Image by Marzena Abrahamik
Brazilian Girls bring big sounds to Chicago
October 3, 2008, at House of Blues
By Lindsey Anderson
Published: October 6th, 2008 | 12:30pm
The Brazilian Girls visited Chicago for the second time in two months, playing to a half-capacity, but dedicated, crowd at the House of Blues on October 3. Following a somewhat lackluster performance at mega-huge circus fest Lollapalooza, the electronic indie-rock band proved its prowess in a more intimate, sonically sound setting than they did at the three-day spectacular in August.
Opening the show in sheer celestial form, leading lady Sabina Sciubba drifted across the dark stage around 8:30 p.m., flanked in what appeared to be nothing less than a skin-colored body suit covered with a pleated transparent curtain. Somehow, it totally worked.
As they cooed the audience into excitement, the Brazilian Girls started the night with “Strangeboy,” then shifted quite nicely into the popular hit "Jique" from 2006's Talk to La Bomb (Verve). Sciubba graciously involved the crowd each step of the way and said it was great to be back in Chicago as she gave front-row folks a chance at the mic. In talking about travel and where they’ve been, the Girls broke into “Internacionale” with an extended ending that felt more jam than practiced. Staying in the popular vein, they then cruised through “I Want Out” and new pleaser, “Good Time.”
After the recent release of their third album, New York City (Verve), the Brazilian Girls focused more on lounge music than on their fans’ favorite hard-thumping anthems. Live, however, the band didn’t disappoint — except for a slight misstep at the end. To address what looked to be a pregnant belly, Sciubba said to the crowd, “It’s not from beer!” and fell rightly into “All About Us.” The group finished the night with “Berlin” and “Ricardo” and bowed out to much applause.
On their latest disc, the Girls’ funky, head-bobbing song “Losing Myself” is catchy from the first listen. It’s one of those songs that make you start your day with a little bit of a strut. To my utter surprise, they didn’t play it, and their encore instead consisted of sleepy “Mano de Dios” and crowd-pleaser “Pussy.” A bit let down from not hearing my favorite, I was in line for the women’s room when I heard my sentiments echoed. “I wanted to hear ‘Losing Myself’!” someone shouted from four ladies behind me. “I know!” another answered, continuing with, “I mean, I love ‘Pussy,’ but we’ve heard it so many times! I wanted something new!” At least I wasn’t the only one.
But really, when it comes down to it, Brazilian Girls brought an enormous sound to the House of Blues and answered any questions I had about their live performance after seeing them at Lolla. They’re not a big-venue, middle-of-the-day type of band. They’re a small stage, loud bass, big sound, one-on-one type of gig. And not only did they succeed at staking that territory this time around, but they killed it doing so.
Issue #35
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