Mar 04 - An Evening With Paul Isola And Friends – Concert Review
By David J. Diaz
Well the night had arrived. A night where Paul Isola would perform at the stellar St Michael’s Cave alongside many of his favourite people in the local music scene. The event was very well attended. Guests even included our Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and his wife Justine, Minister for Culture Steven Linares and his wife Jackie and Minister for Tourism Samantha Sacramento.
The line-up read like a who’s who of local music royalty. From Jenson Callejon to Nigel Palmer and from Nigel Palmer to Nicky Hassan so, to say the least, the line-up was very promising.
The night kicked off strong and appropriately with one of Breed 77’s biggest hits ‘Petroleo’ which was the right song to fuel us up with what was coming. From there we had James Culatto join Paul on stage and take us back to 1992 and to perform an Alice In Chains classic ‘Would’. Things were certainly in the right place and after just three songs St Michael’s Cave was full of energy, electricity and vibrant as people were glued to Paul’s every word in between songs which made the night more intimate than people would have thought.
Song #5 was probably the only clue as to what we were expecting that night. Paul was joined on stage by local legends Stephen McLaren and Giles Ramirez to perform ‘Missing Me’ and, if you had watched their appearance on ‘The Hub’ a few weeks ago, then you knew what to expect. Without a doubt, it was one of the best of the night. Giles’ voice really does mash up well with Paul’s and of course Stephen’s guitar playing is second to none. From there in song #6 as Stephen stayed on stage and we were joined by his band mates from Area 52 and all four men performed ‘Complacency’ from Area’s 2009 album ‘Just Like Any Other Friday’
From originals we switched back to covers. And what better way than with a Pearl Jam cover of ‘Nothing Man’ – Paul was joined by Aaron Turner for this one. It didn’t take long for us to switch back to originals; this time for two other Breed 77 tracks. Starting with probably one of Breed’s most well known tracks - ‘The River’ followed by ‘Breaking The Silence’. All was on point and heading to the right direction.
Song #10 was probably the biggest surprise of the night - Paul confessed that he isn’t the world’s biggest romantic but this song is something else. He performed ‘Nothing Compares To You’ made famous by Sinead O’Connor and truly made it his own and managed to get the crowd to sing along which really did add to the atmosphere.
A bigger array of musicians followed especially for Song #12 ‘Señor Troncoso’ made famous by Triana, Paul was joined by Adrian Pisarello and they both really did do the song justice. For song #13 Paul was joined on stage by Paul Rocca, Darren Celecia and Jeremy Celecia from Heritage as well as Tyrone Moya from ShotBreak to perform ‘War’ and ‘No Quarter’ made famous by Bob Marley and Led Zeppelin respectively. They certainly brought the house down with both tracks with Paul saying that he prays for the day where there won’t be any anti war protest songs at all.
For Song #15 Paul pointed to all those who always under estimated him and that he wouldn’t amount to anything in life. The song was ‘Look At Me Now’ from Breed’s ‘En Mi Sangre / In My Blood’ 2006 album. ‘Right Where It Belongs’ followed in Song #16 but the best part was yet to come.
Song #17 was a Guns N’ Roses cover of ‘Patience’ which yet again Paul made his own and did a brilliant job with it all. The last two songs were probably what everyone was intrigued by. To be quite honest, I wasn’t sure myself especially as we had already heard a huge variety of songs but it didn’t disappoint.
For Song #18 Paul sang ‘Zombie’ made famous by The Cranberries but most notably Breed also covered the song but it was great to see it performed in such an acoustic environment.
THE LAST SONG.
Now this was very special…Paul confessed that the first time he cried to music was the day after Freddie Mercury passed away but his message was simple that despite his death, the music being played in the background was ‘The Show Must Go On’ and it was a fitting tribute. To me personally Jonathan Bugeja’s guitar solo and performance is what made the song truly captivating as the entire line-up joined Paul on stage.
Overall the concert was truly one of the best I’ve ever had the privilege of attending. It is not often we see all of our best musicians all in one concert and Paul achieved that.
Hats off to Paul Isola, the musicians and of course Big Man Entertainment for a great night which, to be honest, I wish didn’t have to end.
Pics and content: The Gibraltar Live Music Society: facebook.com/giblivemusic
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