happy tropics : gilberto gil at UCLA
If you grew up in France, you probably know Gilberto's music without knowing that you know it. Back in the 80s, the most popular DJ on NRJ radio used to play the first few bars of 'Palco' as his show's main jingle. Everyday after school one could hear Gilberto's joyful, syncopated intro scat at time index 00:43-01:00. You know, pa pa pa pa-paya pa pa pa pa paya... The song is Palco, on Luar. It is an infectious song about freedom, about Luanda and Bahia, about performing music, about eternal fire, about catharsis.
A few years ago I had the chance to see Gilberto's alter ego, Caetano Veloso, perform in San Francisco. Caetano charms and seduces the audience with his suave moves, his sense of drama, his clear and pure voice. Gilberto on the other hand is all raw charisma. His sheer power of conviction is even more perceptible when he plays solo. He catches the audience by the throat and does not let go, increasing the pressure with every song. When the show finally ends, everyone is left breathless, exhausted, in shock.
That was pretty much the feeling last saturday. We looked at each other in disbelief, wondering about what had just happened to us, what did he just do... It was not some kind of sneaky magic trick. It was neither fleeting nor atmospheric, as some concerts can sometimes be. No. It was powerful. It was wild. It was magnetic. It was freakish. Especially when Gilberto began to channel Bob Marley at the end of the set, singing No Woman No Cry.
It was a poetic tour de force of the first order. He started lightly. After a couple of tunes, he did a mischievous cover of When I'm 64. He was daring and fearless in the way he reinterpreted some of his most beloved songs - Drao, Metafora, Aquele Abraco, Marina, Pela Internet... People often joined and sang along. At times it was very intense.
And then, Gilberto summoned the spirit of Bob Marley and unleashed it on the unsuspecting audience. This is an incredible power to wield. Only the most accomplished performers can actually raise the dead like that, and let themselves be inhabited for the duration of a song. I can only think of one or two artists alive today who can do it - Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan (on a good day). Miles Davis could do it and tease it out of his band, day in and day out (just listen to Zimbabwe, on Pangaea - now that's a truly demented piece).
We got out of it completely spellbound. We made our way through the dark and deserted alleys of the campus (it's Spring break right now). Smells of flowers hung in the cool air. It was very silent. I felt awake, strangely awake, like I had not felt in a long time. It was like falling in love. I felt compelled to do something to keep that feeling from fading away, to carry it forward. So here it is, to my blog, with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment.
Now, for the brainier side of it all. Gilberto Gil is not just a poet and a performer, he is also a musical innovator, an internet pioneer, a prophet of the digital age (as well as Brazil's current Minister of Culture). [more to come]
File under the "Only in LA" rubric : early in the performance Gilberto dedicated Metafora to two of his very dear friends in the audience, Quincy Jones and John Perry Barlow... He also gave a shoutout to Sergio Mendes, who was sitting somewhere in the front. Indeed I saw people rushing Quincy Jones on his way out. I thought I spotted Leon Ware, too.
A funky anecdote : on the frontispice above the stage in Royce auditorium, one can read a very odd (and quite pompous) pronouncement etched in the stone:
"Education is learning to use the tools which the race has found indispensable"Reminded me of who built UCLA. Well-meaning, early 20th Century liberal eugenists. Ugh. America is a harsh place.
