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No.15 From: jasmyn (jasmyn@itsa.ucsf.edu) Mon, 22 Jun 1998 17:03:58:
What can I say. One word "DUENDE"! This concert had flavor. The duende of Flamenco was definitely in the air and in me.
The weather was very sunny with a slight breeze towards the end of the concert. I looked back towards the crowd and many were wearing dark sunglasses. The amphitheathre was packed with many dancing bodies swaying to the GKS rumbas.
The stage was very high. I was only able to see whoever was downstage. From my first row seat I was able to see the GKs facial expressions up close and was able to hear Patchai, Canut, Andre, Paul speak to one another without being heard through the mike. Too bad I don't understand Gitane language. However, they had asked the crowd several times to get up and dance. There were technical problems, such as Patchai's mike was not connected for several minutes at the beginning of the show. At one point Nicolas gestured to lower the sound, but the sound person turned it up (sound person must have dyslexia).
The line up was, starting stage right: Paul, Andre, Nicolas, Tonino, Georges, Patchai and Canut. They were all dressed in black.
The opening song was "La Dona" sung by Nicholas. The playlist consist of La Dona, La Fiesta Va a Comenz, Djobi Djoba, Odeon, Un Amor, Oy, Quiero Saber, Ama Bei Bei, Todos Ole, Baila Me ----Intermission---Catalun~a, Gitano Viejo, Montan~a, Mira La Itana Mora, Suen~o de Noche, Salsa de Noche, Mi Nin~o, A tu Vera, Bem Bem Maria, Ami Wa Wa, Bamboleo.
The second set Mikael was downstage playing a caxixi or guira type instrument. I thought he was the only one playing and against canned music until I stood up on my tippy toes and saw the rest of the band. Mikael was constantly on the move during the concert.
It was a welcome sight to see them sharing the stage with a musician of another gender. The violin was a welcome addition and I felt was not a distraction. That was a nice touch. The Eastern (ROM)Gypsy influence in music emphasizes the violin almost as much as the guitar. The woman who played the violin is not only a violinist she is also a composer. Her name is Patti Weiss. She does backup gigs with the GKs from time to time. Patti sure plays a mean violin. She was fabulous!
The purcussionist/drummer, Pacheo y Negrito were out of this world. Ole! All I kept shouting was "Eso Ea". Their playing resonated to the depth of my cellular being.
During intermission I met Laura. It was a pleasure to have met her and the family. Laura had primo seats. Next year its Las Vegas, right Laura?!
Patchai came out on the second half wearing a see-thru black shirt and might I add, a very nice physique! He started to do swimming movements as the crowd started to move their arms side to side in unison during Ami Wa Wa. It was awsome, looked like a suname, a great human ocean wave flickering under the warm bright sun.
Canut came out on the second half impeccably dress with a white shirt with delicate rhinestone patterns on his nehru-type collar highlighting his pecs. He sang "Montana" with such passion. A voice so rich, strong, and velvet-like in some instances. At one point in the song, I thought they were playing another song and then phased back into Montana. It was very wierd. It seemed to me that part of the backup musicians were playing some other song, trying to do some fusion work. Strange. I found Canut to be very jovial and he smiled alot.
Andre was backup vocals for the majority of the songs. However he did have a solo in "Ama Bei Bei Bei". As harmony vocals he has a beautiful and mesmerizing voice. There were frequent eye contact throughout the show with Andre smiling eyes. IMHO he has alot of stage presence and connects with the audience. Andre sure has a beautiful smile.
Nicholas was supurb. I was totally riveted to his singing when he sang "Mira Itana Mora", personally my favorite, (sigh). His voice is so intoxicating and powerfully soulful. When he sings his whole body vibrates and you could feel and see that he is coming from deep down from his soul. It gave me goose bumps. At one point when Nicolas was singing "Suen~o de Noche" he almost soundlike he was "scatting". I felt the music had a slight flavor of Jobim or Aierto which I happen to like as well.
The GKs left the stage at the end of the second set. Waving goodbye. After much pounding and yelling from the crowd, the Gks came back and did an Encore! The whole crowd got up and danced.
