|
 The pair of singer-songwriters sat on a bare stage at
Stravinski Auditorium, each playing an acoustic guitar, but
without a back-up band, throughout the 100-minute concert that
included two encores.
They opened with "Back in Bahia", the northeastern region where
they are from, and played standards in Brazilian Portuguese
including "Tropicalia", emblematic of their influential movement
in the late 1960s that blends Brazilian and African beats with
rock.
Veloso and Gil, now 72 and 73, endured imprisonment by the
military regime as "subversives" before being exiled to London
in 1969. Decades later Gil became Brazil's culture minister
under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Billed as "Two Friends, a Century of Music", the sold-out show
was a highlight of the 49th edition of one of Europe's most
prestigious summer music festivals.
"It was incredible for me. It was very intimate, just two
guitars and two singers," said Gabriela Adao, a Brazilian living
near Geneva. "The atmosphere and quality of the music was great.
They picked the right songs."
Veloso put aside his guitar during "Marginalia", joining in the
vocals, and the duo teamed up for "E Luxo So", followed by "Sampa",
about the city of Sao Paolo.
[to top of second column] |
"Terra" (Earth), Veloso's song about seeing images of the earth
filmed from space, for the first time while he was in a prison, made
some in the audience cry. "Tonada de Luna llena" by Gil, about the
full moon, was also moving.
For their encore, they sang "Desde Que o Samba e Samba", ending the
night arm-in-arm on the famed stage.
The pair, who played in London two weeks ago, have dates booked
later this month in Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal before
returning to their homeland for gigs in August.
Duos have featured heavily in Montreux's line-up this year, led by
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, going "cheek to cheek" in a mix of Cole
Porter, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra and Edith Piaf to a sell-out
crowd spanning generations.
Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea team up on Thursday. The 16-day
festival ends on Saturday with a tribute to Paco de Lucia, the
Spanish flamenco guitarist who died last year at 66.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
