Last night was rare occurrence in Seattle, a SOLD OUT show for a Brazilian artist on a Thursday.
It happened at Neumos, nice yet at times sweltering venue. The artist was Seu Jorge. True, the appearance in Wes Anderson’s “Life Aquatic†did imbed him with the hipster crowd, and yes they were waiting for a few of the Bowie covers that permeated the movie. I loved the movie btw.
But this was still a Brazilian artist! Singing in portugese to a packed house. Awesome. Seu was positioned a bit to stage left, not in the center. It was a nice touch to showcase the band aspect of the performance. The only English he used was to explain the social problems of the Brazilian Favelas (ghettos) and reminded the audience to appreciate the bounty and good fortune of being in the US. He opened the show with a reminder that the Brazil-Japan world cup game was a 4-1 victory for Brazil. The crowd cheered ecstatically and the many yellow jerseys in the audience added a nice flavor to the night.
The fact that KEXP and my show is one of the only places you can hear Seu Jorge in Seattle added a “job well done†to the show.
I was reminded by many that they would never have heard of him if they didn’t listen to Wo-Pop.
4 Comments
Any word on them making a return visit? Probably no word until at least after the World Cup ;)
I’m from Brasil and I can say that: Seu Jorge is a liar! He never lived in Favela, he never lived on the streets. He just say that to everyone thinks “oh, look at this poor brasilian, now he’s famous, now he’s a winner”. So, think twice before clap your hands to a “foreign” artist.
I understand Eduardo’s concern.
But I have to disagree with his sentiment. It is not essential for Seu Jorge to be from the Favela or to once live on the street to comment on it’s impact, or advise on healing it’s woes. I don’t think he’s trying to “front” in his music. His songs are more general then personal. The fact that a Brazilian artist is reaching a huge population, and talking about the favela is extremely refreshing. When you hear Brazil and Music together, the message is usually simplistic and narcissistic. At least he’s offering perspective on a complex culture.
Derek, you’re right when you say “At least he’s offering perspective on a complex culture”, but the thing is: just play the music, don’t do the speech. It’s the same thing when you look a white rapper saying “I’m from the ghetto”. Brazil is a very complex country really, but when I saw a guy like Seu Jorge make his name under a caracter, I’m afraid the brazilians will have another “tag”: Liars.
Just for relax, try to translate on google the lyrics of Seu Jorge’s versions of David Bowie songs, it doesn’t make any sense...hehe