Raul Malo Tickets

We love Raol's voice and his musical abilities......he's awesome! We would have loved to hear more of the old songs he sang with the Mavericks, but it was mostly his new stuff, which was ok but not what we remember him for. We were very disappointed, that the venue was billed to start at 8 p.m......and there was an opening act for close to 1/2 hour which is common, and then usually the "real" act gets underway in 15 - 20 min..........but Raol didn't get started until 9:30......we figured out that being this venue is held at a casino, that's the price one pays ( we aren't gamblers or drinkers, but love music and went for that).so we ended up sitting for a whole hour after the opening act waiting for Raol to come out ......so that reallly took away from the whole experience, in our opinion........but we will know for next time!

Raul has one of the best voices of any perfomring artist today. His range is amazing. He can sing any style. It is unfortunate that a good voice is not all it takes. Now to be appreciated and to garner fame you have to have the "look." I hope that by doing these "get-your-face-and-name-out-there circutis" he will build him a fan base that will give him the recognition that he deserves.

There are few artists who can have an audience absolutely spellbound with just their voice and a guitar- and at least once without touching the strings! With a blend of old and new , Raul Malo provided an exquisite reminder of the beauty of his singular sound and style. With self-deprecating humor, he worked through a pair of sets characterized with spare, simple accompaniment, and let his voice soar into the fabulous setting that is Festival Place. Reaching back to the first Mavericks release for From Hell to Paradise ( a bittersweet and emotional plaintive for the Cuba of his family that he has never been able to visit) Malo demonstrated why The Mavericks became a seminal roots band- a powerful mixture of melody and emotion. And when he upped the energy level with Dance the Night Away, his ownership our the audience was complete. But it was his sparse reworking of standards that impressed the most- Blue Moon, Roy Orbison's Crying ( in a version that sent chills down the spine) and of all things Indian Love Call- the Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald standard from the 30's- that's when his mastery was complete. And of course no concert would be complete without Puff The Magic Dragon as sung by Roy Orbison to lighten the mood. The bottom line- "not enough"..we would cheerfully have stayed many hours more- and that there were empty seats was sad as this was an experince not to be missed.

To listen to Raul Malo sing, is to be amazed by his gifted voice. To listen to Raul Malo talk, is to be appalled that anyone, in this day and age, could be so insensitive and chauvinistic. I was swept away by his opening song and prepared myself for an evening of vocal brilliance when . . . he started to talk. His first 'joke' told the audience that he used to judge his girlfriends by how much they liked his favourite songs, and those who didn't, he killed. He went on to say that dozens of girls are now dead and buried! And, even more appalling . . . people in the audience laughed! Later in the evening, he added the name for a female dog during a song about how women get their way and embarrassed an audience member for saying something . . . in a cabaret setting and after he seemed to be encouraging at least some dialogue with the audience. Malo's singing - amazing . . . Malo's (stage?) character - not amazing at all, offensive and disappointing.

Raul was lovely. Festival Place is a great venue--very intimate, and the sound is wonderful. I had seen Raul at the folk fest, and was expecting him to play with his fellow instrumentatlists, but he did the show with just himself and his guitar. Amazing voice--sent shivers up and down your spine. My only complaint would be that there weren't enough songs sang in Spanish!!

Excellent concert. Really enjoyed his interaction with the crowd--good sense of humour.