Flavia Coelho in concert at Ancienne Belgique – September 5, 2021 – RTL 2 –
Flavia Coelho in concert this week. Playing to a packed and wildly enthusiastic audience, one of the first since the Lockdown and the relaxing of restrictions on crowds at indoor venues in Belgium.
That massive sigh of relief and the overwhelming joy of getting back on stage and performing before a crowd of more than 60. That energy exchange that only comes between artist and audience, heightened by the sense that maybe the worst of this rotten pandemic is over – light at the end of the tunnel and all.
And Flavia Coelho is the perfect emissary for bringing love and joy to a starved audience – no question; everyone was glad and relieved to be there.
If ever there was an ambassador for Brazil and the Brazilian spirit, Coelho is it. Without question, she ambitiously but successfully marries a plethora of sounds, styles and cultures with ingenuity and individuality.
Rio de Janeiro-born Coelho is skilled in the art of adaptability, deftly dancing from genre to genre, emotion to emotion and culture to culture. It seems the world really is hers (as the album’s title declares). Perhaps what is most remarkable about this Paris-based singer is that she does not play the pretender; there is nothing tacky nor fraudulent about her music even when she interprets genres and styles that are culturally foreign to her Brazilian self, such as “Power of Money”, the gypsy/Balkan number. Coelho does not imitate or parody, but interprets genres and sounds in a unique way, with her own urban and very Brazilian brand of flair and emotion.
There is a tour starting within days, but it appears to be primarily staying around the continent. I suspect, once things open further and travel becomes easier between countries, there might be a visit from Flavia Coelho and her band to the states.
That would definitely be a cause for celebration.
But in the meantime . . .
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