{"id":7852,"date":"2021-05-14T23:26:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T21:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/luminaris.com\/wp\/?p=7852"},"modified":"2024-08-06T16:20:37","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T15:20:37","slug":"rocknroll-on-a-violin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/luminaris.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/14\/rocknroll-on-a-violin\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock’n’Roll on a Violin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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 Pr\u00edncipe P\u00edo train station, I was here the day before, after all. But the theatre itself (La Estaci\u00f3n Gran Teatro Caixabank Pr\u00edncipe P\u00edo), 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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La Estaci\u00f3n Gran Teatro Caixabank Pr\u00edncipe P\u00edo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I got to the hall where Strad, el Violinista Rebelde<\/strong> 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!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 Guill\u00e9n) 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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