Raul Malo

[Moshe]

Concert review. Queen Elizabeth Hall, South bank 28th July 2011



Think Raul Malo & you think The Mavericks & you think Dance The Night Away. Of course this song was going to make its appearance in any Raul Malo gig. But we had to wait for that
First was Lucinda Belle, a young woman with Amy Winehouse hair & with her harp & her orchestra. They delivered a nifty set of retro jazz-styled songs & some of it was quite lovely.
After the break Raul Malo appeared on stage with his very talented band. At the start of the evening he looked like any middle aged foreign gentleman. Before the end of the evening he'd become a swinging romeo with senoritas virtually throwing themselves at him. Indeed, one lady jumped up on stage towards the end & gave him a big hug & a kiss!
Raul Malo's music covers a wide range- it certainly has a latin flavor throughout, & quite a few touches of country.
I don't know if it was just me, but at one point the songs started to sound a bit samey & blend into one another.
But then Raul went into a rather splendid rendition of that old Cuban folk song, "Guantanamera" & the evening became interesting again.
As the familiar melody drew to a close, Raul & his merry crew launched into one even more familiar to those there- "Dance The Night Away". The hall went wild & the aisles were full of senoritas- & senoras- "who can sway". Another favourite came with "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down" which kept the audience swaying & even singing.
The vocal comparison between Raul & Roy Orbison has often been noted & Raul played into this with superb renditions of "Blue Bayou" & "In Dreams".
The sedate Queen Elizabeth Hall was roused to unusual levels of enthusiasm with Raul & his band being called back for two encores.
In all a very good evening during which three great instruments had pride of place- Raul's voice, the Accordian player and the guy on trumpet & keys (sorry, no names of musos). These virtually transformed the QEH into the semblance of a Mexican Cantina