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 yoko
ono in brasil 2007 | |||
Written by Johann Heyss Not even in my wildest dreams would I think
I would see Yoko Ono perform at the Teatro Municipal in São Paulo. But
some dreams do come true. That was my third Ono event.
First one was her gig at Summerstage, New York, back in 1996. Second one, the
Ex-It opening in 1998, when I had the chance to talk briefly with her, get her
autograph, give her my own CD and shake hands. The Teatro
Municipal de São Paulo is a very beautiful and not that huge theater as
compared with the Municipal from Rio de Janeiro, and it was quite full of people
although not actually crowded. There was a comfortable vibe going on, and most
of the people seemed to be either excited or at least interested in the performance.
Among them there were artists from all kinds and styles, some of them well-known
Yoko fans. However, there were few socialites who were there to see and be seen.
The first music in the event was a loop from "You".
My seat was just near the quite bare stage, and I could see Yoko very well when
she walked in wearing white pants, suit and hat. There was a projection of her
picture as a child - the same one on the backcover of "Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono
Band" -, a chair and a mike on the right side of the stage, and back on the
left there were a keyboard and some percussion instruments, some of them typical
Brazilian. There was also a mattress right in the middle and a "Play
it by trust" white chess-set by the border of the stage. First
thing she did was sending kisses to the audience. The she took her shoes off,
and her hat, then her suit, then her pants, revealing a black leotard. Her body
looks great and Yoko started her very personal style of dancing and interacting
with the chair. One friend who was also there wrote a report mentioned Madonna,
and I actually thought the same: her dancing and moving is something like some
underground-ageless-trans-Asian-Madonna sort of thing, and I mean good - I love
Madonna. Yoko left the stage and a picture of hers,
John and a 4 year-old Sean was projected on a huge screen. The keyboard player
started a tune I initially thought was "Is this what we do", from "Blueprint
for a sunrise", but it was another song from the same album; "Soul
got out of the box". Yoko sang it very beautifully and quietly in the beginning
and even her screaming in the end of the song sounded rather hearty than aggressive.
The percussionists, who were three, started playing
a heartbeat-like rhythm and I soon recognized "I want you to remember me".
A shocking black-and-white picture of a beaten woman was projected on the screen
and from the backstage we heard Yoko panting and saying "I want out, out,
ooooooout. You ungrateful bitch. I'm gonna throw you in a ditch". The Brazilian
percussion made me think of the Brazilian women who suffer violence from their
partners or other relatives in Brazil. I was sure that was what Yoko meant: to
make her message as local as possible, and the end of the performance would corroborate
my impression. She came back to stage wearing a white suit with a red blood-like
stain by the heart. She kicked the white-chess-set, spreading pieces on the edge
of the stage. When she ended crying "I want you to remember me, I want you
to remember me", many people were touched and she was enthusiastically applauded.
"Will I" was the next number. Just Yoko and
keyboards, one more moving performance. Many people on the audience flashed the
Onochord flashlights given away at the lobby and Yoko disappeared again. Now
her movie "Freedom" was projected, and after that we heard Yoko again
from the backstage doing a rather minimalist version of "Are you looking
for me". On screen now was a beautiful picture of a house on a countryside
scenario surrounded by a huge rainbow. She came back to stage once more to perform
a Brazilian-like version of "Rising": one of the percussionists was
playing the cuíca, with is used in samba and can surprisingly sound like
some of the typical Ono-moaning-mantra-chants. The duet between Yoko and the cuíca
was the most unexpected and pleasant thing I could never expect from her; what
a surprise. I felt lucky I was there to see it and pleased to witness such a unique
moment in Yoko's performance career. After leaving
the stage once more, Yoko crawled back to the middle of the stage in a white-see-through
bag, much to the audience's awe and surprise. After crawling back to the backstage,
the keyboard player started a sweet melody with sounds of wind and snow falling:
"Snow falls silent". Too bad it was a rather short version, I love this
song and can't wait to have a studio version of it. Unfortunately,
that was the last tune she sang. After that the band started playing a heavy and
tribal samba, Yoko returned to stage wearing a white boa and started doing the
samba in her very energetic peculiar way, and was much applauded. I wished she
did her Ono-shrieking along with the samba beat, but she didn't. However, how
could I complain? I was seeing Yoko Ono again, right near me, and then she started
flashing her Onochord again and throwing the white-chess
pieces to the audience. I got one piece. A friend was hit by a piece and Yoko
laughed and said "I'm sorry". Of course it didn't hurt. Yoko
also threw her white boa and I was going to take it, but for some reason thought
I was not supposed to and hesitated. Then she threw it again and a guy took it.
That was fine with me, I already got her autographed CD and two autographed postcards.
Yoko laid down on the mattress while the band was still
playing, then she got up, sent kisses and left the stage. When the band stopped
playing and left the audience started calling her name and asking for more. Yoko,
now wearing a "Berlin" coat and a hat, returned with the band, hugged
each one of the musicians, smiled and thanked everyone and then left the stage
for good - or for bad, depending on the point of view. Many people were clearly
delighted with the performance and wanted a bit more. Yes, it was a rather short
performance, but it was so beautiful and intense it was more than worth it. And yes, Yoko, you're a witch. That was a real magical evening.
Soul got out of the box
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