Accompanied by his drummer, percussionist, bassist and guitarist, Kirá kicked off the 38th edition of the Festival Nuits d’Afrique with his guitar. A packed house awaited Manu Chao’s son at Club Balattou last night, his first visit in the city. “Are there any Brazilians in the room?” he asks.
“I’m happy to share this with you,” he says in English. Unlike many concerts given by Brazilian artists, this one had a diverse, multi-generational audience. He alternates between his two latest albums, Semente de Peixe and Olho Açude, one more introspective and the other outward-looking.
The audience started dancing very early in the concert, and the longer the show went on, the harder it was to stay seated. The backing vocals were provided by the percussionist and guitarist, while the bassist kept a low profile. Sometimes, in the same song, we had a complete change of rhythm, sometimes mixing reggae with baião or maracatu. We were treated to some breathtaking guitar solos before listening to the track Mar Mangão. “Here, we go to the sea, to the east coast of Brazil,” he explains before the track.
It’s during the 2nd half of the show that he reveals his stage presence, particularly when he puts aside his guitar to dance. The Balattou stage was clearly too small for Kirá’s dancing.
“We exist thanks to you, so thank you for making us exist, for making us play, for singing, for being alive with us,” he confided between songs.
There was a good sense of synergy between the musicians, and Kirá often interacted with them during the show.
“We’re going straight to Bahia,” he says in Portuguese, before leaving his guitar aside and going wild on stage. He gets the audience jumping, doing dance moves, asking them to get down on the floor and jump up again, which they do with great pleasure. He thanks the crowd in French, Spanish and Portuguese, switching languages from song to song. He takes time to thank all the musicians, the sound technician and the Nuits d’Afrique festival, to the applause of the audience.
“This is the last song, we need your maximum energy,” he asks before playing his latest hit Bota Pra Rodar. “This song is crazy in Brazil,” he tells us, before continuing with a couple of more rocking numbers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back in Montreal very soon, and this time in a larger stage where he can move more freely.
Photo Credit: Nuits d’Afrique
