Whoa! Three Gipsy Kings concerts in a row.!!! All that excitement and anticipation to seeing them again. They truly are the BEST band on this planet!

My Mom and I flew from Las Vegas to Los Angeles to attend the Gipsy Kings concerts. The first concert was on Friday night at The Grove Of Anaheim. The venue is located approximately 40 miles south of Los Angeles, off of the I-5 Freeway/Katella Ave exit. The theater reminds me of an old Hollywood movie studio. I could just picture Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dancing on the stage. The Classic Hollywood Era! The marquise outside reads, "The Gipsy Kings Tonight...SOLD OUT" The price of our ticket included a dinner credit, which you have a choice of a salad, dinner entree, dessert... The food was fresh and delicious! The dinner started at 6:30pm, and the concert was supposed to start at 8:00pm, but for some reason didn't start until 8:30pm. By the time 8:30pm rolled around the audience was getting restless and starting pounding on the tables, whistling, cheering etc.

The backup band played their introduction, and Pascal welcomed the audience. "Is everyone feeling all right? Are you ready for the Gipsy Fiesta? All the way from Arles and Montpellier from the south of France....The Gipsy Kings!!!! The audience gave the band a standing ovation. It was strange not to see Pablo and Diego... from left to right was Andre, Patchai, Nicolas, Tonino, Paco and Canut. The band looked Fit, Fabulous and Focused!! They were dressed in their usual black pants/black shirts attire. Nicolas hair was dark brown with blonde highlights, and had a punky hair style! He looked younger and slimmer. Casual Elegance!

The sound at first was loud, distorted and muffled. It's an inside venue, after a while the sound quality was more balanced.

The Playlist:

Set 1:

1. Rhythmic - Nicolas
2. Rumba Tec - Tonino
3. Lleva Me - Nicolas
4. Tristessa - Andre
5. Un Amor - Nicolas
6. Petite Noya - Nicolas
7. Amigo - Canut
8. Pharoan - Tonino
9. Ami Mora - Patchai
10. Djobi Djoba - Canut

Set 2:

1. Camargue - Nicolas
2. Tampa - Tonino
3. Montana - Canut
4. La Dona - Andre
5. Quiero Saber - Nicolas
6. Poco a Poco - Patchai
7. A Tiki Tiki - Canut
8. Todos Todos Ole - Patchai
9. Baila Me - Nicolas

Encore:

1. Volare - Nicolas
2. Caminado Por La Calle - Nicolas

   Patchai sings Todos Todos Ole, and Nicolas sings background vocals .."Ah Tu Tu I...Tu Tu Tu I, and the audience is singing along Todos Todos Ole.... Patchai is going his little dance on stage waving his arms for the audience to get up and dance, and swinging his hips! He was HOT!! That song brought the House Down!!

   Patchai sings Poco a Poco, and serenades 2 young girls on stage. They were in 7th Heaven, holding hands and dancing around Patchai. After the song he kissed them both on their cheeks. They were so happy! A Gipsy Kings moment!

   Tonino is indeed El Maestro on the guitar, a virtuoso! They way he plays the guitar with his fingers, his technique, style etc. He can play the whole concert with his eyes closed! Such talent, not like other guitarists that play with a guitar pick, Tonino plays with his whole hand. He is absolutely awesome!

   Nicolas was wonderful! He puts a lot of his heart and soul into each song! He got a lot of standing ovations for all the songs that he sung. The audience loved him! I know we all do!!

   That's a wrap from The Grove of Anaheim!! I Love The Gipsy Kings!! .......More LA Reviews to come........

   Stay Fabulous!!

   Lydia

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