It is with a virtual "Ole!" that the San Francisco audience greets the
opening notes of DiMeola and DeLucia's Mediterranean Sundance, and
the Warfield Theatre crowd continues to play an important role throughout
this excellent live album. It goes without saying that Frisco is full of
former and future pickers of psychedelia and punk, but guitar aficionados
worldwide would have to agree that this kind of a session is an intriguing
prospect. Not only are McLaughlin, DiMeola, and DeLucia three of the most
renowned fretmen on the globe, but their irresistible disparity of
backgrounds come together in a universal jam. There's the classicist getting
into jazz, the jazz-fusion player lured by Spanish, the Englishman into raga,
and each have chops to burn.
Al and Paco smoke on their opening duet, even more so than on their
previous studio exchange on DiMeola's Splendido Hotel. Then it's
McLaughlin with DiMeola for Short Tales, a more subdued sitting at
first, but an improvisation that soon leaves Corea's melody behind as speedy
runs build intensity, including a priceless moment where the two guitarists,
apparently searching for another direction, stumble onto a hilarious rendition
of the Pink Panther theme and then fall into a totally uncharacteristic
blues vamp. The audience hoots, screams, whistles, stomps, and claps along.
On side two, Paco and John get their chance to duel on Egberto Gismonti's
Frevo Rasgado, a framework for some free, fiery soloing by each man.
All three guitarists finally come together for the album's last two songs,
Fantasia Suite by DiMeola and Guardian Angel (the only studio
cut) by McLaughlin. The nine-minute Fantasia Suite starts the crowd
bellowing again, but rather than disrupt (as such gesticulations generally do),
these rowdy acknowledgements seem totally appropriate for the Olympian feats
being performed onstage. By the way, each player has been mixed to a left,
right, or middle channel and the separation and sound are good enough that
crowd noises create no problems.
It might have been nice to hear the live spontaneity continue right
through Guardian Angel, but it too is a great tune and gets a splendid
treatment here. The McLaughlin, DiMeola, DeLucia tour didn't make it to my
town, but i'm plenty satisfied with this Friday Night In San Francisco.