July 28, 2010, Trocadero, Philadelphia

Once again we take you down to Chinatown. This time we escape the smoldering fishmarket heat of late summer Illadelphi to the Troc for an oasis of sultry samba grooves provided by niche actor/budding vocalist, Seu Jorge (film geeks refer to The Life Aquatic & City Of God) along with his Brazilian-backed three-piece, Almaz. Seu -apparently pronounced Sur, though it’s unclear if it sounds more like Big Sur or Sewer in this idiomatic mess of a language we call English- entered the stage after a good hour build-up, prancing to his front-and-center spot after the Almaz Crew (drummer Pupillo, guitarist Lucio Maia & bassist Antonio Pinto) cued his arrival; Jorge immediately scooped up a flute and showed the audience he is a multi-faceted talent.

With the quartet/soundman conjuring up some psychedelic atmospherics (i.e., superb reverb), the boys from Brazil launched into cuts off their recently released self-titled album on Now-Again Records. The set of re-envisioned Brazilian favorites and experimental remakes is also cosigned by the Stones Throw braintrust. Jorge and the band found a groove early that got the Portuguese/Brazilian massive involved and the rest of the audience followed suit. 40-and 50-somethings freely pantomimed samba steps amid jam-banders who were busy removing their footwear and performing barefoot group gropes.

The set’s first third featured a satisfying mix of samba-styled baby-making music mixed with up-tempo rock overtures. The groundwork laid, they segued into their single, a remake of Roy Ayers’ oft-sampled/interpolated “Everybody Loves The Sunshine.” Casual fans had something they could sink their teeth into and the crowd undulated to the meditative vibes. An even more familiar arrangement brought it all together as Jorge et. al. revamped a very competent version of the late King Of Pop’s “Rock With You.”

Jorge freely switches from his native tongue (Portuguese) to English in his songs, combining the languages effortlessly in a pitch-perfect baritone. The mood of the music could best be described as Psychotropical, as the island themes and sonic impressions are dark and hallucinatory yet the ladies can’t help but sway their hips. The night reached its pinnacle as Seu re-hashed his Steve Zissou shtick, rocking a rather excellent version of Ziggy Stardust. An encore was called for but there were some rather grave matters to attend to so we hit the streets in search of a sitdown establishment nearby.

After noshing on beef skewers and Tsingtaos we made our way to my whip which was semi-blocked by the tour bus. To my surprise, nearly a full hour after the show, Seu was straggling on the sidewalk to a small throng of fans. We made our way over and I gestured to Jorge with a universal futbol thumbs-up. He was very gracious, vivacious and just preternaturally cool, joking with us for a few while my not-so-hype camerman snapped a few more flicks. Philly is far from Rio but Seu’s earnest performance, sincere talent and laid-back persona all made us feel like a Brasileno for the night.

images by Mighty Flipside, Esq.

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