Nelson Festival

Posted on: 24/08/2012

Antonio Forcione and Adriano Adewale at the Nelson Festival

Festival Tent 19th Oct Wednesday

You know when you are in the company of fine musicians who know their instruments inside out when they captivate their audience by their sheer masterfulness, when there’s a standing ovation and the audience leave looking satisfied, elated and better off for the experience.

This was such a night in the Festival Tent, when we were transfixed by Italian Antonio Forcione, a man with agile fingers that could dance all over his guitar producing sounds beyond belief, from Flamenco to African and with facial expressions that spoke of passion and sheer enjoyment and a wonderful sense of humour that drew us into his world.

Equally accomplished musician, Brazilian Adriano Adewale, worked his way around a collection of percussion instruments with hands that moved so quickly they were often a blur, and who brought the house down with his solo tambourine, enticing sounds out of that tiny instrument that left every member of the audience in awe and secretly deciding to go out and buy one.

From the first subtle beginnings we were a party to the close relationship between these two men, the eye contact, smiles and playfulness ran between them through-out the show. A perfect musical relationship where neither ego got carried away and their mutual respect was evident throughout.

Whether playing ‘African Dawn’ with a myriad of early morning bird and wildlife sounds from Adewale, or ‘Touch Wood’ where Forcione used the body of his guitar as percussion and the neck for strumming, it was obvious these men knew their way around their instruments from years of playing.

For me too was the realisation that much of our musical entertainment is led by lyrics and it took a moment to embrace the melody led by Forcione’s guitar. All the music was his original work except an old familiar ‘I heard It On the Grapevine’ by Otis Redding where we really heard the melody come through and Forcione’s arrangement gave it a new lease on life.

Thank goodness for encores, as we were treated to a fantastic solo by Forcione, who did things with his guitar that defied logic, by flipping it upside down, rubbing it over his legs, twanging the strings while stretching them to breaking point, amusing and amazing.

Bravo! A show we won’t forget in a hurry.