Tobin Roye In Brazilian Daze, Spanish Knights

When I first herd about the Tobin Roye guitar show during class, I really did not know what to expect as I headed into the theater room at Chico St.  A chair was set up in between two microphones up on the stage where Tobin came out to sit caring an acoustical guitar in his hands.  With no introduction what so ever, Tobin sat down peacefully and started into playing his first song. 

His first song, Romanic Waltz #1 by Edmar Fenicio, was a soft Brazilian style melody that was very soothing to the ear.  Tobin fingers strolled up and down the guitar, plucking away at the strings like he had been playing the guitar coming out of his mother’s womb.  After a loud applause he started into his second song of the night, Marta by Marco Pereira.  This song seemed to song very similar to the first as I later found out that most of the songs being played throughout the night were waltz style songs.  After he was done playing the second song was when he introduced himself and what the show was being put on for.  It turns out that Tobin is actually a teacher at CSU Chico where he directs the Guitar program.  This event was a benefit for the Chico St. music and guitar programs that are made available for Chico St. students.  This seemed like a great thing because it looked like it was a packed house.  Tobin also let us know that most of the songs from the first part of the show where going to be Brazilian and South American styles.

Tobin’s fifth song was one that really stood out among the rest to me.  It was a real up-tempo song with some good rhythm.  This song seemed a lot more intricate in the movement of his hands along the guitar strings.  Tobin was even able to switch the tune of his guitar mid song in order to play out the rest of the song in a different tune.  I am no guitarist by any means but I can only imagine how difficult that might be only using the experience of your own ears.  Another song I really enjoyed was Jongo originally done by Paulo Bellinati.  This song really seamed like a song that I had recently herd in a movie soundtrack.  It was a very up-tempo and inspirational song.  During the middle of this song, Tobin stopped plucking the strings of his guitar and instead started beating on the wood frame of the guitar in different spots creating a drum like effect.  This moved impressed me by Tobin showing his versatility in throwing a little something extra that made this song really stick out in my mind.  I also really enjoyed the combination acts in Tobin’s show when he brought out Warren Haskell to assist him for two songs and the final two songs of the night when he had Matt Fish, Luciano Marazzo, and Max Stout join him on stage to close out the night.  The sounds were really beautiful hearing all those guitars on the stage at the same time working in perfect unison. 

As the night went on throughout the show I could tell that Tobin was really loosening up due to the large ovations from the crowd.  He was even to get the crowd laughing during songs by cracking a few jokes in between certain songs.  I felt this show was a great example of how a voice is not always needed in order to produce a musical masterpiece.  Tobin was able to use the guitar like it was his calling from birth and I’m sure that no one walked away disappointed from this wonderful performance.