Dates & Venues: September 10, 2012 @ Nublu and September 12, 2012 @ Bell House
Concert reviews by Matt Cole
After announcing their breakup in 2011, the multi-lingual, multi-genre band Brazilian Girls has reunited and is working on new material and playing some shows, to the delight of their rather devoted fan base. In early September, they played a pair of weeknight surprise shows in New York City: on Monday the 10th, they tore it up at Alphabet City’s Nublu (where they first came together 9 years ago), and on Wednesday the 12th, they rocked the house at Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
For a band that is often described as “(insert at least 2 adjectives) pop,” Brazilian Girls’ music is quite sophisticated and complex. They are among the best at integrating loops, computers, and live performance; rather than playing along with the loops, they bring them in an out like an extra instrument. This was apparent at both shows, as many of the (non-new) songs were stretched out from their album versions, with keyboardist Didi Gutman doing a masterful job of weaving loops in and out of the rest of the mix, and drummer Aaron Johnston laying down essential beats with, not over or under, the loops. Bassist Jesse Murphy manages the neat trick of playing bass lines that are both solidly propulsive and interestingly fluid at the same time. Singer Sabina Sciubba‘s wonderful jazzy voice, fluent in five languages, completes the sonic picture; and her quirky outfits and intelligent, tongue-in-cheek demeanor add to, rather than distract from, the band’s vibe. Though from disparate backgrounds, musical and otherwise, these four make up a unified whole which is greater than its already talented parts. As the enthusiastic crowds demonstrated at both shows, it’s very difficult not to dance (or to not dance?) when Brazilian Girls is playing.
Both shows had similar set lists and durations (1 ½ to 2 hours), with the Nublu show having slightly fewer songs, and somewhat more stretched out performances. Each show featured five newly written songs, all of which are quite catchy and show that the band has picked up where it left off in terms of creating together. The fans at both show seemed to enjoy the new material, and we were all glad to hear that the band has been at work in the studio on these (and other) new tracks. The crowded Nublu show also included, “Sirenes de la Fete,” “Corner Store,” and of course “Pussy,” which featured ex-Skatalite and current David Byrne horn man Clark Gayton on trombone. Despite only having around 8 songs, the set still lasted at least an hour and a half and kept the crowd energized pretty much the whole time.
Brazilian Girls @ Bell House
The Bell House show featured the above, plus “Good Time,” “Lazy Lover,” “Don’t Stop” segueing into “All About Us,” and a sans Sabina (she was breastfeeding her newborn; between them the members of Brazilian Girls have had seven children in the last few years) encore of a couple new dance songs “Sirenes” in particular benefitted at both shows from the extended treatment that it got, and the smooth segue between “Don’t Stop” and “All About Us” was yet another demonstration of how and why Brazilian Girls is an excellent live unit in addition to putting out great recordings. Reed man Peter Apfelbaum joined the band at Bell House on a couple songs, playing flute on the reggae and Balkan-inflected “Corner Store,” and adding tenor sax to “Pussy.”
With two fine, energetic shows in two very different venues, the Brazilian Girls showed that they are a musical force to be reckoned with, and that their creativity is as strong as ever. If they can continue riding their wave, their best days are still ahead.
Brazilian Girls @ Brooklyn Bowl
