Review Mon Mar 16 2015

Brazilian Girls Treated Thalia Hall to a Dance Party

By Julian Ramirez

It's been quite a while since Brazilian Girls have released an album together. Last year we got a little taste of the band through lead singer Sabina Sciubba's solo debut Toujours. But it's coming on seven years since New York City, the last album Brazilian Girls released together. It's strange not having the group's eclectic dance music buzzing around or a steady stream of their unbelievably fun live shows. Sciubba has a knack for combining theatrical antics to Brazilian Girls' performances. After years of random appearances, Brazilian Girls have finally returned in earnest. Last week, they foursome made a stop in Pilsen at the magnificent Thalia Hall with a few new songs and a promise in tow.

DJ Zebo came out to warm up the crowd and really hit it off. The past few DJ openers I've seen have seemed to fall into the easy and traditional ways of getting crowds going, placating the crowd with recognizable club hits from the last decade. Even when they try to match the vibe of the night, it has come off strange. Zebo avoided these pratfalls and dropped some genuinely interesting tracks. It was a welcome change of pace as he maneuvered through songs with a furious escalation. He never overdid it, instead opting to match the atmosphere of the perpetually growing crowd. His set went on for well over an hour and every second of it was electronic bliss.

There was no intermission filled wandering around and getting drinks between sets. Instead the crowd was met with a moment of duality as Zebo's set lead directly into the Brazilain Girls'. It was a seamless transition, noted only by the cheers that echoed out as the male members of the band came to their spots. Aaron Johnston drummed shortly in sync with Zebo's final track, making way for keyboardist Didi Gutman and bassist Jesse Murphy to start up "Jique". The short sequence could barely prepare the crowd for Sabina Sciubba, coming out in a puffy white top with a stoic mask on the side of her head. She flowed her way to the mic like a siren, ready to capture the crowd

Sciubba danced around and played up the mask with seductive glee during "St. Petersburg". She really treated it like a second face, caressing it from time to time before tossing it out to the audience. She had a fantastic demeanor throughout, joking with the crowd after nearly every song. Crowd ate it up and joked along with her, throwing money on stage as she demanded more. She directed stage lights at random, asking for them to lower or completely go off within moments notice. "Talk to the Bomb" started out in the complete darkness she requested before the lights slowly rose to a bright florescent purple. It was a spectacular presentation as the intricate walls of Thalia Hall became illuminated. Sciubba led the song into a couple new ones. She made it clear that there would be more Brazilian Girls songs coming revealing to the audience that the band had just finished working on a new album the previous evening.

The final four songs of the evening genuinely received the biggest and most grandiose reaction. Sciubba requested for the lights to go down yet again and began pointing out to the front of the crowd. The opening notes of an ever familiar melody started up as she asked a girl to come up on stage. The sultry instrumentation of "Pussy" rang out as more members of the crowd motioned to be let on stage. The "more the merrier" stage direction of Sciubba resulted in a mad dash of people jumping on stage, dance along to the song. Brazilian Girls became engulfed by the adoring fans as puffs of smoke were passed around amongst the group on stage, practically in tune with the song's chants of pussy and marijuana.

As the crowd dispersed and tried to return to their spots, Sciubba asked for the lights to go down yet again. A very different version of "Don't Stop" quickly emerged that had Sciubba grooving frantically in the dark. It was a darker and more brooding sounding song that built up to a familiar high. The crowd boiled over with excitement, matching the enthusiasm of the previous song.

Brazilian Girls returned to the stage by laying themselves down on the floor, urging the crowd to reignite them. The lights fluttered as the band slowly began rising. The escalating music came to fruition as a very different composition of "Me Gustas Cuando Callas". The song's instrumental base was slowed and made more deliberate that its original version and the Pablo Neruda lyrics sputtered out of Sciubba with rapid purpose. Even with the vastly different pace the song held the elegance that the original song. Sciubba turned the mic to the crowd to carry the oohing of the chorus. It was easily the song I was most anticipating and it was performed with all the poise it deserved. The night came to a close with the French sung "Sirè Nes de la Fête", leaving Chicago hopeful with the earlier promise of more Brazilian Girls in the coming year.