International Guitar Night at Herbst Theatre

Alexander Misko with his guitar (courtesy of the Omni Foundation)

Last night in Herbst Theatre, the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts presented its 45th annual International Guitar Night program. Readers familiar with this offering probably already know that four musicians give solo performances, after which they all come together on the stage to give an “all hands on deck” performance. The performers for this year’s program were, in order of appearance, Thu Le (Vietnam), Lucas Imbiriba (Brazil), Taimane (Hawaii), and Alexander Misko (Russia).

This made for a more than generous share of music. Indeed, after the round of the five performances, I thought the program would be concluded. However, it turned out that it was only an intermission break, after which there would be a “second round.” I must confess, however, that, at the conclusion of that “first round,” my head was already saturated with both the diversity of the offerings and the dexterity of the performers!

That said, there were definitely particular events that stood out in memory long enough for me to account for them this morning. Imbiriba began with “Canción del Mariachi,” which gained popularity through Antonio Banderas and the movie Desperado. He then joined the “Bohemian Rhapsody” club with his own take on the “Mama I just killed a man” ballad segment, followed by a take on Cat Stevens involving a plethora of percussion effects.

Taimane then picked up the baton from Imbiriba to begin her set with a piece she called “Led Zeppelin Meets Beethoven.” (She performed barefoot, also providing choreography.) She then launched into a suite (of sorts) beginning with flamenco, moving on to thematic excerpts from Georges Bizet’s Carmen, and wrapping up with a nod to the fugue in Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 565 D minor coupling of a toccata and fugue.

That was about the time that I began to feel the first tinges of saturation. However, Misko had not yet begun his set. His instrument had been augmented with an abundance of electronics, and he referred to it as his “Frankenstein guitar.” He played a piece he called “Intergalactic March,” and the plethora of his gear yielded sounds that almost invoked a full symphony orchestra.

Fortunately, the following “all hands” performance allowed for a sigh of relief with the Brazilian choro song “Tico-Tico no Fubá.” Each guitarist had a personal take on the familiar tune, and the spirits could not have been higher. Readers may now understand why, after all of that abundance, there was little left in me to return for that “second round!”