It is ironic that as we approach the date of the closing of the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, the historic and beloved venue keeps on providing us musical memories that will last a lifetime, and last Sunday night, The House of Blues hosted a memorable concert by Argentine and Spanish rock idol, Fito Paez.
As people lined up outside the venue, there was a palpable energy in the air for the second show of the “En America Tour USA 2015” which began at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco on May 30th and continuing in Orlando Fl, New York and ending in Miami.
From early in the evening the House of Blues was packed to capacity. Different Spanish accents could be heard all around the venue, there were of course an Argentine majority, but there were Mexicans, Colombians, Venezuelans and Central Americans and others and they were all there to enjoy this truly great “American” musical icon.
For this tour, Fito Paez would only be accompanied by a grand piano and his voice. As the video screen covering up the stage lifted, the exhilarated fans screamed to welcome their musical hero who seemed somewhat surprised by the rousing ovation he received as he walked on stage.
Perhaps for an acoustic piano concert, a sit down venue would have been more appropriate, nonetheless the crowd behaved with the same class as the performer and music they were listening to save some people who grumbled that he didn’t have a full band and even threatened to leave.
In the end, even those who complained about not having a full band, ended up being mesmerized by the passionate and soulful performance that Fito played. His piano playing more than made up for a full band, as he masterfully handled those keys giving them the strength of a rock & roll band or the sweetness of precious melodies that described the most intimate feelings.
At the beginning of the show, Fito stated that each night he plays a different set list and that he would just let the mood guide him. Fito was very charismatic and often told stories about the songs and songs like “Cable a Tierra”, “11 y 6”, “Un Vestido Y Un Amor” and others began to flow.
With so many high points throughout the evening it is hard to pick the best ones, but definitely “Brillante Sobre El Mic” stands out, as he asked for the house lights to be turned off and asked the audience to light up their phones, which made for beautiful scenery as he was illuminated by the all the lights coming from the audience. Other high points were “El Amor Despues Del Amor” and the classic “Al Lado Del Camino”.
*Photo Credit: Angel Aguilar
