Daniela Mercury

The wonderful thing about Brazilian Musicians is that they are never boring. They size up the audience, and play to that audience. In this case, the turnout for the Greek Theater show of Daniela Mercury and the Brothers from Brazil was about a third of the Greek s capacity. I do not think total attendance was more than 1500 people. That was fine for us, as they upgraded our seats from section C to Section B. The side sections were closed as well, making this an intimate affair. We got there early enough to get free parking as well, so I was pleased even before the show started. I has had two opportunities to see the Brothers from Brazil beforehand at Molly Malone s, but due to the late start time of 11:00pm, I had to decline. I am sorry I had, because these two garotos were fantastic! Imagine a cross between Sergio Mendes, House of Freaks and Frank Zappa, and you get the idea. Both are talented singers and instrumentalists, on guitar and drums, and funny as all get out. These dudes should be on Saturday Night Live or Leno. This was my fourth time seeing Daniela Mercury in concert, having seen her twice at the Hollywood Bowl, and once at Royce Hall, UCLA. I have about six of her CDs plus one live DVD, so I am very familiar with her music. Daniela is one of the great three Bahia musicians along with Yvette Sangalo and Carlinhos Brown. She is also a UN cultural ambassador for Brazil, which allows her to travel a bit more than many of her Brazilian contemporaries, many of whom get caught up in the reciprocity agreements between the two nations. This show was a tour de force, as they opened with a mystical dance movement of an elemental nature. Daniela played her repertoire at the peak of her ability, plus she added several cover tunes from the likes of Ellis Regina, Antonio Jobim, and Milton Nasciamento. Ms. Mercury has such a body of work, that she could have played four five hours straight and not played her entire songbook. She has done what many Brazilian singers do when the come to the USA and that is to placate the middle of the road crowd. I believe that considering the nature of the audience, predominantly made of Brazilian nationals and their spouses, she could have stuck to her own material entirely, and all would have been pleased. But that is a minor quibble on an amazingly warm night in Griffith Park, with the Moon and Mars hovering overhead, and the tropical sounds of Brazil echoing throughout the theatre.

The presentation was everything promised, by you and by her Website. The attendance was, I would think, heartbreaking to Daniela. Nevertheless, she went forward with a show that reinforced my perception that she is one of the greatest performers ever. Despite the Greek being more than half empty, the crowd that did show was immensely with her and her entourage. Other than Sergio Mielniczenko and Patricia Leao on their respective broadcast and written outlets (plus your announcements), one would hardly have known Daniela was bringing this stupendous show to L.A. Certainly not even a hint came from the L.A. Times. What aggravates is the tremendous expense and energy needed to do a tour like this only to see such a sparse turnout. I would not miss any return of whatever she produces, but I would not blame her if she were to skip L.A. on the next go around.

Great show...dynamic, energizing...simply great. Brazilians who didn't know about the show are kicking themselves because she provides a show that can only be felt during Carnival. Location...great venue...sound...perfect. A friend from work went as well...her first time listening to the Brazilian Bahia sound...she is hooked. If you get a chance...do see her show....

The opening duo - brothers from Brazil - was a little over the top for us...but they had their moments. When Daniela started, we knew we had come to a party...and we didn't sit down the entire performance. Everyone was dancing all the time....at least I think they were cuz we were. We couldn't sit still. It was a lovely evening, the weather had cooled down, everyone was friendly but the crowd control wasn't particularly effective at times. We were jostled by some fans who had made their way down to Row A somehow and the crowd control folks kind of gave up trying to send them back to their seats. That could be improved on. But the music was very good and it was a very entertaining and fun evening at the Greek.

Great show. She played some Jazz, but most of her hits, which were great. Her last 2 songs have people going crazy!

Unforgettably amazing says it all. I hope we ge a chance to see Daniela back in 2012!

Everything about Thursday's show was fantastic--Daniela's every move, her revival of the Tropicalia movement in Brazil, the duet with Carmen Miranda, her dancers, the band, and her family on stage with her. Very Brazilian and yet international at the same time, Mercury mixes Axe', samba, techno, and bossa nova. She doesn't come to LA often--we need her to visit us soon.

She was just amazing - do not miss her. Go ready to dance

Daniela gave a superb performance as she has when I've seen her in the past. But the sound was horrible! We were siting about 10 rows back, dead center, on the floor, so the sound should have been great, but it was totally muddied. You couldn't hear the band well at all--it was a mess. I can't believe the SF Jazz festival and/or the Paramount would allow that to happen. Apparantly she used her own sound engineer, and a guy working at the Paramount said that maybe the sound guy couldn't figure out the Paramount's sound board, but that seems far-fetched. Would love to hear an explanation for it. It was especially frustrating because she was putting on such a good show!

In a time when music is synthesized and singers lipsync more often than not it is refreshing to see an real performance with a live band, non stop dancing, and amazing signing. Daniela brought her A game to the bay and I cannot wait until she returns.

Excellent performance! Great review of Brazilian music and dance plus Danielas originals. The whole audience was up and dancing during the first number!

Excellent show, sound, lights and music. A lot of fun, very enjoyable evening.

I had seen the show before in Brazil, but the warm night in the open air Greek Theater added to the enjoyment. It was not just a great musical experience but also a visual treat with great dancing both by Mercury and by her dancers.

Great voice, great performer, unbelievable energy. Fabulous dancers in great costumes and a great band. LOVED IT!

She is absolutely amazing!!!!! She is one of the few Bahiana singers that knows how to show how amazing our culture and history is through her art. Simply the Best!!!

Great show, great dancing, great dresses!! great music!! great everything!!!

ThIs show was off the chain spectacular - move over Shakira. Daniela's got it going on with her creative, energetic and brilliant choreography and a beautiful and strong voice. The show grabs you from the first song and the energy level remains high, uplifting and robust throughout the show. You wil have the time of your life.

Incredible energy, great music and wonderful, lively audience!

The best songs of Daniela Mercury (very similar song list to the Copacabana New Years' show). She has a ton of energy - she sang and danced non-stop for the two hour show. The dancers were very good and the musicians excellent. The Best Buy theater has an excellent sound system so every detail of the sophisticated arrangements could be heard.

I went with friends and family and we sang,dance,laught...we love it.