A Recap of Live @ 505’s 1st Birthday Celebration!
We couldn’t ask for a better Birthday celebration for our Live at 505 1st Birthday! The ‘Brazilian Love Affair’ was a hit and the various performances took us through all of the motions from love making to hearts breaking. Not only was the room filled with the beautiful sounds of Brazil, but the seats were overflowed with first time guests, family, friends, presenters and supporters who came down to celebrate a milestone for Live @ 505.
Whether sung in Portuguese or English, there was nothing to stop the streams of Brazilian rhythmic vibes from taking control of our souls. Matt McMahon stroked the keys, the double bass was strummed by Lloyd Swanton, guitar strings were plucked by Mick Stuart, the thumb thumping of the percussion by special guest Fabian Hevia and the ‘boom’ and ‘bap’ of Hamish Stuarts’ drums lead us into the deep realms of Brazil. Heads bobbed, bodies danced and feet tapped through the funky atmosphere and vibrating floors!
Starting the night off with her lovely vocals singing “Agua de Beber”, and her comical hosting as well, Virginia Lowe, kept the show running smoothly. Also keeping the mood in place were DJ Black Jack & Rafa on the 1’s and 2’s spinning smooth and soulful Brazilian tracks during the intermissions.
Entering the melodic tones of love Helen Fenton took us on a ride to ‘Somewhere in the Hills’ and then going ‘Non-Stop to Brazil’ during the second set. More fuel was added to the already blazing fire when the audience experienced Ben Fink’s self written song ‘Blessed’ featured on Eastside’s ‘Live at the Reservoir’ CD, the crowd was indeed blessed by his upbeat, heart racing beats and style of singing. During the second set, he entranced the crowd as he got down performing the song ‘Magalenha’ an unforgettable thrilling experience.
It doesn’t end there; next stop was special guest Anna Salleh with ‘Folhas Secas’ & ‘Noites Cariocas’ as one of the few songs her angelic voice sang in Portuguese. Susan Gai Dowling continued to sooth us singing the famous Brazilian number ‘Girl from Ipanema’ then in kept it hot with the song ‘In Summer’ in the second half.
One of our special guests Tiago de Lucca hit it off with the song ‘A Ra (J. Donatto)’ carrying a smooth jazz sound in addition to the tambourine finessed by another special guest of ours Sandro Bueno. The duality of Sandro’s percussion, Tiago’s voice along with the sizzling maestros of the band made the audience come alive.
The all star performance for the grand finale was exhilarating and piquant, so much that people hopped up out of their seats to dance—no soul in the room could resist the movement within their bodies.
The was no doubt in anyone’s minds that this was a ‘Brazilian Love Affair’ to remember! Happy Birthday Live @ 505!
The next Live @ 505 will be held on Thursday November 8, featuring The Joseph Tawadros Trio!