Seu Jorge performed at L'Olympia on May 31, as part of a concert tour dedicated to David Bowie. It takes up the themes of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Wes Anderson's fourth film released in 2004.
It is the character of Pelé dos Santos who appears on stage, in sky blue uniform and red cap; it gently recalls the famous oceanographer Cousteau. In a magical atmosphere, the singer played his songs acoustically: Bowie's original songs covered in Portuguese.
The Life Aquatic presents the crazy expedition of Steve Zissou (brilliant Bill Murray) – and his crew – in search of the ultimate discovery that could brilliantly seal his career as an oceanographer. In the film, Seu Jorge is the foam of the Belafonte: during the musical sequences, he is isolated on the boat and strums his guitar to the tunes of Bowie bossa nova version.
Following the death of Bowie in January 2015 and his father three days later, Seu Jorge decided to tour this album of adaptations Original Life Aquatic studio sessions released in 2005. He will perform again on June 11 at the Parc Floral in Paris at the We Love Green festival, and will continue his tour in Europe and the United States until the end of the year.
That evening at the Olympia, Seu Jorge offered us a concert of infinite beauty, the audience seemed carried by his voice and by the captivating chords of Bowie's compositions. He sets the tone starting with the poignant Ziggy Stardust and then continues on Changes and Oh you pretty things.
The singer punctuates the evening with anecdotes in French. He humorously recounts the day the crew of Wes Anderson's film contacted him. While playing video games, his wife answers a call and the caller on the phone asks if Seu Jorge is familiar with Bowie's repertoire. At the time he said he only knew This is America and Let's dance but the bet was launched: he accepted the project!
Once in the legendary studios of Cinecittà for filming, the idea germinates not to take the songs to the word, but to adapt them, "to keep the spirit rather than the letter". Bowie said these covers raised his songs "to a new level of beauty."
During the hour and a half of show, Seu Jorge chains masterpieces: Rebel, Starman, Rock n Roll Suicide, Space Oddity or Five Years. The communion with the public is superb and thanks to the saudade of the pieces, it is easy to imagine sailing with him on the pontoon of the Belafonte.
Once he returns to the stage for the encore, the silence of the room then turns into a hubbub, the tongues loosen and everyone tries to improvise as best he can. Our only regret tonight is not mastering the Brazilian: we would like to improvise all night.
See you this Sunday, June 11 at the We Love Green Festival to attend his concert!
