This is a continuation of Feliz Navidad Part 1, in which I recount the lengths I went to in order to gain entrance to the Jose Feliciano concert on December 16th at the One World Theatre in Austin, TX.
I tried to see if I might befriend the Texas Lady who graciously handed over her extra ticket to me, especially since I was being gently caressed by the long tufts of her fox fur coat spilling into my personal space, but her body language reassured me that she wasn't interested. So I counted my blessings and settled in to enjoy the amazing vantage point from our central seats. During the show she gave a hoot and a holler and some enthusiastic clapping in all the right places, so I felt reassured that she did in fact like music in general and perhaps Jose Feliciano's in particular.
As the lights dimmed Jose was escorted out to a stool in the middle of the stage while his five band members took their places. A percussionist, bassist and drummer set up behind him, and that core band was flanked by two gray-haired keyboard players on either side of the stage. All were dressed in black and were clearly hired guns rather than long-standing band members (the bass player wore his five string bass above his belt in that tell-tale "pro" style), except for the percussionist who Jose mentioned had produced his latest album. It was hard to tell how long the rest of the players had been touring with Jose. Since they each had sheet music to read from, it could have been their first show for all I knew, and there was no cohesiveness to make me believe they'd been with him any longer than that.
It's clear that Jose was the star of the show, and he had the chops and charisma to carry it, but we all know how distracting a lackluster band can be. The percussionist was clearly the most invested, and his enthusiasm made him a pleasure to watch. But the rhythm section was barely awake for most of the show and didn't show signs of life until well into the second half. Especially egregious were the two keyboard players that created a visual frame around the performance: they were the grimmest gray-haired parentheses ever to hit a live stage. The keyboardist on the right did not crack one smile, change his facial expression, or even move any body part to any beat for the duration. He really got my hackles up. How dare he? If you've grown that numb to your gig, step aside and let someone else play. I mean, Jose was born blind in Puerto Rico, taught himself how to play guitar at a young age by listening to records, and has spent the past forty-plus years entertaining people all across the world. That's a work ethic. The least you could do is show some respect and not phone it in.
I think part of why I was so offended at the lifeless band members is because it's clear that Jose came up as an entertainer and prides himself on fulfilling that role. His entertainer persona is old school; he spoke to the audience between each song, rattling off corny jokes, riffing on local landmarks and lore and making the obligatory self-deprecating jokes about his blindness. Since his band members were so comatose, I couldn't tell if they'd heard all his jokes already or if he made them up on the spot. Strangely, toward the end of the set a couple of his jokes became downright bawdy. After graciously thanking his wardrobe assistant he made a lewd wisecrack about her, and later on he made a randy seasonal pun about what he'd like to do with holly/Holly. The piece de resistance of this blue humor was a non sequitur about confusing 'oral sex' with televangelist 'Oral Roberts,' which went over like a lead balloon (hm, ya reckon any older folks in Texas go to church?) It was the slow degeneration of boundaries that one might normally attribute to increasing drunkenness, except he clearly didn't drink anything on stage and kept a steady composure throughout. Fortunately the awkward jokes were few, and he'd built up enough good will to earn himself some nervous laughter and quick forgiveness.
He was also very professional and old school in taking care to introduce most of his songs, even invoking the phrase "it goes a little something like this" a few times, unironically, which I found endearing. The set was eclectic from start to finish, with each new song presenting a change in genre. He's performed in different styles throughout his career, starting out in his teens on the Greenwich village coffee house circuit and then recording several well-received Spanish language albums featuring his unique take on classic boleros. His breakout hit was a Latin-tinged cover of The Doors' "Light My Fire" and the most successful original song he wrote is the holiday hit "Feliz Navidad". He's built a career on interpreting classics and mixing things up, and was even the first artist to stylize the National Anthem while performing it during the 1968 World Series. Thus, the band played flamenco, funk, traditional carols and soft rock favorites back to back with no tie-ins or transitions. Once the unpredictable tone was established, I found it easy to get into the grab-bag flow of the set.
Since the concert happened about a week before Christmas, it was clear that everyone in the room was anticipating "Feliz Navidad", one of the top 25 most recorded and played Christmas songs around the world, which he saved for the last stretch. (He should be exceedingly rich from having written this song, but who knows what kind of publishing deal he might have signed at the tender age of 25 years old? If anyone knows the details on this, please comment!) But I found his rendition of "The Little Drummer Boy" to be more moving, and definitely one of my favorite parts of the show. He introduced it as a song that meant a lot to him personally, and played it alone on his acoustic guitar. It was one of those moments where a song you've heard a thousand times suddenly sounds fresh and you're able to hear it and appreciate it in a different way. The often silly-sounding repetition of "pa rum pa pum pum" sounded earnest and impassioned in his version. Jose is a master interpreter.
Perhaps the highlight of the set for me was their cover of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", which came out of nowhere, hot on the heels of a very mellow ballad. The rhythm section drew an outline with that dead simple bass line and hi-hat rhythm which Jose filled in with the train-track wah wah on an electric guitar. The energy in the place rose about ten feet. Jose built an impressive intensity out of the driving rhythms and laid back pace of the melody, drawing tension from the timing. Even the drummer showed signs of life (but not that damn keyboard player). I was deeply satisfied by watching the bass player pluck out that repetitive six-note bassline for six or seven minutes straight. Your fancy five string bass seems a little excessive at that point, doesn't it? When the sickest bass line of the evening consists of a repetition of six notes? (I've said it before and I'll say it again -- I see almost no justifiable reason for a five string bass. If you can't play it on four strings, perhaps you shouldn't play it at all.)
I wouldn't characterize Jose as a phenomenal singer, but I truly enjoy the robust timbre of his voice and the way he uses it to wrap around, stretch and subvert familiar melodies. That languid vibrato and the intensity - it skates the line of shouting at times - can be attributed partly to the flamenco singing style, but Jose also brings a jazz ethos to the way he improvises on a melody. And as lauded as he is for his guitar prowess, he's not the greatest player I've ever seen; certain sections of songs were a little shaky. But he would find pockets, usually when he took a solo in a flamenco song, where he took off and flew, and I could have listened all night. It makes me wonder what kind of concert he'd perform if he let go of the audience's expectations and didn't deliver anything beyond what he himself really enjoyed playing. But as an entertainer, perhaps that sort of indulgence doesn't cross his mind.
I'll admit I was disappointed I didn't get to hear his version of "California Dreamin'". I love how he took that sunny, ethereal ode and turned it into something forlorn and desperate. Despite his deadbeat band members and the rigamarole I went through to get inside the theater, I loved the show. I have a lot of respect and admiration for Jose Feliciano and I feel fortunate to have spent an evening listening to a living legend.
- Buy the song "California Dreamin'
" or the album Feliciano!
from Amazon.
- If you have a Rhapsody account, listen to a playlist of songs I mention in this post.
