Author: Rok Klemše
Venue: Orto bar, Ljubljana
Gig date: 12.03.2007
Attendance: 200
Ticket price: /
Barely three days had passed since the Australian guitar wizard and fingerpicking master Tommy Emmanuel played Cvetličarna Mediapark, and here came another guitar virtuoso. After wrapping up a tour with his main band Angra, guitarist Kiko Loureiro swung by Orto bar as part of the Orto-Gis festival, where he showed a crowd of aspiring guitarists (including almost half the Rockline crew) what he can do and gave away a few of his secrets.
After the obligatory beer in the downstairs part of Orto, we finally hauled our asses up to the second floor around nine… and froze in the doorway with our jaws on the floor. The small hall upstairs at Orto bar was packed to the last corner, and any hope of squeezing closer to the front quickly faded. But there on stage already stood a guitarist whose big name had filled Orto bar to the brim. Kiko Loureiro, otherwise the guitarist of Brazilian progressive metallers Angra, had already smashed out the first track, off his debut album No Gravity, and the room lit up with the shining eyes of the crowd, who followed his every single finger.
Since this was a guitar clinic and not a proper gig, the first song was followed by a barrage of questions, which Kiko answered gladly, coming across as completely approachable and not at all stuck-up. He fielded questions about his playing technique and about various guitar techniques, from tapping (even 8-finger tapping!) onward. One guy in the audience in particular buried Kiko in questions. After all, it’s not every day you get the chance to ask such a great guitarist for advice, and the crowd made the most of it. And Kiko isn’t just an excellent guitarist, he turned out to be a proper comedian too. Together we came to the conclusion that most good guitarists are named John or Steve, and there was no shortage of sharp jokes at Dream Theater’s expense, either.
Kiko played a few more of his tracks – Enfermo from the first album, plus Feijão de Corda and Havana from the second – and finished by joining the winners of last year’s Bendijada 2006 competition, the band Doogy Stones, along with Jernej Trobentar (Leeloojamais). Together they paid tribute to jazz legend Miles Davis and played a few pieces from his vast repertoire.
To wrap things up, Kiko good-naturedly took a few more minutes to sign records and pose for photos with fans. And I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Muzika Viva music school for bringing a name as big as Kiko Loureiro to Slovenia. The night was closed out by Naleen, but our crew missed them, since we were already hurrying off to chat with Kiko.
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