The final closure of the show was, me "pogo-stick" jumping trying to reach the stage edge. Nicholas noticed I was so short and could reach the stage edge, he bent down, reached out and gripped my hand.(sigh) And what a strong grip he has! It was a wonderful experience, beautiful weather, beautiful music, and DUENDE!
Viva GKs!
jasmyn
No.14 From: maiju hourula Thu, Jun 18 1998, 11:54:12(Japan time):
The concert in Berkeley(labeled San Francisco) was fabulous. It was hot and sticky and everybody was dancing...with the help of some sangria smuggled in water bottles, sunshine, and that unbelievably moving music, not a person was sitting down. the crowd was as diverse as they come(of course, in Berkeley), with old ladies, babies, everybody moving. The band was loving it, we wouldn't sit down for all of the heat, and they could tell we were moved. there is nothing like the unity which concerts like this bring about, and it is so beautiful. Even before hand, as the second people in line( as my friend dane and I are starving students and had to settle for the very front bleacher cheap tickets), there was a great common emotion running through the line. We passed around our wine and baguette and heard from the group behind us about the world cup game. the feeling that this huge mass of people all had in common the dancing singing crazy beat was amazing...Blonde as i am, i even got a compliment for the day, as the chicana woman behind dane and I tapped both of our shoulders and yelled "Are you sure you're not latin? You dance latin!" We were, of course, flattered beyond words and yes, i'm still living off the memory. If you have not been to a Gypsy Kings concert, you must, if only to be wrapped up in music, dance, sangria, and well, life. At the end of the encore Bamboleo, the Gypsy kings all simultaneously struck a pose, guitars in air, and their laughter and self-pleased expressions at getting the timing just right made them even more of a part of the crowd as a whole. i was moved.
No.13 From: Alejandro Aguilar (jaguilar@mipos2.intel.com) Wed, 17 Jun 1998 10:19:42:
Hi all,
I just wanted to tell you about the concerts from last weekend in the Bay Area. I was fortunate enough to attend both, no matter how insane other people think that might be... The Saturday concert was in Concord, about 1 hour from San Francisco. It started at 8 on a beautiful evening. The setting was perfect and there must have been almost 10,000 people there, or so it seemed. On Sunday, the Kings played at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, a not-as-fancy and smaller venue than the Concord Pavillion, but pretty good anywa. It was the first really hot day around here since last year.
These were my 4th and 5th GK concerts, and I'd have to say also the best. The song selection was great, the crowds were dancing much earlier than at my previous concerts, and the best part, the band seemed to be having a blast. On Saturday Patchai pulled up this girl to dance (which was a bad idea, 'cause 5 minutes later you had all kinds of people trying to get on stage), and Sunday the one who really surprised me was Canut. He was in a great mood and trying to get the crowd into it. Anyway, both days they had the same line-up (Paul, Andre, Nicolas, Tonino, Patchai, Georges and Canut, with "Pacheco", Mikael, "Negrito", Gerard Prevost and Dominique Droin accompanying), and they played the same songs (21 total):
1. La Dona (Nicolas)
2. La Fiesta Va a Comenza (Nicolas)
3. Djobi Djoba (Canut)
4. Odeon (Inst.)
5. Un Amor (Nicolas, of course)
6. Oy (Canut)
7. Quiero Saber (Nicolas)
8. Ama Bei Bei (is that the name?) (Andre)
9. Todos Ole (Patchai)
10. Baila Me (Nicolas)
----
11. Catalun~a (Inst. w/Georges playing the cajon)
12. Gitano Viejo (Nicolas)
13. Montan~a (Canut, of course)
14. Mira la Itana Mora (Nicolas)
15. Suen~o de Noche (Nicolas)
16. Salsa de Noche (Inst.)
17. Mi Nin~o (Patchai)
18. A tu Vera (Canut)
19. Bem Bem Maria (Nicolas)
20. A mi Wa Wa (Nicolas)
21. Bamboleo (encore) (Nicolas)
I loved that they played Djobi Djoba and Bem Bem Maria, 2 of my favorite songs. But the 2 songs I was really, really impressed with were Mira la Itana Mora and A tu Vera. For Mira la Itana, they had a really good female violin player (who also played in Salsa de Noche and A mi Wa Wa), and Nicolas was outstanding. But the song itself seemed much more danceable and full of sound than in the CD (which is very good, don't get me wrong). And A tu Vera was played with so much energy no one could sit still (except the guy to my left...). The 2 instrumental songs at the beginning of the 2nd half were also very, very good. If there was something I would've liked different is that the first 5 songs of the second half were not fast, which after a long intermission takes your energy a little bit down. But of course I could listen to this line-up everyday and not get bored :) I hope the new songs make it to a CD soon, and that the GK keep the same group of backup musicians. "Pacheco" was awesome on the congas.
