Documents from Gilberto Gil's Private Archive

ABOUT ALUMNI DISPLAY ADS CLASSIFIEDS ETHICS JOBS PRINT RSS SPORTS RSS REVIEH SCITECH Today's Column Prepare To Be Chalked Scott Lucas March Madness cilts 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 THEDAILY CALIFORNIAN Front Page THE DAILY CALIFORNIAN 2000 1999 Before 1999 NEWS SPORTS OPINION Gilberto Gil doesn't wear socks. He also doesn't have a backing band. In fact, at his March 25 show at Zellerbach Hall, the intimate nature of both the stage (two guitars, one stool, a glass of water) and Gil's conversational manner with his captive audience belied his 40-odd years as one of Brazil's biggest musical legends and (since 2003) its Minister of Culture. Brazilian Pop Legend Plays Minimalist Greatest Hits Set Tropicalia Pioneer Gilberto Gil Treks Through 40 Years of Melodic Pop at Zellerbach Hall BY TYLER MCCAULEY Contributing Writer Monday, April 2, 2007 Playing to a sold-out audience of affluent, adoring middle-class aging hippies, Gil covered nearly his entire catalog, including material off his just-released Gil Luminoso album, with quips about writing certain songs with fellow Brazilian songwriters such as Caetano Veloso and Joao Gilberto. The hushed, beautiful numbers were showcases for Gil's guitar playing, which showed a dexterity and virtuosity that defied his age, and his beautiful tenor, often employing an impeccable falsetto. The crowd was held captive, mostly silent during Gil's slices of bossa nova and fingerpicked tropicalia, eagerly complying with his requests for audience participation via claps, whistles and sing-alongs. One could talk about the crowd, the setlist, or Gil's stage banter-but at the center of the night was his carefree attitude toward being a musical legend Although he played a number of hits and a fair amount of new songs, Gil chose a number of covers, including the Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four" and two songs ("No Woman No Cry" and "Everything's Gonna Be Alright") by Bob Marley. The Berkeleyans attending the concert showed enthusiasm for these FM staples, responding especially well to the cover of "No Woman No Cry," a hit for Gil when he covered the song in 1980. NOTHING STANDS IN HIS WAY EXCEPT YOU Gil's early catalog is filled with revolutionary, experimental songs that still resonate today, like the psychadelic "Bat Macumba" and "Panis Et Circensis," recorded with Os Mutantes. His co-writer for these songs, Veloso, released an album this year, Ce, that followed in these early experimental footsteps, recording an album that relished in reinvigorating his adventurous beginnings Gil's new material, however, seemed content to follow his hits and well-known covers with breezy melodies and light accessibility. Gil ended each song with a triumphant strum that made each number seem like a victory, Gil smiling broadly afterwards. With such a rich back catalog, why would he be content to play such well-known material while his contemporaries push the artistic envelope? 300,000 ACTIONS TO SAVE 300,000 SEALS www.stopthesealhunt.org REVIEW PHOTO/SHAMEEM PAKZAD LUMINOUS POP. Gilberto Gil mixed classic originals with covers by Bob Marley and the Beatles View Printable Version Leave a Comment (0) Trackback (0) E-mail to a Friend Recent Articles from this Writer TaylorMade providing water solutions to Northern California homes and businesses since 1972 Ovo WATER SYSTEMS COFFEE & TEA WWW.TAYLORMADEWATER.COM The answer may lie at his feet: Gil, as pointed out before, didn't wear socks That carefree attitude manifested itself in all aspects his Zellerbach show, from his song choice, to his stage demeanor and yes, to his choice of footwear. Just as Bob Dylan did by appearing in a Victoria's Secret commercial last year, Gil seems content to rest on his laurels as a musical legend and go with the flow. Is it so bad, like Dylan with Modern Times, to give the people another album of the persona they already know and love? It's interesting, in fact, that he played "When I'm Sixty-Four" at the show-written by Paul McCartney, the idyllic look at old age as rest and contentment is perhaps an insight into how the now-64-year-old Gil sees himself, musical legend or not. Confident and collected, Gil played as if he were practicing in front of a mirror or playing a few numbers to his close friends. Although younger fans might scratch their heads at Gil's apparent ease, as the Beatles number goes. "You'll be older, too." And you probably won't wear socks, either Shed your socks with Tyler at arts@dailycal.org get clogged. THE DAILY CLOG BEST BERKELEN where can you find the best pizza in berkeley? vote today at dailycal.org/best NOTHING STANDS IN HIS WAY 300,000 ACTIONS TO SAVE 300,000 SEALS ACT NOW! www.stopthesealhunt org XIFAW Sponsored Resources Diamonds