Acoustic Alchemy, Spyro Gyra start tour here with encores

JAKARTA (JP): With drums, screeching guitars and wind instruments still vibrating in their ears, the audience at Tuesday's performance of the American group, Spyro Gyra, and the British Acoustic Alchemy at Ratu Plaza, South Jakarta, were certain they had had a thoroughly good time.

When asked what she liked the most after the one-night performance at the Plaza's Studio 21 Concert Hall, young Rita said, "The vibes (vibraphones by Dave Samuels) and everything!" before enthusiastically dashing off for autographs.

"You can't really compare them, they're very different -- they were both good," said Tahitra, referring to the Acoustic Alchemy guitar duo.

Tuesday's show, playing to an audience of 400 in the 465- capacity hall, was the first stop of the two groups' tour to cities in Java and Bali, organized by Chico and Ira Production.

For Spyro Gyra, this was their second show here, which breathless guitarist Julio Fernandez said drew a better response from the audience than their first in 1992.

Fernandez and the rest of the sextet indulged the demands of the persistent crowd by offering two encores, following an energetic display of music from older albums such as Conquistador, to the new tune Waltz for Isabel, which band leader Jay Beckenstein said was inspired by the birth of his youngest child.

A soothing, jazzy lullaby, the tune shifted to an intriguing improvisation by guitarist Fernandez and the others, before saxophonist Beckenstein wrapped it up with the initial melody.

Keyboard player Tom Schuman, drummer Joel Rosenblatt and bassist Scott Ambush also drew an enthusiastic response through their solos.

Like in an earlier piece from Acoustic Alchemy, Samuels joined Ambush with his mallet sticks. There seemed no need for anyone to note the absence of the few vocalists in Spyro Gyra's most recent album, Dreams Beyond Control.

The band made sure to present their popular hits from this new release like Samuel's Bahia, a merry Brazilian-sounding melody, through which the audience could experience first-hand his expertise on the vibraphones.

The duo, Nick Webb and Greg Carmichael, who performed first, delighted the audience with their "mongrel" compositions of flamenco, reggae and the "French" Rive Gauch "which is fun to play" and the classic-based Heart of Chains.

One piece, a dixie-sounding Buzzbee Special "for the benefit of the gentlemen walking around with cameras," featured them playing together on one guitar, with Webb standing behind Carmichael, drawing laughter from the audience.

The bobbing heads, clapping, stomping and encores confirmed the audience enjoyed both performances, though the duo's beautiful strumming was quite different from the more distinct jazz and Latin color of Spyro Gyra's diverse instruments.

There was just a little note of regret among the audience -- pre-teens to those in their 40's -- that Acoustic Alchemy had not brought their orchestra along with them, already familiar to the crowd through two tracks in their latest The New Edge album.

But as Carmichael said earlier, "we write our music for two guitars, and it works," with special arrangements to create the "big sound."

At the end of the two-hour performance, only a few complained that the music was too loud in the relatively small hall.

Scheduled to play in Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Bali, Beckenstein said the musicians only wish they had more time to enjoy local traditional music. (anr)