Mars Volta’s Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Live in SF

Mars Volta figurehead, musical director and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez turned the Great American Music Hall upside down with his blazing, cerebral brand of prog hard rock. Joined by his Mars Volta counterpart vocalist/lyricist Cedric Baxter-Zavala, Rodriguez-Lopez spearheaded a group of tight musical virtuosos. The bespectacled Rodriguez-Lopez sporting an english style cap, who looks no older than 22 years old, impressed the crowd with his stunning forward thinking guitar solos, astonishing technique and musical vision. Baxter-Zavala, now sporting a clean cut look with short straight hair and his beard shaved off, dramatically acted out the songs, sang his heart out boasting with a voice reminiscent of Led Zepellin era Robert Plant and pulled his front man rock star moves with sheer intensity. They would take the audience on a melodic prog space ride and then pull the crowd into a left turn with a foray into avant funk. The in-sync instrumental ensemble who complimented Rodriguez-Lopez consisted of a mix of musicians, some from Mars Volta who played the two keyboards/electronics, bass and drums. The group mostly played new fresh material in preparation of their upcoming date at the Coachella Festival.