Rialto Theater Tucson Arizona June 9, 2005

The Rialto Theater is a restoration work in progress. It may have been a grand concert hall in its day but today, it’s a little tired. Even with the house lights on, it’s dark inside. A huge reddish-orange curtain hung at the back of the stage. OL’s new set up is very minimal and the colors used are very vivid. See his Flicker page for some pictures of the banners being used. Tired as the old Rialto may be, she gave us a fine evening.

When we arrived, after purchasing some shirts and another copy of La Semana, we made our way to our seats. Ron Wagner’s set up looked as it normally does with the addition of a rather stylized, rectangular box set to one side. Hmmm, what could that be? The magnificent Lakland basses were set on stage, along with the near legendary Devoe Negra guitar and the Stratocaster copy. New Luna Negra member Brandon Draper had an amazing assortment of percussion goodies. There were a few of the “Tupperware” drum pads in addition to the cajon and other traditional drums. As we watched some of the final set up, my daughter noticed a breeze on stage was blowing Ron’s chimes. Ron was busy trying to close a vent that was directing the air conditioning across the stage to cure that problem.

For this tour, the band is wearing black. The idea is to draw attention to the faces and hand as they play. Four figures in dark clothes drifted in from back stage, settling in at their places. The new intro piece is not a buleria but it’s awful damn good. The guitar flows back and forth, some of the sections are familiar but the entire piece is very fresh. I could already feel the sense or relaxation as I focused on the sound.

After the intro, the songs flow on. The first half of the show flew by. I was trying my best to enjoy the show and get as many pictures as I could. During one percussion take over, Brandon started to really dig in and Ron got up from his normal cross legged position and sat on that rectangular box I mentioned. We were then treated to Ron and Brandon each playing cajon in unison for a few minutes. It was fun watching Ottmar and Jon as they watched these percussion masters at work. When he was really pleased, OL would smile and stick out his tongue. The drum duet before intermission was spectacular. I really hope to see Brandon on tour again. I mean, after this Sunday’s show of course.

We all remember Adam’s love of the kora intro done on last year’s version of Snakecharmer. Not to be out done, Brandon has put a new twist on this piece. Returning from intermission, sound starts to echo from the back of the room. There is only one instrument that sounds like this, a didgeridoo. Brandon walked across the main floor in front of the stage as he played, then back up the stairs and sat down never missing a beat. I hope that a board recording of this newest Snakecharmer makes its way to the Listening Lounge soon.

Not long after, a wonderful buleria intro brought in Duende del Amor. OL also treated us to Querencia, a song that I cannot get enough of. Mixed in during the night were two new pieces for the upcoming release. They were played like they were old standards and I can’t wait to hear the recorded versions. At the end of the show, as the last song of the standard set ended and the band introductions were made, my daughter leaned over and asked what the encore song would be. “Ballad for Santana”, I replied. She shook her head in disagreement. A few moments later, she gave me a disgusted look, as my guess was right.