Under The InfluenceFanfare Ciocarlia - Queens and Kings
Radio 3 naming you the years best world-music act (2006) is going to do wonders for your reputation. That probably goes a long way to explaining why the Barbican Centre was completely packed out for their performance last night. The enthusiasm shown by the crowd, however was completely driven by the band.
It was a hell of a performance and the crowd didn't hold back in displaying their appreciation. Most of the night the stage was dominated by 40 year old men with big brass horns - though flamenco dancers did slink past from time to time to provide the eye-candy.
The album is cool but it just doesn't match up to the live experience. Truthfully, there's no way it ever could - there are just a few times in my life where I've witnessed performances that even come close to matching this in energy. There's something incredible about hearing brass live. I love the way it sounds like it's tearing through the air - invokes the same satisfaction one derives from shredding paper. From what I saw last night everyone felt the same way about the gig I did.