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Guitar Expertise with Unrelenting Power

Rodrigo y Gabriela / Zach Heckendorf
The Historic Rialto Theatre
Tucson, AZ
July 17, 2013

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Review and photos by Mary Andrews

Last night was defined as a fiery night of guitar virtuoso for a sold out crowd at Tucson's Rialto Theatre! The festivities started with the Denver-based, young, singer-songwriter, Zach Heckendorf and finished with the hugely talented acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Zack Heckendorf was a surprise opener who plays killer acoustic guitar, harmonica and sings. His style sounds like Dave Mathews and Jack Johnson. He was accompanied by Curtis Halle, an electric guitar player. The songs were from Zach's recent album release "The Cool Down" produced by Brett Dennon. It was great start to an explosive evening!

Rodrigo y Gabriela hit the stage with an intensity and skill that is unparalleled! By the second song, my eyes were bugged out, my jaw-dropped and I was uttering "wow!: I could not believe what I was witnessing and the pace did not stop throughout the whole set! I had assumed that Rodrigo was the powerhouse of the duo after hearing interviews, but incredibly, Gabriela has a more percussive, rawer style that is as strong as Rodrigo.

Their music is a fusion of flamingo and heavy metal style! Yes, I said metal. They "cut their teeth" as musicians in metal bands in their home, Mexico City. They moved to Dublin, Ireland. There they cultivated their sound and style and expanded their audience throughout Europe. They credit Metallica as one of their key inluences. Their career grew with their first album release in 2006 and has not stopped.

Early in the show, Rodrigo announced that the tour this summer was just for fun. They were not promoting an album presently. Their next release will probably be early next year. The set was a combination of their "11:11"and "Area 52 " albums. A few new songs were sprinkled in between.

The stage was decorated with earth tone bricks and the background was stark black and white videos of the musicians as they played. The audience was crazed with joy and they would have stayed all night. But, as Gabriela announced, "we have to get to our next show."

Rodrigo y Gabriela set list:
1. Intro 2. Mega II 3. Hanuman 4. Savitri 5. La Mia (Balada) 6. Megadeth I 7. Hora Cero 8. Solo Gabriela 9. Torito	10. Solo Rodrigo 11. Chucky (Ballad) 12. Diablo 13. Santo Domingo 14. Chinito 15.Buster Encore: 16. Vaquero 17. Tamacun