Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Daniela Mercury
"Santa Helena"
Sol da Liberdade
(RCA International, 2000)
Washington Post, Friday, October 21, 2005; Page C02
Brazil's carnival invaded Lisner Auditorium for two hours Wednesday -- and somehow the man next to me slept through most of it. Daniela Mercury, the queen of axe -- a high-energy blend of samba, house music and just about anything else funky -- boogied and sang for two hours, joined every hip-shaking step of the way by boisterous Brazilian nationals who helped sell out the room. Little Nemo missed quite a party while he was in slumberland.
The 40-year-old Mercury looks like a petite version of Demi Moore, but her nonstop dancing recalled the young Madonna -- with a much better voice. Mercury ran around the stage for 120 minutes with only a handful of short breaks, yet her singing never faltered and she never sounded short of breath. Meanwhile, I became winded just standing up during the second song, "Maimbe Danda," which is when Mercury's Brazilian fans leapt out of their chairs and jammed the aisles to sing and dance to the Afro-Brazilian techno stomper.
Security guards soon cleared the walkways, but there was no way to keep the audience in its seats; Mercury and her music wouldn't allow it. The persuasive performer often made eye contact with fans near the front, urging them to get off their keisters and shake it. Late in the concert she was even able to coax a late-term pregnant woman back on her achin' feet. By the time of the encore songs "Vide Gal," "Olha o Gandhi Ae" and a medley of "Rapunzel" and "Maimbe Danda," the audience had jammed the aisles again and security just let it go. You can't stop the Brazilians; you can only hope to contain them -- or not, because it was impossible to resist the ebullient mood Mercury and her 10-piece band created. Unless, of course, you're a narcoleptic. --Christopher Porter
Buy some Daniela Mercury.
Posted by CP | Link |