It will be so hard to wait 'til next year for another dose of GK!!
Alex
PS. Jasmyn, Laura: I'm really sorry I didn't reply to your messages to meet up there. I was out of town some days before the concert and had no email access, since I have it through work (my company is really anal about someone accessing the system from outside). I'm hopeful we can still meet at some point.
No.12 From: Bob Bish (bish@azstarnet.com) Sat, 13 Jun 1998 21:35:54:
http://www.treefort.org/~bish/gkings/tour98
There's lots more to do. I plan to edit together reviews that were posted to the list, playlists for each show, links to newspaper reviews, etc. Stay tuned.
...Bob
No.11 From: Bob Bish (bish@azstarnet.com) Thu, 11 Jun 1998 12:41:20:
The GK Mailing List has produced a LOT of material about the first leg of the tour. Much of it came from Lauren and I, since we'll be attending our 5th GK concert tonight in Vancouver, B.C, Canada. We also saw them in Phoenix, twice in Las Vegas and in Seattle. Other listmembers attended some of the other shows.
We met several band members in the casino at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Talked with Nicholas at some length. Got many great photos.
There's too much material to send you and make you deal with. What I plan to do is to put together a series of web pages on the tour, sorted by date/venue. It wil be a while, since we have to get our pictures developed and scanned. When I get these web pages put together, I'll send you a link for your site.
...Bob
No.10 From: Pamela (pamelat@erols.com) Mon, Jun 8 1998, 21:19:53(Japan time):
Hi Chie,
I'm just back from my weekend in Las Vegas and what a fabulous time! We were lucky enough to get reservations at the Hard Rock Hotel and had several close encounters with the band members by the pool, in the Casino, etc. I spoke with Andre, Canut and some of their management and everyone was in a very upbeat mood at the beginning of the summer tour. We also made arrangements to meet up with several Gipsy Kings fans from Bob's mail list (Bob, Lauren, Juliet and Lydia) and had great fun comparing notes.
I've never seen the band so energized for a concert as they were BOTH nights in Las Vegas. They came out on stage cheering, waving to the crowd, blowing kisses, etc. Canut seems much more involved in the music and the performance this year than in past years when he tended to take a more low-key approach to the concert. There were several songs where he and Andre were just burning up their guitars and rocking to the music. Everyone on stage looked as if they were having a great time.
The line-up of songs was identical for both concerts and sounds the same as what Rick has reported below for LA. I was disappointed, too, that there wasn't as much variety in the lead singers as last year. I think Nicholas' voice is much stronger this year and, as a result, he is taking back the lead on most of the songs. His voice sounded great but I missed the variety of last year when all the brothers had their solo songs. Andre did not sing his two solos (Amor Bem Bem Bem and Canto a Brazil) and I really missed them. Canut did sing his usual solos -- Montana, as usual, was fantastic. There was a new song (for me, anyway) that I think is called La Gitana Vieja (someone said it is from an old Los Reyes recording) that I loved. The highlight of the two shows was the closing on the second night. The group started to sing Bamboleo and a flamenco dancer joined them on stage. At this point a woman from the audience hopped up on stage and it wasn't long before Paul and Andre were pulling other women to the stage, too. (Two men jumped up on stage but were quickly pulled off by security.) The crowd went wild and the band just brought the house down. It was great!
As noted in Rick's comments below -- Tonino's son, Michele, was on stage and did get overly enthusiastic at times although I don't think it detracted from the concert. He's young and enthusiastic and it was fun to see him get so excited. Someone just has to tell him to drop the rock 'n roll attitude and gain a more GK flare. I'm sure it will come with maturity.
