The Mars Volta @ Greek Theater, Los Angeles

June 4, 2005 – Greek Theater; Los Angeles (played on “L’Via L’Viaquez”)

Concert review: The Mars Volta
(Reuters, Monday June 6)
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The Mars Volta thrives on the unorthodox, and traditional musical hooks are almost incidental. When the group encountered tuning difficulties during its show Saturday night at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala made one of his few comments from the stage: “I think this is God’s way of telling us to write regular songs.”
Since its formation in El Paso, Texas, four years ago, the band has steadily amassed a loyal following, large enough to pack the outdoor venue. Billed as “An Evening With the Mars Volta,” the two-hour-plus performance was filled with flashes of brilliance and cacophonous high-volume excess.

The Mars Volta juggernaut sound draws much inspiration from Led Zeppelin at its most thunderous. But also evident was the mid-’70s polyrhythmic progressive rock of King Crimson, as well as tidal waves of Latin rhythms set askew. The group also attempted to emulate the most impressionistic jazz methods of Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman. ADVERTISEMENT

Clearly, this is one ambitious outfit. However, while the skills are there, the extensive compositions aren’t the stuff of greatness, at least not yet. But onstage, the band’s studio work, especially its new Universal release, “Frances the Mute,” was still far more sweeping and vivid.

The real linchpin is guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, whose stunning, lengthy leads managed to mix searing Jimmy Page, mathematical Robert Fripp and hypnotic Carlos Santana. Afro-helmet-haired Bixler-Zavala wailed in a falsetto; the lyrics were a blend of mumbo jumbo metaphysics coupled with general agitation and cathartic howl, with the voice just another texture from the eight-member band.

The group also featured saxophone squawk and soothing flute from Adrian Terrazas. “Sound manipulation” was supplied at the side of the stage by Mars Volta’s newest addition, Paul Hinojos-Gonzalez, who just left Sparta last week to rejoin his one-time At the Drive-In bandmates Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez.

Like prog-rock bands of 30 years ago, many of the group’s works are song suites rife with shifting time signatures marked by gentle passages and almost violently explosive releases, such as the near-funky show opener “Drunkship of Lanterns” and the layered “Cygnus . . . Vismund Cygnus.”

The most emotionally satisfying number came midset with “L’Via L’Viaquez,” which featured appealingly restrained vocals in Spanish by Bixler-Zavala. A guest appearance from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante led to a stunning ax dialogue with Rodriguez-Lopez.

Some lulls as the band tuned up or framed material with blustery, atonal intros found the crowd chatty and restless. The epic “Cassandra Gemini” reclaimed the audience in a capping display of tribal pummel, deft musicianship and sheer hurricane-force power.

The Mars Volta might be best defined by the motto on Jon Theodore’s bass drum, which said “liberte ou la mort” — “freedom or death.” For this band, musical freedom means tossing out the rule book, and convention is a death knell for creativity.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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