Gypsy Geo is Back

There was not a seat to be had at Bar Frida last night as we waited to hear Geo Uhrich play the violin for us again. And the guitar and sing. He and his longtime partner Fernanda looked precisely the same, although about five years had passed since we last met, and none of us could remember where exactly.

Their adventures living aboard a sailboat and plying the waters of the Mediterranean Sea are worthy of documentation, and I have a ton of questions I may get to ask in the future. But the two of them and their darling puppy flew in from Turkey to spend this season making some music and making me, Tom Finley, the owner of Frida’s, and Mike Laking, nostalgic as can be. At least last night, the memories of evenings spent at the Paradise Community Center listening to Geo and his new band for the first time, which created quite a stir in old town Vallarta. Every time I go by that derelict structure with the great bones, across from Coco’s Kitchen, my heart skips a beat.

Geo and his band opened Incanto with so much equipment on stage that CFE had to make an emergency trip to the theatre to do whatever it is electricians do, so Geo did not knock the power out for blocks all around. That concert and the subsequent ones were so worth the wait.

Other moments frozen in time with Geo’s violin coaxing remembrances of decades ago, when Willy and Lobo, the first on his ramped-up violin that Geo eventually inherited after Willy’s death (that’s another long story), and Lobo, the fabulously talented German flamenco guitarist, would play near Parque Lazaro Cardenas and keep me up into the wee hours of the morning.

All of us at our table last night swapped stories, drank to those who have passed, and sank into the melodies that Geo had superbly crafted in his years away. He has had time and inspiration to write a lot of music, much of it derived from traditional Turkish forms. Images of silken veils and belly dancers with seductive movements and mystery were interlaced with Phantom of the Opera vignettes, some Adele, and intriguing stories of their travels lightly peppered throughout the concert.

One day, Fer and Geo had sailed to the Italian island of Elba in Tuscany, craving pizza. They heard a guitarist playing in the distance and headed toward the music. As they reached the front door, a tall, handsome woman stepped out, followed by a man whose hand rested on her shoulder. On the sidewalk, the man began to sing. Heads popped out of neighboring windows, and cars stopped abruptly on the street. Fer and Geo gasped as they quickly realized who had burst into song right there in front of them – some Andrea Bocelli with your pizza today?

Catch Geo’s ”World of Music” at Bar Frida y Restaurante, Francisco Madero, every Thursday at 8 pm. Be sure to reserve space early; there is no cover, just brilliant music, From Here.