The Tireless Titãs

If you're discussing Brazilian music in 2023, you have to talk about the Titãs. The São Paulo band didn’t release a new album, but the ‘Titãs Encontro’ tour was undoubtedly one of the major events of the year.

Alongside the other fantastic shows throughout the country, it served to prove that fans, new and old, were eagerly awaiting the chance to see the band again, with almost all its original members on stage.

Formed in 1982 amid São Paulo’s bustling college scene, the group started with nine members. Ciro Pessoa, on vocals, was part of the Titãs for a short time before leaving. With their first album released in 1984, the following lineup was established:

Although ‘Televisão’ has plenty of merit, something about it failed to fully convey its value to the public. Produced by Lulu Santos, the album only had two hits: ‘Insensível’ and the title track.

The following year, however, showcased the strength of the Titãs. Together with producer Liminha, they recorded and released the album ‘Cabeça Dinossauro,’ undeniably one of the most significant releases of Brazilian rock of all time.

It included singles of the caliber of ‘Família,’ ‘Bichos Escrotos,’ ‘AA UU,’ ‘Polícia,’ ‘Homem Primata,’ and the neo-concretist ‘O Que.’

Their collaboration with the producer lasted for three more albums: ‘Jesus Não Tem Dentes No País Dos Banguelas’ (1987), ‘Go Back - Ao Vivo Em Montreux’ (1988), and ‘O Blesq Blom’ (1989).

This was a time of consolidation, success, and experimentation for the Titãs, which the band would never replicate.

In the 1990s, the group began a slow process of fragmentation. The first to leave was Arnaldo Antunes, citing a lack of space for his compositions and artistic desires.

He participated in the self-produced ‘Tudo Ao Mesmo Tempo Agora’ (1991), but was no longer with the band for its successor, ‘Titanomaquia,’ recorded two years later with the collaboration of the American producer Jack Endino.

‘Domingo,’ released in 1995, still had Endino as producer, but like its two predecessors, it struggled to deliver hits and replicate the band’s success of the previous decade.

However, the subsequent years took the band to a level never seen before, even during their best days in the 1980s.

With the recording of the album ‘Acústico MTV’ (1997), which featured their participation in the MTV Brazil show of the same name, the Titãs reinvented themselves by reinterpreting their most iconic songs in unplugged versions...

...and revealing some new songs, such as ‘Os Cegos do Castelo.’

This wave of success continued with their next album, ‘Volume Dois’ (1998), where they expanded the acoustic versions and scored a huge national hit: a cover of ‘É Preciso Saber Viver’ by Roberto Carlos.

While these two albums resumed their partnership with Liminha, the next two, ‘As Dez Mais’ (1999, composed only of covers) and ‘A Melhor Banda Dos Últimos Tempos Da Última Semana’ (2001), brought Jack Endino back as producer.

During the recording, tragedy struck: the death of guitarist Marcelo Fromer, hit by a motorcycle. Nando Reis, unhappy and citing a lack of space for his songs, also left the band.

From that point, the Titãs struggled to recapture their best moments. Albums like ‘Como Estão Vocês?’ (2003) and ‘Sacos Plásticos’ (2009) showed a group in search of a new direction.

Charles Gavin left the Titãs in 2009, citing exhaustion, while Paulo Miklos also left in 2016 after the release of ‘Nheengatu,’ a vigorous and heavy album. The remaining trio, Tony Bellotto, Branco Mello, and Sérgio Britto, continued to be active and release albums.

They created a rock opera entitled ‘Doze Flores Amarelas,’ which was also staged. And they released ‘Titãs Trio,’ a series of digital EPs with new reinterpretations of their acoustic reinterpretations.

Given such an illustrious history, having the entire band on stage, with all its original members, in 2023, was an answer to the pent-up demand for hits.

Not surprisingly, the setlist chosen by the group features songs written and recorded up to 2001. Regardless, the audience always gets what it wants.