All in all this was a great set of concerts and I can't wait to see them when they come to Boston in September.
Thanks again, Chie, for the great site! I greatly appreciate the hard work you put in to create a forum where GK fans can gain information and share their impressions of the concerts.
Muchas gracias! Pamela
No.9 From: Rick (ramancio@tstonramp.com) Mon, Jun 8 1998, 11:14:06(Japan time):
Got to see them yesterday, and they were great! The offramp to the Bowl was very congested and it took us an hour to actually get off it and into the venue. we were walking in when the concert started. They had no instrumental intro this time, it started with La Dona and kept on with many surprises: djobi djoba(Canut singing), Oy, A mi manera, Odeon, Bem Bem Maria, Trista Pena, Mira La itana mora, Tierra Gitana, etc. They totally changed the setlist from the last two years, and it actually was an improvement. the pacing was better than last year too. the first half was pretty upbeat, while the second half started off slower, and finished off on a high note, with A tu vera, A mi wa wa, and Bamboleo. The band was also in a festive mood, they seemed to move around a bit more than before, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Two bad things, though. The sound was too low! It usually takes a while for the sounnd to improve at their concerts, but this time it just never got loud enough. I've had this problem before at the Bowl, so I'm sure it wasn't the engineer's fault. Second, they need to get that kid off the stage. I couldn't tell if it was Tonino's son (I was too far back- $60 to be sitting half way towards the end....) or not, but he should have behaven more like his uncles and less like some little rock-star wannabe....he was more of a distraction than anything else.
The merchandise was no better. the new t-shirts were actually ugly. the only nice one was the tierra Gitana one from the last three years, but i've already got that one...
Ultimately, it was a great concert (as usual), but the sound, the price of tickets, and that kid just sorta lessened it a bit. And it might be a good idea for Nicholas to start sharing some of the singing responsibilities with his brothers, I actually enjoyed theirs more this year..
No.8 From: John A. Curiel (jcuriel@azstarnet.com) Sat, Jun 6 1998, 22:48:50(Japan time):
My wife and I saw our first Gipsy King concert in Mesa, Arizona on June 2. They are a fantastic group of performers! The whole amphitheater was buzzing with excitement before the Gipsy Kings came out and the excitement level grew during the concert. At one point, they asked a beautiful young girl from the crowd to dance on the stage while they performed. She was very elegant, dancing in a flamenco style and the crowd loved here...
Thought I share,
John and Cynth
Tucson, Arizona
No.7 From: Kris Looney (Rockets3Peat@msn.com) Wed, Jun 3 1998, 06:03:17(Japan time):
I went to the show here in Houston the other night-- and saw Josh Wood's take on it here. Yeah-- GK may have ben tired or maybe it was the heat. I heard the Austin show was SO packed and SO hot that having fun was real work... After that show on Sat. and then coming down to Houston's nice, breezy 102 degree 100% humidity weather and playing outside again... Well, i think maybe they were just worn out. It was a great show though. I would go see it again in a minute. (getting up for work the next morning is a whole other discussion....)
out-
Kris
No.6 From: Joshua Wood (mrjoshua@mindless.com) Mon, Jun 1 1998, 15:48:47(Japan time):
i just got back from the GK concert here in houston and overall it was great! a few interesting things though. they started out slow and never really got going. it seemed to me that they were tired or in a bad mood or something. it was awesome, don't get me wrong, i just thought they seemed very resigned. they played about ten songs and one for an encore and then it was over. we could have all clapped and swayed the rest of the night away i am certain. also, has anyone noticed that the vocals are pretty rough? seems like the tour may be taking it's toll on all. anyway, keep on bamboleando con los gipsy kings!!
joshua
No.5 From: Beverly Bavaro (bbavaro@athletics.utexas.edu) Mon, 1 Jun 1998 09:39:48:
Hi! I am a new member of the GK mailing list, and I saw someone write in about the Dallas, Texas GK concert and how they were going to send you the review for your web page.
Well, I live in Austin, Texas and saw their show here Saturday night, May 30, 1998. It was fantastic and I wrote a review for a local (free) paper called InSite which will be published this week.
If you are interested in a copy of this article for your web page I would be pleased to provide it for you! Please let me know!
