PACO DE LUCÍA, ‘COSITAS
BUENAS’. POZUELO ESCÉNICA 2007
The eternal night
S.C. Pozuelo, June 23rd, 2007
‘Cositas buenas’. Paco
de Lucía: guitar. Niño Josele:
second guitar. Montse Cortés, Chonchi Heredia,
La Tana: cante. Piraña: percussion. Alain Pérez:
bass. Domingo Patricio: flute. Festival Pozuelo Escénica
2007. Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid, Spain), June
23rd, 2007. 10:30 p.m.
Paco de Lucía
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
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Midsummer’s Night. A night of fire.
Sorcerers, spirits, rituals. The evil which is burnt,
the good which remains. Some leap over the bonfire, others
burn the old... And quite a few sought the cleanliness
of the summer solstice in the music burning from Paco
de Lucía’s guitar. Some two thousand
five hundred souls - all that would fit in the venue -
looked to become purified by the magical sound of the
maestro from Algeciras at the auditorium in the Madrilenian
suburb of Pozuelo. A sound which is new when it tackles
‘Cositas buenas’, his latest album, which
he has been playing live all over the world for the last
three years. And at the same time, it’s the same
old sound, a familiar sound when it quotes itself, blending
times past and present... and perhaps providing a sneak
preview of some future time.
Paco de Lucía has that unusual
power to transgress time. And he might just as easily
lead the audience to recall the origins of the flamenco
genre or of his own people, as to situate it face to face
with the present. No sooner has he played the first notes
of ‘Ziryab’ or ‘Entre dos aguas’
than the crowd literally screams with excitement. What
can be said of the electricity he sparks when he’s
solo, the tickling sensation when he tiptoes next to the
sound hole of the guitar, the energy he blows in when
he toys with the rhythm... when he mocks the compás?
At the same time as he does a flashback,
he practically pulls out all the stops of what’s
on ‘Cositas buenas’. He endorses this repertoire
by today’s Paco de Lucía every step of the
performance, obliging listeners to update themselves.
When he started this project, he himself wanted to refresh
his way of appearing on stage, and it’s not through
the wardrobe or the eternal palm grove in the background,
but rather the group. He kicked off the tour seeking new
instruments, such as the harmonica, and even a Hindu wind
instrument. But as the tour has progressed, everything
has tended to the original group... but without being
so: flute (Domingo Patricio), bass (Alain Pérez),
percussion (Piraña) and second guitar (Niño
Josele). Of course, each piece is up to the circumstances,
but the magic doesn’t reach the back. What might
distinguish the group the most right now is the trio of
voices, even though they are similar in form: Montse
Cortés, Chonchi Heredia and La Tana. The guitarist
uses them as embellishment in the songs requiring a refrain,
as well as pushing them ‘up front’, to indulge
in accompanying and recalling Camarón
de la Isla through many of his cantes. Always.
No bonfire was needed. Just Paco de Lucía,
just his guitar. And the shortest night of the year became
infinite.
Paco de Lucía (Photo
Daniel Muñoz)
