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Lisa Wilton Ottmar Liebert is in a world of his own. The Santa Fe-based nouveau flamenco guitarist turned the usually staid Jack Singer Concert Hall into a Fantasyland to the delight of an audience of 900 who watched the first of his two shows yesterday. Even before the show started, the concert hall was transformed into a dream-like state. As audience members were finding their seats, they were greeted with a light, smoky haze that was most noticeable in the higher reaches of the hall. The magic continued as Liebert -- whose new classical CD Leaning Into The Night hits record stores soon -- sauntered onstage shoeless, after his eight-piece Luna Negra XL band had whetted the crowd's appetite with a prelude of hypnotic world beat. It's not easy labelling Liebert's music -- nouveau flamenco, new age, jazz, world beat folk, -- whatever it is, he's good at it. The 35-year-old rarely spoke and didn't need to. His passionate guitar-playing -- switching easily from acoustic to electric -- is the way he expresses himself and the crowd seemed to prefer it that way. Clad in a tight, grey, sleeveless shirt and white casual pants, the shorn Liebert looked comfortable and confident onstage, making eye contact with the audience. He played songs from his eight releases, including the most recent Opium. The crowd reacted favorably with loud applause. Though he's played Calgary before, last night was the first time Liebert has brought the new-and-improved Luna Negra XL to the city. The
percussion section, which consists of Carl Coletti, Ron Wagner and Mark
Clark, was outstanding and a definite highlight of the evening. |