Brazilian Diva Marisa Monte Heats Up The Vic

Marisa Monte performs live. (Credit: Leo Aversa)Marisa Monte performs live. (Credit: Leo Aversa)

Marisa Monte’s concert at the Vic Theatre Tuesday evening was in many ways a wildly exuberant two-way celebration by the four-time Latin Grammy-winning Brazilian singer and songwriter.

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It seemed to be a great liberation for Monte must have clearly had felt trapped throughout the two years of the pandemic when she was unable to tour throughout the world as she had done for decades. But it was just one stop in a 10-city U.S. tour highlighting her new album, “Portas (Doors).”

And for Monte’s wildly enthusiastic, packed-to-the-gills audience at The Vic, it was a joyful gathering of her huge fan base. It suggested, much to my surprise, that Chicago has a formidable and largely young population with deep Brazilian roots, as well as enough knowledge of Portuguese to at least understand the lyrics of her songs.

As a performer, Monte has a rich, superbly flexible voice and moves with the irresistible flair and grace of a samba dancer, with her arms and hips in perfect synchrony. She is a great beauty — at 54, and the mother of two children, she could easily pass for someone half her age. She is a true fashionista. And she deftly changed costumes four times during her two hours on stage, while in full view of the audience. She shifted from a glittery silver gown, to a robe-like white gown, to a voluminous-skirted black gown, and finally, to a glittery, translucent dress that revealed her leggy figure which was enveloped in a black bodysuit. Throughout, a golden crown adorned her head.

Monte often played the guitar as she sang, but primarily she was thrillingly backed by a phenomenal band of eight Brazilian superstars in their own right: bassist Dadi, guitarists Chico Brown and Davi Moraes, percussionist Pretinho da Serrinha, drummer Pupillo, and a brass section that included Eduardo Santanna on trumpet and flugelhorn, Antonio Neves on trombone and Lessa on flute and sax. She notably singled out each of these men and thanked all of them during the course of the show, easily finessing a natural connection between the performers and their audience. An elaborate use of projections, including a playful segment focused on dancing feet in various shoes, added another element to the show.

Now for the songs. If you were waiting for traditional sambas, you would definitely have heard the essential rhythm that made you wish you were on a dance floor rather than in a seat, but they came with a very pronounced pop overlay. The moods shifted slightly from song to song, suggesting feelings of entrapment, the pain of lost love, and the magic of nature. I only gleaned their meaning from a “cheat sheet” that had the lyrics printed in both Portuguese and English. But the general public did not receive programs or song translations.

Overall, a greater stylistic variety would have strengthened the program. And since sophisticated projections were used throughout, the addition of English supertitles would have helped greatly for those with no knowledge of Portuguese, even if they comprised a small contingent of the audience. That said, the audience at The Vic seemed to have arrived with every song on Monte’s new album pretty much memorized. And they were ecstatic throughout.

Follow Hedy Weiss on Twitter: @HedyWeissCritic


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