlight. Than the magic started... The little guy in the sweather became a huge guy with dito personality... The sound and flawles playing I knew from the cd's and records came to live and grave their spirit in my sole and memory.....
Tomorrow will be my third time seeing Paco and I can't wait. It's always a top notch show. Live, he pushes the edges of traditional more than you'd guess from his albums. It's always like the best tablao show you could imagine. I'm stoked!
Thanks for the excellent review. I had the good fortune to attend Paco Pena's performance three year's ago in the Washington, DC area. He is my favorite tocaor running the circuit, and he was even when PDL was on the circuit.
Bill
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And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
I sometimes use Paco Peña's CD with pieces by Ramon Montoya and Niño Ricardo when trying to introduce people to flamenco. The recording quality is not up to modern standards on Montoya's and Ricardo's original discs, and on some of Ricardo´s later recordings his technique is not what it once was, but Peña's renditions are accurate, played beautifully and the recording is excellent.
Great great show tonight. The first half was all more obscure palos, verdiales, zorongo, peteñera etc and the second half was the usuals, solea, alegrias, bulerias. He's got some top notch players with him and they're putting together some pretty top notch pieces of music. Only complaint is the venue stage was TERRIBLE for footwork, I was in the very front row and could barely hear any of it. Kinda killed it for my lady who's a dancer. Shame, anyhow, not his fault, they all did stellar.
ORIGINAL: Richard Jernigan I sometimes use Paco Peña's CD with pieces by Ramon Montoya and Niño Ricardo when trying to introduce people to flamenco. The recording quality is not up to modern standards on Montoya's and Ricardo's original discs, and on some of Ricardo´s later recordings his technique is not what it once was, but Peña's renditions are accurate, played beautifully and the recording is excellent.
Yes that CD's great. Saw him in Poole (UK) years ago and that was a really good gig.
ORIGINAL: tk Overall, it was very entertaining, mainly the dancers...
If not just dancers, then mostly up-tempo pieces. Niño de Pura played Austin Saturday before last. He came out alone at first and played tarantas. Then he was joined by cajon, singer, a woman who did palmas and a male dancer. All the rest of the show was super fast stuff.
Niño de Pura's technique was truly astonishing. I have never heard so many notes per second come out of a flamenco guitar.
But flamenco is capable of a very wide range of emotions. For the performance Saturday before last I kept thinking of the wisecrack Dorothy Parker made about the famous film actress Katherine Hepburn when she appeared on Broadway sometime in the 1930s: "Last night at the Shubert Miss Hepburn ran the gamut of emotions from A to B."
Niño de Pura's technique was truly astonishing. I have never heard so many notes per second come out of a flamenco guitar.
I saw him on one of the Bienales in the Lope de Vega.....he played fandangos as a solo and did a few coplas of straight up picado at his top speed just because he can. I got the same feeling from hearing Paco dL for the first time in person and he ripped off a great peel of picado. I just said was that man, or a machine or a space visitor? Did you get the number of the truck that hit me? I never thought a human being could do that.
Antonio Rey kind of did the same thing, but not like Paco or de Pura, maybe I had become desensitized to displays of interstellar wizards by then. Antonio Rey is special however because he can do wizard work then play a Ramon Montoya falseta striaght up. Back to the Future.
Regarding the footwork, I had the same experience. The sound was muted by the solidity of the stage, and I really regretted that. I wonder if it it is possible to mike the feet of the dancers? There must be a way.
I wonder if it it is possible to mike the feet of the dancers?
floor mics - doesn't everyone use them? When I have seen Paco Peña group in London (a few times in the last few years), or any shows in the Flamenco Festival the floor is always miked and the sound is excellent (from the front 3 rows anyway)
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