Music / Reviews
Review: Guadalupe Plata
The first rule of rock club is always get to the show to see the support because, damn it, there are so many good acts out there that you can’t afford to miss by being tardy or too cool to get your arse down the front to discover some new music. Whilst Lonesome Shack are a three piece band (from Seattle) tonight we just had Ben Todd, standing at the mic with just a guitar and a collection of tunes. Todd played an excellent set, managing to sound like a duo with his assured and nimble picking: thumb plonking out the rhythm and fingers laying the riff and melody over a good half dozen tunes of haunting country blues. The songs were lengthy but never outstayed their welcome, each finding a wicked groove, the trance inducing low end complimenting the top end foot tapping, hip swaying melodies and licks.
The set was a constant pleasure, each song simultaneously worming its way in to your ear and in to your feet, the crowd moving as one to the beat, transported to a haunting, otherworldly place where the Handsome Family jam with Hank Marvin. Todd was an unassuming presence himself – more MIT lecturer than grizzled bluesman – but his music bold and with incredible presence. Addressing the crowd only prior to the last song, he enticed Pedro & Carlos from the headliners to take up guitar and drums respectively for a beefed up sound that made one hope the full band will be touring soon and stopping off in town.
is needed now More than ever
Guadalupe Plata are Pedro de Dios Barceló (guitar and voice), Carlos Jimena (drums & sensational sidies), Paco Luis Martos (bass, contrabalde and guitar) and the basics are as follows: they come from a small town in Spain, are a massive draw in their homeland and play blues based rock n roll. The sold out Louie witnessed a thrillingly exciting set of tunes that defied genre conventions, thumbed its nose at song structures and defied the language barrier to enthral the audience. Well, defied the language barrier for about half of us, the crowd was rammed with expat compatriots astonished they could see such a massive band in such an intimate setting. The band spent the entire gig wrapped up in the music – no song announcements, banter or chatter (bar acknowledgement of the crowd at the end of the set) not out of arrogance but rather because they were totally swept up in their songs.
Over the course of four or so albums the band have truly created a unique sound designed to thrill an audience. The tunes mix up rockabilly swing with sassy jazz tempos; twanging reverb filled country guitar with lean blues picking; crazy ass tempo changes that are so wrong they work perfectly and all wrapped up in an infectious boot tapping groove that would make a statue dance. The band locked themselves in to the groove from the off, working up a sweat, swapping instruments and creating pelvis pushing mayhem with serious intent.
It didn’t take more than two numbers before the first timers got in to the groove, the fans had stepped to the beat from the off and by mid set the place was moving as one, the heat was ramping up and the band was cooking. The tunes took a less is more approach with the vocals, plenty of instrumental stretches but Pedro’s vocals were on the money throughout, louche verses, guttural choruses and an the odd lupine howl – the expats joining in on many of the vocals, especially those proceeding the numerous drops. Paco, with something of the demeanour of a Sweeney villain, ensured the songs were variegated – swapping instruments for rock solid bass one tune, cigar box rhythm guitar the next and constantly ensuring the band managed to sound like at least three different outfits. Of course you can only get away with challenging material if you have a solid foundation and Carlos was totally commanding behind the kit, pounding out the beat but controlling the stops, starts and drops with precision and dexterity.
The dancing increased as the set progressed, and the heat increased as the dancing progressed until the conditions in the room were so packed, debilitating and heated they would make a veal farmer wince. Not that the audience minded – every tune was greeted with a roar of approval and the band were roared back for encores. Guadalupe Plata are a truly innovative band – the records are full of mystery and desert spook – and live they hit you right in your primal beat box, involuntary feral dancing follows and you can’t help but get lost in their world of colinas rockabilly & pais blues.
All pix John Morgan
Guadalupe Plata: The Louisiana, 10th June 2017
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