By: David Schultz

Seu Jorge, known to most Americans from his role as Pele dos Santos in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, took time in the middle of his Thursday evening show at New York City's Irving Plaza to explain how he ended up in Wes Anderson's quirky movie. Jorge explained that he thought Anderson wanted him to portray soccer star Pele and informed him that he couldn't play the sport. Once Anderson convinced Jorge that he wanted his musical, not athletic skills, Jorge then balked because his only knowledge of David Bowie's music was "Let's Dance." Even though Jorge remained unimpressed by Bowie's 80s period music, he signed on for the project to much critical and popular acclaim.

Although Jorge sang and spoke to the audience in his native Portuguese throughout most of the show, Jorge relayed this anecdote in English, acknowledging that a segment of his American audience came that night to see him perform Bowie covers from his latest album The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions. In a concession to those fans, Jorge played a soft acoustic rendition of "Rebel Rebel" that had the audience clapping in unison by the end. However, those fans expecting to see an entire show of Portuguese language Bowie songs walked away gravely disappointed.

Jorge gears his show towards the audience that bought his poppish debut album Samba Esporte Fino (known as Carolina outside of Brazil) and his 2005 release Cru. Seated at the front of the stage, flanked by three other guitarists/drummers, the dreadlocked Jorge ran through a set of material from his wildly popular Brazilian albums. With just acoustic guitars and drums, Jorge had the sold-out crowd dancing and singing throughout the night. Midway, Jorge ceded the stage to his drummers who played a series of handheld drums. While entertaining to watch, similar drum solos can be seen on New York street corners by teenagers with spackle buckets.

As part of his summer tour, Jorge will return to New York on July 2 to play Central Park's Summer Stage and will likely create a more Carnival like atmosphere. Before returning, Jorge played in California for the Coachella Festival and will make it down to Tennessee for Bonnaroo. If you have an interest in Brazilian pop, you'll love his show. If you're hoping for a night of Portuguese Bowie, prepare to be disappointed.