Carlinhos Brown is a phenomenon. Since the 1996 release of the highly acclaimed "Alfagamabetizado," he has been a prominent figure on the world music scene and compared to everyone from Prince, for his intriguing mix of musical styles, to Bob Marley, for his charismatic stage presence. At his show Aug. 23 at Shibuya AX, Brown lived up to the hype.
Carlinhos BrownDressed in long, flowing garments, he had a large crowd of Brazilian music lovers not only doing the standard audience-participation routine -- clapping, dancing and joining in on the chorus -- but also whistling, humming, playing soccer and singing "buggla-buggla-buggla-buggla-boo-ba-ba" with wild abandon. Brown's personal appeal and his band's crisp musicianship drew the audience right into the music. He played us like, well, like one big drum.
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