Music / Reviews
Review: Llamas Flamencas, St George’s
Like all of the best folk art, flamenco requires little in the way of props or equipment because the drama and passion of the music and dance all come directly from the performers themselves.
As if to emphasise this point, Sunday evening at St George’s began with Javier Macias walking almost diffidently on stage alone to sing in the distinctive semi-Arabic Flamenco style. It was a compelling piece of theatre, the elaborating refrains gaining volume and intensity with his simple hand-clapping accompaniment.
As part of the Claudia Caolin company, Macias was joined by two guitarists and a percussionist and between them they whipped up a storm for Caolin herself, sweeping across the stage in a red dress, her face set with intense concentration, her tango-like Tientos taking Flamenco moves and adding contemporary touches.
The dance ended in thunderous foot-stamping, ushering in a compelling solo performance from Kevin Byrne. The Bristol-based guitarist took a plaintive ballad and improvised around it, his head resting against his instrument in abstracted intimacy.
The other star of the first half was Adrian Mejias, a dancer apparently recruited at the last minute after illness took someone off the tour. Dressed in a cream suit and cravat, Mejias looked like a gitano with a City job and danced with impeccable precision and energy, feet hammering faster and faster rhythms, the two guitarists flailing along with him.
It was powerful stuff that brought home the sheer physical demands of the Flamenco culture, though both dancers were at pains to conceal their heavy breathing when they took a break.
The second half was equally good, starting with a tale of broken hearts enacted to a Taranto structure and moving on to an Apache-style dance duel. Kevin Byrne and El Despeinao played a fine guitar instrumental whose blues-influenced chords sat comfortable on a flamenco frame giving it a rocking hint of Rodriguo Y Gabriela.
The evening ended with Fiesta, the two dancers trading off classic flamenco moves while the band clapped the rhythm before ambling off.
It was a convincing evening of varied entertainment far removed from the chocolate-box clichés of Flamenco For Tourists and it drew a slightly cold St George’s audience a little closer to the warmth of a Spanish autumn.
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