Tony Putaggio - An Assault on Your Senses

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LIVE PERFORMANCE REVIEW
Tony Putaggio with Johan Blanchard
at Perlas in Potrero, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Saturday, August 20th, 2016

Being a new musician to the area, I've been aggressively trying to see, experience, meet and collaborate with every musician/band I can. In doing so, I found that the talent in these parts is quite impressive. But I came across a talent that I felt was out of everyone’s league. I recently had the pleasure and good fortune of catching Tony Putaggio with Johan Blanchard, a progressive flamenco guitar duo that hail from Bordeaux, France at Perlas in Potrero. Johan was basically the thunder to Tony’s lightning, who’s talents were off the charts as well, but ‘the show’ was Tony and Johan as well as everyone else in the room knew it.

I was not a particular ‘fan’ of flamenco guitar, but not an enemy either. It just wasn’t something that I reach for. But I knew enough about it to know the technical skill required just to call yourself a 'progressive flamenco guitar player’. Kind of like jazz, it was a bit inaccessible for me, but still an amazing feat just to do it, so I was most intrigued by what I might witness. I half way expected to get a juiced up, more cerebral version of Jose Feliciano without the vocals. What I got was a full on assault on all my senses and musical sensibilities.

Tony opened the show with his rendition of the video game classic "Lost Woods" that starts out like a fluffy kitten dancing like a ballerina on a rainbow of multi colored feather boas while eating bubble gum flavored gum drops to the sound track of Beautiful World sung by Louis Armstrong. That's also how the song ended. What happened in between was labyrinth of musical stylings and rhythmic spasms that literally stunned me. As went the evening.

Tony had my attention early on in the proceedings, and virtually anyone else’s within ear shot. Customers, servers, even those at the pool table delayed their game to take pause and wonder, “who IS that tiny man?” Not only does he have a mystical command of his instrument, he is equally adept at his electronics. Digital loopers, wa-wa pedal, overdrive, echo and flange, plus a simple plate he keeps under his left foot that offers 3 distinct bass drum sounds for him to call up when the tune starts pumping. This goodie is used liberally.

This is not music for the faint of heart folks. This is not back ground music while you try to talk to that pretty girl. And this stuff isn't cracking the top 40 any time soon. This is not 'tap your toe and sing along to old songs you happen to know' type of stuff. This is not SAFE music. You have to show up and pay attention just to have a chance of letting it all in. And if you don’t, Tony will simply demand your attention, not allowing you to emotionally rest for even a second. Just when you're grooving to this, it morphs to that. When you're tapping your toe to this, then you're bobbing your head to that. He always and often abruptly switches things up seamlessly, and usually before you know it, but always musically. This is how he carries an entire show without vocals and very little verbal banter with the audience, it’s not really needed as the music does all the talking. I should be noted however that when Tony does address the audience, it’s one of my favorite parts of the show. He’s clearly out of his element in this task as he struggles through his thick French & Spanish accent to expound in English on his chosen musical discipline. He likes to give the crowd a bit of education while trying to explain his life’s passion and favorite influences.

After the first set and Tony’s cute speech, the 2nd set was upon us and I found myself marveling at his effortless speed, contemplating the years and years of rehearsal required to achieve such precision. I noted also the incredible collaboration of rhythmic teamwork between the 2 players which involved drumming on their guitars just as much as playing the strings. If you can detach from the musicality if only for an instant, you might watch the show much like you would appreciate a great dance routine, or an amazing gymnastics routine. And though I tend to get carried away with this technical precision that I have chased all my life, the biggest impression Tony made on me was the pure passion that he played with. I've seen lots of musicians who were just amazing technicians, but terrible performers. So engrossed in their part and their instrument that they barely noticed a crowd was gathered around them. That ain't Tony. He ran the expressive gambit - smiling, frowning, grimacing, standing, sitting, thumping, strumming, thrashing… all a direct and natural reaction to the music he was making, like he was born to do it, in that moment, at that place, and just for me. Such performers rarely know they're even doing it.

Over the course of the 2 sets, the duo touched on classic flamenco guitar, morphing to eastern flavor, erupting to a full on rock n' roll - verging on 70's punk sound, and I think I heard some country pickin' in there too, if only for a fleeting moment. It’s almost intellectually exhausting. There's not a musical discipline that is beyond his skill level or comprehension. If he can think it, he can play it. For that I'll always be jealous player, and a lifelong fan.