By Jason Bermingham
While playing a gig at Finnegan‘s Pub in the Pinheiros district, I met two Americans who were stuck in town because of a delayed flight. "Where can we go for good live music in São Paulo?" they asked. My thought was "What‘s wrong with this live music?" But I got their meaning - who wants to spend a layover in Brazil‘s biggest city listening to Bob Dylan covers?
Pressed for an answer, I realized I knew little about the São Paulo music scene off the pub circuit. So I got to asking around. Where do paulistanos go for a good gig? Here‘s what three locals in the know had to say.
 SIMONE KLIASS is a perky 31-year-old with a degree in business administration. She‘s lived in São Paulo all her life and comes from a musical family. Her father is a washboard player and founding member of São Paulo‘s Traditional Jazz Band. Albums by Milton Nascimento, Ray Charles, and Elis Regina can be found at her home. In 1997 she left a job at an advertising agency to pursue a career in acting. She landed a spot as VJ on CMT - Country Music Television. The channel eventually changed its name, and its focus, but Simone stayed on. A year later, she was hired by another channel (Multishow) to host a weekly music program showcasing Brazil‘s Top 10 Videos. She traveled frequently, covering music festivals in the United States and Europe. Recently, she has been busy recording for TV Cultura. It‘s not music, but she still enjoys a good gig when she can. The best part is I get to go with her. She invites me along because she‘s my wife.
JASON: The other night a couple of Americans asked where to go for good live music in São Paulo. I didn‘t know what to tell them. Where would you have recommended?
SIMONE: It depends on what they‘re into. My favorite place is Grazie a Dio. Good food and great jam sessions. The bar‘s up front - that where the bands play and the singles flirt. The restaurant is in the back - very romantic. Grazie a Dio is a good place go because whether you‘re alone or with a date, you‘re in for a good time.
GRAZIE A DIO
Rua Girassol, 67
Vila Madalena - (11) 3031-6568
website: www.grazieadio.com.br
Getting there: Take the subway to the Vila Madalena station, then a taxi.
Cover charge: R$10.00 (Monday & Tuesday) / R$15.00 (Wednesday) / R$25.00 with R$10.00 used toward food and beverages (Thursday) / R$20.00 with R$10.00 toward food and beverages (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).
The scoop: Live music every day. Styles include MPB, Jazz, Black Music - often improvised. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the bands start at 10 p.m.
 FÁBIO MASSARI is a lanky figure with the furrowed expression of a man who‘d rather be left alone. He gets bothered a lot because he knows more about music than practically anyone else in Brazil. From 1991 to 2003 he was a VJ for MTV. Those who consider music a religion call Fábio "The Reverend". During his decade at MTV, Fábio interviewed bands from around the world. When U2 was in town, there was Fábio on TV chatting with Bono and Larry Mullen. He‘s hung out with REM, Rush, Sepultura - too many bands to mention - and the experience has turned him into a walking search engine of music data. His reason for leaving MTV? He‘s devoting himself to writing. His first book looks at the music scene in Björk‘s Iceland. His forth-coming release is a collection of interviews recorded over the years. Fábio isn‘t an easy guy to track down, but he sometimes has lunch at a pay-by-kilo restaurant near Simone‘s parents‘ house. I ran into him there last week.
JASON: Hey Fábio, tudo bem? You‘re just the guy I needed to see. I‘ve got a question for you: where do you go for good live music in São Paulo?
FÁBIO: Try Espaço Urbano. not far from here. in the Pinheiros district. Lots of people. Great bands. You can‘t go wrong there.
ESPAÇO URBANO (or URBANO CLUB)
Rua Cardeal Arcoverde, 614
Pinheiros - Tel: 11-3085-1001
website: www.urbanoclub.com.br
Getting there: Take the subway to the Sumaré station, then a taxi.
Cover charge: R$30.00 for men and R$15.00 for women.
The scoop: Opens Monday and Friday. Holds about 800 people. Looks a bit run down during the day, but it‘s where those-in-the-know are said to hang out. If the wave has moved on by the time you get there, Vila Madelena is a just short cab ride away.
 MARCIO WERNECK is lead singer, instrumentalist, and producer of the São Paulo band Caboclada. He‘s also an actor (you‘ll see him on TV promoting Embratel 21 alongside Ana Paula Arosio). We met at a bakery this week, specifically so I could ask him about live music in Brazil. They‘ve got some really good cappuccino at this bakery, so we talked for quite awhile.
MARCIO: I started playing professionally back in 1987. The 㣴s were an important decade for Brazilian pop rock. That‘s when live music started to take off in Brazil. Remember the band Blitz? They were Brazil‘s first big pop band. Radio stations played their music and pop rock began to sell. When I started out, there were a lot of live music venues in São Paulo. Today it‘s harder for musicians to find a place to play.
JASON: Where does Caboclada play?
MARCIO: We play everywhere. Our music mixes different Brazilian rhythms with styles like pop, punk, and reggae - so we can adapt our sound to different venues. We played at a gay bar recently, adding an electronic back beat to our standard set. It turned out to be a great show. We‘ve played acoustically for senior citizens. We‘ve even played for kids at a school.
JASON: You work on TV as well - I‘ve seen the program where you travel around Brazil and study the culture of different regions. How did you get into that? And what city would you recommend for people who want to check out Brazilian music?
MARCIO: Actually, music led to TV. I had long hair and someone heard about a studio that was looking for a rock-and-roll stereotype to shoot a TV commercial. I auditioned and got the part. I cut my hair later on, but kept doing commercials. That eventually led to programs. About your question. when foreigners talk about Brazilian music, they usually mean samba. But samba is just one of something like 60 different Brazilian rhythms. Brazilian music has many influences - Portuguese, African, Dutch, even Arabic. One place you can go to get a sense of Brazil‘s musical variety is Recife. The city‘s music scene has grown a lot in recent years. Another place is Cuiabá, near Bolivia. There you‘ll hear an Andean influence as well.
JASON: How about here in São Paulo? As a musician, where do you go to hear good live music?
MARCIO: Bambu Brasil, in Vila Madalena, is the kind of place you won‘t read about in guide books. It just reopened, after being closed for ten years. Caboclada used to play there in 1993 and 㤂. It‘s an excellent venue for Brazilian music. A lot of people talk about Blen Blen Brasil - a more popular club in Vila Madalena. But Bambu Brasil is where people who are really into Brazilian music go for a good live show.
NOTE: For information on Caboclada‘s upcoming shows, visit their website www.caboclada.art.br. You can buy their latest CD (and other Brazilian music) at www.submarino.com.br.
BAMBU BRASIL
Rua Purpurina, 272
Vila Madelena - Tel: (11) 3031-2331
Getting there: Take the subway to the Vila Madalena station, then a taxi.
Cover charge: R$7.00 for men and women R$10.00
The scoop: Brazilian music - forro, samba, reggae. Live music Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday starting at 10 o‘clock. The place is sometimes closed for private events, so call in advance. Also, it‘s hard to find. Closely guarded secrets don‘t have signs out front, or websites. Look for the number on the wall. If the bar isn‘t your style, not to worry. You‘re in the heart of Vila Madalena. Take a walk around - there are many other live music options nearby.
Jason Bermingham works as a writer/musician in São Paulo, Brazil. If you enjoy Bob Dylan covers, send him an e-mail at jasonbermingham@uol.com.br. He‘ll set you up with a table at his next gig.
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