Celtic, with a Touch of the Hank Marvins
VICTORIA KINGHAM
A couple of years ago, Iago Banet had a great review in this newspaper for his splendid concert at the Kino. You can read it on the HIP website if you’re interested (link at the end of this article). I make no apology for a second review: I’m a big fan of the unclassifiable, and it seems that Hastings and St Leonards audiences and performers thrive on unique, genre-defying visual arts, drama and music, and if there is such a category as ‘all the things that don’t fit neatly into one genre or another’ then Iago is a supreme representative.
He has, I would say, developed his performance. The guitar is more highly amplified, filling the Kino with the sound of a small orchestra. He also appears to be taking more risks in terms of melodic exploration. Some of the tunes he played were from his last album Tres, which he is still promoting; but while that album is particularly careful and well-produced, his technique now stretches towards the realm of the experimental.
He plays finger-style guitar reminiscent of the modern-folk scene of the late sixties, very vividly. But his influences range from Chet Atkins, Henry Mancini, The Shadows (!), the Beatles, Django Reinhardt… the list goes on. “Anybody here like Bob Dylan?” he asked prior to one number. Of course several audience members clapped, and of course he said, good, and immediately presented a creditable version of Van Morrison’s Moondance.
PRESENTATION AND META-MODERNITY
The lovely thing about his accomplished performance is that it could be called post-modern, or if that term is outdated, meta-modern. The guitar is so versatile and so ubiquitous; there are plenty of good finger-style guitarists, and he is one of the best. However he is also an extrovert and, to an extent, a comedian; like a number of stand-up comedians he runs on to the stage as though he only just got there in time. His black outfit reminds you, perhaps, of a traditional Spanish guitarist; in contrast his whole presentation, his way of undermining his own seriousness, his way of dismembering what he plays before he plays it, all remind me of comedians who explain how their jokes work, like Ricky Gervais or the great Stewart Lee. It’s disarming, and attractive. Unlike most musicians, he intersperses episodes from his personal life amongst the tunes he presents; his babies, his partner, his difficulties with copyright, where he lives, his former life as a journalist.
Most of his material is original, but the non-original numbers are presented in a novel way; he has a ‘Rain’ medley, for example, which is actually Singing in the Rain interpolated with Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head and ending with a bit of Here Comes The Sun, in one of the best jazz-reference traditions. Purple Heather, his own tune, has a drone bass replicating bagpipes (part of the Galician folk tradition as well as the Scots – as he points out, Galicia is very different from Southern Spain with its North African and South American-influenced flamenco) with a superb resonance from the open-tuned strings (and amplifier) and some extremely fast finger-work.
Banet’s fame has grown. Last time I saw him he was in front of a small but enthusiastic group; this time, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, at the same venue, quite a crowd was willing to sit in the dark for a unique show. All in all, his energetic performance should make people listen to the album: even if you don’t buy CDs any more, Tres can be found on all good music streaming outlets and is really worth careful attention. But for the full Banet experience, look out for the live gigs; you won’t be disappointed.
Iago Banet played at The Kino, St Leonards, on Sunday 25 May. Upcoming tour dates: iagobanet.com/tourdates recent album, Tres: tinyurl.com/9xy5s83x, on Spotify Last HIP article: hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/articles/culture/arts/iago-banet
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