PHOTO: TOMAS ROCH MARINA
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Ariel Rot ended the television program “A country to listen to” in 2021, after two years of activity. That musical road movie, which toured the Spanish territory looking for the most representative artists from each place (the choice was debatable), has been transformed into a long tour in which it has had the collaboration of a professional colleague who offered maximum guarantees for the success of the exciting trip: Kiko Veneno.
Together they tour Spain reviewing the contents of the trunk of memories, but, in their words, ignoring nostalgia and looking towards the future with optimism. The 55th Voll-Damm Jazz Festival in Barcelona, specifically at the Palau de la Música Catalana, hosted one of these concerts, where well-known allies would surely appear to give more shine to the performance, a trick that does not always work, although due to the news arriving from Valencia or Madrid, the couple has had a great time. Diego Pozo (guitar), Anabel Pérez (keyboards), Marcelo Carlos Fuentes (bass) and José Antonio Jurado (drums) were going to be his reliable squires, the guests (different in each city), a surprise.
In the case at hand there were only two special contributions: the first was by Jairo Perera (Muchachito Bombo Infierno) and the second (more colorful) had the singer from Jerez de la Frontera Tomasito as the protagonist. The one from Santa Coloma de Gramenet was fierce (as usual) and performed “What matters to me is you” (Kiko), tinged with funk impulses, “Without Documents” (Los Rodríguez) and a beautiful song from his vintage, “Your name ”. For his part, the shocking and vigorous Andalusian artist (who went to the call “to work”) dazzled the staff with some bulerías (“Torrotron”), “Oh Mare” and that characteristic mix of dance and flamenco-rap. Flashes that could have cut the rhythm of the show, but that offered degreasing, joy and, above all, allowed the stars to take a break.
Rot and Veneno have not conceived this excursion as a mere hobby. Although nothing new has been introduced into the chosen repertoire, the work done to polish all those hymns, which are already part of our musical heart, has been tremendous. Although this new luster will have been created jointly, I fear that the person most responsible for that aforementioned luminosity has his own name: Ariel Rot. The guitarist and singer, born in Buenos Aires, gave a whole class of wisdom. Elegant (Kiko Veneno equaled him in refinement), leading the splendid band in a precise manner and marking some dogmatic solos, without intemperance, of astonishing clarity (the resounding plucks are for the mediocre), he became the king of the party .
If “In a White Mercedes” already reaches eminent heights, the freshness that Rot gave it, with his Telecaster, elevated it even more. As if that were not enough, she had time to demonstrate her abilities as a singer (the voices alternated) and dust off several gems from his private chest. From him he released “Dulce Condena”, “Mundo de Ayer” (a marvel composed as a duet), “You’re Trapping Me Again”, “Baile de Illusions”, an amazing “Milonga del Marinero y el Capitán” and the inevitable remembrance of Tequila with “”Salta”, more than forty years have been contemplating it and it is still capable of turning an entire theater upside down. Immense.
I like this:
Charging…