Thanks!
--Beverly Bavaro
From: Karen Davis (karend@REMOVE.dadd.ti.com) Mon, 01 Jun 1998 11:32:50:
Chieko,
This is a copy of the review I sent to the GK mailing list. Feel free to add it to your web page!
******
I can't believe it is already over. I wanna do it again!!!!
Last night was incredible! There was a large crowd, all of the reserved seats were filled and a few people were in lawn seating (this is a big open-air amphitheatre- I think I've already expressed my opinion of it!)
The night was hot, the crowd enthused (oh wait, I'm just supposed to tell you about it; not write a novel!).
Okay, to the important stuff! They started about 20 minutes late, but once they started playing, nobody cared! In order on stage from the audience's left: Pablo, Andre, Nicolas, Tonino, Patchai, Paco, and (drum roll, please) Canut. I was sitting on the left side of the audience facing the stage. Most of the guys wore black, Nicolas was wearing a silver shirt that was reminiscent of a guyabera (sp?), Patchai was wearing a wild orange print (The only splash of color!). All were in long sleeves. (I think someone forgot to tell them this is Texas!) During the second set, Canut changed into a bright blue shirt and Patchai into a white shirt. (I imagine they were soaking wet after the first set!!!)
The play list was as follows:
La Dona,
La Fiesta Comenza
Djobi, Djoba
An instrumental (Sorry, I can't remember which, but I'll try to figure it out)
Un Amor
Oy
Quiero Saber
* Ama Bei Bei Bei (this is an approximation, I'd never heard it before)
* Todos, Todos, Todos, Ole! (NOT Una Rumba Por Aqui!)
Baila Me
Intermission 9:15
* Tonino Solo (just Tonino with one person playing a hand drum)
* Lo Gitano Viejo (interesting new one... only the GK played)
Montana
Mira La Gitana Mora
Salsa de Noche
Trista Pena
Mi Nino
Ami Wa Wa
Bem Bem Bem Maria
Encore- Bamboleo!
So, four new numbers. Lo Gitano Viejo was particularly popular
with the crowd. It went something like this...
Lo Gitano Viejo,
Quiere sacar un bailar
La Gitana Vieja
.......... a casar (couldn't catch all the lyrics)
Lots of smoke, and flashing lights, a nice glitzy (but not overdone) stage performance. My daughter was overwhelmed! Turned out my mother couldn't go, so I ended up eating a ticket. ;-( Everyone wanted to dance with Micaela, though, including one girl who had obviously had too many margaritas and thought she was Fatima doing the dance of the seven veils! Oy, were there a lot of exhibitionists there! Actually, I was impressed with how eclectic the crowd was... every age, every color and ethnicity appeared to be there.
I got a black t-shirt... they came in black and white with the same design; a stylized bull against textured in different colors with Gipsy in the upper-right corner and Kings in the lower-left corner. There was another "baby-doll" t-shirt that had just a plain blue Gipsy Kings logo on white. The only other souvenirs were expensive gimme caps.
All and all, it was a very wonderful show. For whatever reason, there appeared to be no restriction concerning taking pictures. Since I just *happened* to have my camera in my purse, I took just about an entire roll, although it was tough getting pictures around all the dancing people. I'm getting them developed, and I'll send a copy to Bob for the web page as soon as possible!
I have to "bamboleando" back to work, now! Hasta Luego!
Karen (Still singing and dancing in my head, anyway!)
(May 29, 1998)
No.4 From: JULIUS & VANESSA CHAN (mozaique@netxpress.com) Sun, 31 May 1998 13:07:41:
chie:
great website! i saw the gipsy kings concert at the majestic here in san antonio, tx, and it was beautiful. i love the honesty of their
performace-no smokes or bubbles to accent their show. they just don't need it. the beauty and passion of their songs are a rare gift that i was honored to have witnessed.
No.3 From: Tshirt214 (Tshirt214@aol.com) Fri, 20 Mar 1998 01:10:31
Hi Chie,
This is my first contact with you. Glad to have found your website.
I too was at the Pompano Beach show. It is a lovely venue and the night was absolutely perfect for a concert. This was my first time to see the band live and was delighted the setting was so perfect.
