Rock’n’Roll on a Violin
Most people think of violins as rather classical instruments, don’t they? Which is why, when I saw an ad for a wild and crazy show with a violinist as its main performer, I simply had to find out what it was all about. But first I had to find the venue. I had no trouble finding the Príncipe Pío train station, I was here the day before, after all. But the theatre itself (La Estación Gran Teatro Caixabank Príncipe Pío), or rather the way into it from the station, was a bit of a mystery. The whole place is a little odd: it’s a combination of a fully functioning station for metro, local commuter trains, and regular Renfe medium distance trains. It is also a shopping mall. Add to that a performance venue and you have a maze of passages, stairs, and overpasses, one I had to decipher in a hurry. Looking back I do have to admit going outside would have been the easier way in, but I’m not always known for doing things the easy way. Plus if I had done that, I would have missed seeing the inner workings of a busy train station and I wouldn’t have snuck in through a back door. In my defence, I did follow in after some people who did seem to know where they were going, so there is that.
When I got to the hall where Strad, el Violinista Rebelde was going to entertain me, I was quite surprised I would be sitting at a table with waiters taking orders for drinks and, I believe, food! This was not like any concert I’ve ever been to, at least not in an auditorium. The other odd thing was that there was a fairly large number of families with children attending, making me think I may have overestimated that rebelliousness of the main character. Did I just come to a kids’ show? Wine in hand, I settled in, ready to just roll with it. And boy, did things roll!
From the very first burst of lights on the stage and the initial chords of a Queen classic, Don’t Stop Me Now, I relaxed and proceeded to sing along. The Rebel Violinist (Jorge Guillén) came on stage dressed in a crazy headpiece and cape, both of which he’d change throughout the performance, and everything he did was quite over the top. But he did it well. I don’t know if they play their original songs–they did do some in Spanish, but how would I know? I’m not familiar with Spanish pop–but as a cover band for rock, pop, and disco tunes, they were definitely better than I expected. Besides Queen classics, they threw in a little Sinatra, Gloria Gaynor, Bon Jovi, and the song La Casa de Papel (the Heist) made famous, Bella Ciao, to the audience’s delight. I was quite impressed by the light show, as well, though none of my photos nor video captured its essence well.
I have to admit, however cheezy the whole concept was, Strad did an amazing job with his violin and the rest of the band supported him wonderfully. I still don’t see why all those kids were there (other than this was an early show, i.e. 5pm) but I did have fun, a lot of fun. It would have been even more fun if people had been allowed to dance, and, according to one song, they would normally be expected to do so (we were, in fact, encouraged to “dance along” sitting down), but you know, Covid …
After the concert I walked home to stretch my legs a bit while enjoying yet another lovely Madrid spring evening. There are worse ways to spend time, that’s for sure.
