Paco de Lucía 'Cositas Buenas' tuesday, 14th september, 2004. 10 pm. Auditorio, Sevilla     Program XIII Bienal de Arte Flamenco Seville

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Light for Lucía

He who remains silent grants the power. The silence of six thousand people surrounded Paco de Lucía’s guitar. A muted auditorium warmly welcomed a maestro who is now taking it easy in his playing and is somewhat burnt out. The undeniable legacy of the man from Algeciras justifies the large crowd. His sensitive fingers, his notes which inflict pain, the daring picado, the boldness, even his body language inspires respect. It’s not possible to listen to Paco without glancing towards the past. It’s hard to imagine. A much-awaited night. The Auditorium of the Cartuja de Sevilla filled with people to hear “Cositas Buenas”, good things. But they weren’t that good. It’s hard to assimilate. It’s even frightening to write, it hurts, it’s shattering. The myth is human and errs.

Rondeña is the order of the day and is for “Mi niño el Curro”. Incredible. He doesn’t make it. The piece is demanding. The audience is on his side and all is forgiven. Paco’s mere presence is impressive and he leaves no one unmoved, no matter what he does. Perhaps we expect too much, but that’s what he has us accustomed to. Compositions from previous years. He goes through the history of his career vaguely summarizing, but with guts and feeling. He delivers the goods and risks everything in the knowledge that he is leaving his mark. “Antonia”, “El Tesorillo”, “Callejón del muro” and “La Barrosa”. The compás is there but insecure. Doubt mars memorable falsetas that gave birth to an entire school. In the second part, “Palenque”, “Volar”, “Cositas Buenas” y “Zyryab”.

The maestro from Algeciras did not play cleanly. He lacked definition and confidence. These opinions are not offered lightly. The audience applauded the dramatic closings just as they would for a dancer. He had moments of great clarity where you could see just who he was, especially in the picado runs, although many of those who learned from him could play circles around him. The well-known pieces are of high quality and the interpretation, that special style he has, is impressive. At other moments his fingers got ahead of him and it wasn’t the fruitful struggle that makes good music. He seemed fatigued, timid even, after all these years. He hid behind the other instruments that were accompanying him, allowing them to upstage him and joined in here and there. The choruses, the cante...it all contributed to dulling his shine and the concert turned into a jam session. La Tana, Duquende and Montse Cortés were mostly to blame.

Paco did some amazing things, there were some great expressive moments, but most noteworthy were the bulerías and tangos, clippy rhythm with little more. One missed those solitary moments with the guitar, and other pieces, inspired moments, unbridled passion, pain, intense joy... To finish, the typical round of instruments and presentations. After the lengthy applause came the curtain call: a new version of “Entre dos aguas” which couldn’t match the original.

The concert wasn’t exactly disappointing, but we expected so much more.

Paco de Lucía, Niño Josele, La Tana, Duquende, Montse Cortés

Text : Kiko Valle
Photos: Rafa Manjavacas

Specials: Paco de Lucía: a nostalgic perspective

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