Rhythm Section Of the Year!

I have had to take something of a hiatus here due to a change in jobs, but I am back!

This last week saw DC on a short tour with Los Lobos and then out to LA for some big thing with industry people. On their way home they will be playing in Tucson with surfer Dick Dale, and then Ozomatli again in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. A swift tour, but it stills takes them away from me for too long.
Silly goose that I am, I actually looked into flying out to ABQ. It's old stompin' grounds for myself and my best friend Casey, and it would've been neat to see the guys out of state for a change.

Now, the reason for the title of this entry: they put Mike up front at the Floore's Country Store gig, and I got to REALLY watch him for the first time. I have always been impressed by this rhythm section, but seeing them work together this well was such a treat!

This is one of the tightest rhythm sections I know of out there right now, though I will admit to a certain level of bias. I daresay that without the right back-up, Del Castillo wouldn't be the powerhouse it is on stage. the intensity of the lyrics, the depth of the guitar playing are emphasized and popped up by the rhythm guys doing the colouring in. Without them, it would be a bit like watching your favourite Bugs Bunny cartoons in black and white line drawings.

Alright, that may be a stretch of a metaphor, but I am of a mind that there is so much dimension to what these guys do. The "average" listener isn't going to differentiate these things. And even a first time listener isn't going to take it in all at once. I sure didn't! I was so floored by the overall intensity that it took me quite a few times seeing them to start picking up on these relationships within the band.

Ah well. I get too verbose sometimes. I forget that the majourity of folks see the whole painting, not the subtleties of the shading. Sometimes it is not wise to stand quite so close to the canvas.
To really get the feel the artist is going for, sometimes one must step back.....just not quite yet for me!