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The Capital Times, Feature >>
Jorge sizzles in powerhouse show
By Rob Thomas
Tuesday would have been an excellent night for the Wisconsin Union Theater to send out its seats for a cleaning. Because while hundreds paid for their seats, few actually used them.
Instead, the audience spent the night on its feet to see Brazilian superstar Seu Jorge and his powerhouse band unleash an electrifying and highly danceable show. The Latin rhythms and soulful vocals provided an ideal summer soundtrack for the young crowd (tickets for UW students were a steal at $10) packing the front of the stage.
And yet to focus just on the physical energy of Jorge's show would shortchange the many colors and shades that he brought to his 105-minute set, a real musical feast of different styles and moods.
Jorge may be best known to American audiences as an actor ("City of God" and "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou," for which he famously sung David Bowie songs in Portuguese), but that may change the more people discover his music.
Jorge apparently left his red "Life Aquatic" toque at home, opting to appear simply on stage in a white long-sleeved T-shirt, faded jeans and white tennis shoes. The basic athletic attire soon became apparent as the four-piece rhythm section delivered a formidable array of Latin rhythms, from a sinuous samba to a sly shuffle. Jorge strummed his acoustic guitar and curled his rich baritone around the songs, his dreadlocks flopping to and fro as he danced in place.
At the midpoint of the show, Jorge grabbed a towel and left the stage, giving the rhythm section a chance to shine. Dancing and laughing as if they were on a street corner instead of a stage, the players spanked and shook their tambourines, evoking complex rhythms you wouldn't expect such simple instruments to be capable of. Does anyone in town provide tambourine lessons?
Then Jorge came out solo, and performed three Bowie songs from the film on acoustic guitar. It's amazing how easily Jorge makes the songs his own, turning the late-night rabble-rousing "Rebel Rebel" into a wistful early-morning reflection, or teasing out the fragility in "Life on Mars" or "Ziggy Stardust." Songs that we thought we knew by heart suddenly became strange and wonderful again.
Between songs, Jorge told a very funny story about how he was playing Sony PlayStation when "Life Aquatic" director Wes Anderson called him, asking him to record a bunch of Bowie songs for the film. (Jorge's imitation of Anderson's nasal, rat-a-tat voice was classic.) Jorge protested that the only Bowie song he really knew was "Let's Dance," but agreed to listen to the older Bowie songs Anderson had in mind. And he fell in love.
"I hear this music, and it's so beautiful," Jorge told the audience. "Simple and sophisticated at the same time. Now I absolutely love it."
The rest of the band joined Jorge for an energetic full-band finish, during which Jorge danced with abandon. The band members ran around the stage, laughing with their arms outstretched as if they were children pretending to be airplanes.
It was a fitting final image for an artist whose joy in making music, no matter if it's based in traditional Brazilian rhythms or '70s British rock, allows him to soar.
French-born musician Jehro got things off on the right foot with his opening set. Jehro seems to treat the Atlantic Ocean as a mere tide pool, connecting the coolness of French jazz with the warmth of Caribbean island rhythms in a way that seemed both innovative and inevitable. 06/28/06 >> go there
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