Mr. and Mrs. Robinson had just finished a 16-hour drive up I-5 from LA to home, yet they still invited a sold out, 130-strong crowd to join them in their comfy, morbid living room at The Woods.
The bones and brains behind full bands Viva Voce and Blue Giant, Anita and Kevin Robinson wrote these songs, so they can play them however they like… and right now, they like playing them as a duo–intimate and simply elegant.
Sticking to his acoustic guitar, Kevin kept it steady, while Anita was emotive–charming and calming, wailing and screaming on her electric and slide guitars. Hairs stood on end as she evoked whams and wails reminiscent of Hendrix’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Kevin beamed adoringly in his wife’s direction flashing childish smiles, but, not to be outdone, he played with some looping of his own emitting acoustic sonar and ground control static with his electronic pedals.
Delicate and tender, Anita wobbled the strings on her slide guitar producing moody howls that were meant for summer campfires beneath a full moon. With hushed composure and a powdery vocal pitch, she fluctuated effortlessly from matron to rock goddess and back.
Kevin felt right at home bantering with the silent, perhaps awed, crowd about “taking donations to lynch and kill Pat Robertson” and his first time onstage–a church gig where he was to sing “Jesus Loves You” to the stomp-stomp-clap of “We Will Rock You” until his partner ran from the stage after declaring, “Dance before the Lord!”
The Robinsons told the same tales of loss, love, regret, and redemption that they’ve made known with Viva Voce and Blue Giant, but in a raw, folk manner with a warm embrace.
Amongst the red glow of the funeral parlor with candles flickering, Y La Bamba crowded six members on the bijou stage to produce something akin to Beirut sans horns–beautifully melodious, harmonious and untroubled. Slender and tattooed, lead singer Luz Elena was soft and spiritual, yet commanded with her tranquil vocal style punctuated by yips and moans, warbles and drones.
Mallets marched over muted drums to fill the small space as Eric Schrepel’s accordion built on the tapping “Fast in San Francisco.” Y La Bamba revealed a new song “Forest Fire” that was flavored with savory Depression-era, Mississippi gospel and bluegrass.
Y La Bamba was sad and poppy, nasally at times, but spectacularly sophisticated and gracious.
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Saturday, January 16, 2010
The Robinsons
Y La Bamba
The Woods
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