Review: Zenet in concert in Seville

The Patio de la Diputación in Seville was filled with people there to hear Toni Zenet perform as part of the series of concerts Asómate al Patio. Open air is definitely the way to go when the summer heat arrives in the city. It may be an exaggeration, but that night the temperature was 42 degrees.

When you’ve listened to an album so often, it can often cause false expectations. What if he didn’t live up to them? What if he was arrogant, or cocky, or the beginnings of fame had gotten to his head? As I took my seat I have to say I was a little nervous.

The first minute of the concert I was tense. Zenet is exuberant. He has so much energy that he uses to direct his body, his voice and his jokes at the audience, that I was worried that he might be trying too hard. He has an air of cool about him, but as I relaxed into the music I realized it isn’t feigned. Toni Zenet is naturally cool. He’s also a fabulous performer, evidence of an acting background, knowing how to move his shorter-than-expected body and win over the crowd, even in the sweltering heat.

Soñar Contigo was the song that kicked off the evening. It’s the kind of song that doesn’t come along very often. A song that grabs your guts and makes you want to sing into that imaginary air-microphone you suddenly find in your hand when no one is looking. I have to admit, that the experience of sitting amongst an audience full of love-stuck women mouthing the words to what I consider to be my song was a little disappointing, but that didn’t stop the performance being awe-inspiring

The best part of the concert was the vibe on stage. You could see they were having a blast. The guitarist, José Taboada, had a cheeky grin pasted on his face throughout the performance. As Zenet rattled off his jokes and anecdotes between songs, Taboada seemed genuinely amused that he had the confidence to make a packed audience of sweaty Sevillians laugh. Lucho Aguilar on the double bass seemed to be digging the vibe, practically making love to his instrument during his solo. There is nothing more satisfying than watching a musician who enjoys doing his thing. The pale, skinny, guiri on trombone, Ove Larsson, was having a blast with Manuel Machado on trumpet. And meanwhile Pepe Ribero was making magic on piano.

I don’t know how he did it, but he simply charmed the audience. His cover of Na de Ná manages to infuse a classic piece with his own Malageño character, without falling into the kitsch side of things. Having heard all the songs from the album (including Dientes de rata, Estela and En el Mismo Lado de la Cama to name but a few), Zenet presented a new song dedicated to New Orleans. Let’s hope that his next album is infused with the energy of jazz from that part of the world, because beating the feel of this one is going to be a tough one. Curiously, when I looked back into the audience I noticed all the women (and a large handful of the men) singing along. A sign of success maybe, but as a man sitting near me insightfully whispered to his wife: “Why don’t they just be quiet. I came to hear him sing”.