The venue was oversold by 1,000 seats so there was a huge group dancing in the back. Halfway through the first set a lone woman danced up to the stage, swaying gently. Nicholas saw her and mirrored a few of her movements. In a second 3 more women were up front dancing and then like floodgates opening a surge of people headed to the front. I must confess, I was swept away also. My seat was on the far outside end of an aisle and I needed to be IN the music, not on the edge. So I too danced on down. To my surprise (as I certainly was not in the first rush to the stage) I ended up right in front, about 6 feet back from Canut. There I and many others danced the night away. The feeling was indescribable. To see the playing, to see the expressions, to feel the passion of the music and the crowd. Near the end of the show I looked back and could see the entire audience on its feet and dancing. A GREAT show. I wasn't disappointed that there was no second encore, they gave so much already. Today, weeks later, I still can tap into that "high" I got that evening. Wish they'd return soon. I worked on the road with a musician for 6 years and know that some nights are magic, this felt like one. A treasure and a gift I am grateful for.
Will keep watching this page.
Cathy
No.2 From: Pam Wed, Mar 4 1998, 09:11:50(Japan time):
Hi Chie,
I'm sorry it has taken a few days to post a review of the Gipsy Kings' concert in Pompano Beach, FL although I noticed that Ronald posted his comments. I hope he won't mind if I add my impressions.
The Amphitheater in Pompano Beach was the perfect venue for a Gipsy Kings' concert, it's an intimate setting with generous seating and a tiered theater so every seat is a good one. The weather was perfect and the crowd was primed for the Gipsy Kings.
I was really worried after last year that Nicholas' voice was starting to feel the strain of their aggressive tour schedule but his voice was in perfect form last week. Maybe it's because it's the beginning of the season for them or maybe he had some throat problems last year but I never heard him sing better. Unfortunately, Diego was not touring with the band this time, I hope his health is improving and that he is able to re-join them soon.
The best part of the concert was the play-list -- I heard many songs that I haven't heard them play live before (this is my 8th GK concert) -- songs included La Dona, La Quiero, Canto a Brazil, Un Amor, Pena Penita, Montana, Bamboleo, Ami Wa Wa, Galaxia, Quiero Saber, plus many more that I can't remember.
I only have two criticism regarding the concert. First, the sound mix was awful when the Gipsy Kings first came on stage, it took three songs before the sound technician got the mix of vocals/instruments worked out which was really frustrating. I've noticed this with other GK concerts and can't understand why it's not tested better in advance. The second complaint is my only real disappointment with the Gipsy Kings -- they never come back for a second encore, no matter how hard the crowd claps, cheers and yells. I have to say that Pompano Beach was one of the more enthusiastic crowds I have encountered -- I think about 40% of the audience rushed the stage about halfway through the first set and stayed on their feet dancing in front of the stage for the rest of the concert. I could tell that the members of the band enjoy the enthusiasm and participation of the crowd, everyone was smiling and having a good time.
One more general observation -- the band looked great! Everyone looked fit and slimmer than last year (especially Nicholas). Andre, as usual, looked happy throughout the entire concert while Canut was lurking in the shadows when he wasn't the lead singer (Montana and La Quiero). All in all it was a GREAT concert and I can't wait to see them again! If anyone knows their summer schedule, please, please, please post the URL.
Thanks for letting me share my enthusiasm for the best music and band in the world. It's good to know their are other aficianados out there.
Luego, Pam
No.1 From: KIVANC ONER (umutuslu@erols.com) Sun, 29 Feb 1998 17:06:58:
Hi. Chieko
I just came back from pompano. It was worth the effort and the travel. I spent the midnight with Georges(Nicolas son) and Tonino. We laughed a lot because of a woman who tried to get an autograph signed. The picture was not gipsy kings, a latin band from Mexico. Anyway, the concert was excellent. Canut looked a little bit upset of something that he didnt tell me what. The star of the show was Patchai this time. He had a hair cut-short. He was contacting with the audience. They played this new slow song which i forgot to ask the name after the show. ............. Gerard Prevost was very happy that night and played awesome bass. The audience were trapling us to get the space for dancing at the front! It was wonderful....
KIVANC ONER