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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,
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
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
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 1980
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?
STANDS IN HIS WAY
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PHOTO/SHAMEEM PAKZAD
LUMINOUS POP. Gilberto Gil mixed classic
originals with covers by Bob Marley and the
Beatles
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The answer may lie at his feet: Gil, as pointed out before, didn't wear socks
That carefree attitude manifested itself in all aspects of 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.
practic
ront of a mirro
Confident and collected, Gil played as it
ring 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
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