rodrigo y gabriela

OK, listen. If you have the chance to see Rodrigo y Gabriela live, grab it. The twosome played at the Temple Bar over the weekend, and I was fortunate enough to win tickets from KCRW. In between mind-blowing flamenco compositions, they told their tale. Coming from humble thrash metal roots in Mexico, Gabriela joined Rodrigo's band when they needed a guitarist. At some point, the pair moved to Barcelona and needed to make some money. They found a job playing background music in a hotel, but they only knew how to play metal songs. So they dressed the songs up in flamenco stylings and no one was the wiser. After moving to Ireland, they busked and eventually ended up with a record deal. (I may have missed the chapter in between those two events.) It is no surprise that they found such success because their playing is remarkable and their metal sensibility is never far from the surface. After Gabriela plays a particularly difficult solo - her fingers moving so quickly over the strings you can't see them - she flashes devil horns at the crowd. It made my day.

Check them out here:
Official site
MySpace
YouTube
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