On arriving at the venue, I briefly met Alfonso and his partner from Mexico, huge fans who were among the first at the front barrier. Fittingly for what is a national boxing arena, Alfonso had the Mexican flag draped around him, awaiting the guitar duel that was about to take place on stage.
Later, the flag was hung over the barrier, much to Rodrigo y Gabriela’s delight when they spotted it from the stage.
This is Rodrigo y Gabriela’s 20th anniversary tour of their self-titled album, though they first arrived in Dublin back in 1999. In contrast to the first winter they spent in Ireland, living in an unheated flat in Rathmines Dublin had experienced a scorching two days leading up to the gig.
Once on stage, they briefly greeted the audience and looked genuinely delighted to be back in what was once their second home. They remain Ireland’s adopted Mexican guitar duo.
The set opened with “Diablo Rojo” and “Satori”, both performed seated a familiar sight for fans who were there at the beginning of their rise to greatness, before they adopted wireless guitars and developed an entirely new stage choreography. Originally, when I first heard them on the radio, I somehow assumed Gabriela played the solo parts, rather than the infectious, delicate, and thunderous guitar rhythms.
The intensity continued with a fantastic solo from Gabriela, embellished with delay and effects, ending with her encouraging the crowd to send the energy of the room out into the world to help heal it.
Rodrigo’s solo was completely different, but equally fantastic.
“Stairway to Heaven” was incredible, a version so good that guitar shops might finally allow people to play it when trying out instruments.
Afterwards, Rodrigo encouraged the crowd to talk to each other for a few minutes and find out whether there was a dentist or a masseuse standing beside them, followed by a funny punchline I won’t repeat here.
The night felt like a guitar opera, with the two musicians almost courting one another on stage. Even though they are no longer a couple, there was still a noticeable alchemy between them.
The deeply attentive audience was left in a musical trance for most of the evening before Rodrigo y Gabriela departed the stage to continue on to Limerick for tonight’s show.
Rodrigo y Gabriela photos & set-list:
Set-list:
Diablo Rojo
Satori
Viking Man
Juan Loco
Gabriela Solo
Finding Myself Leads Me to You
Rodrigo Solo
Ixtapa
Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin cover)
Orion (Metallica cover)
PPA
Tamacun
________________________________________
Monster
Photos & words – Wayne Polley @hawkeye_polley_photography