Bumbershoot Review: Os Mutantes

Jonathan Cunningham

It's good to know that not every psychedelic rock band from the '70s is stuck in the past. Os Mutantes just played a really solid throwback set where the music was all tightly woven and the band's lead singer, Sergio Dias, had full command of the stage just like you'd expect him to. The Brazilian freak folk/tropicalia band slammed through a long list of hits that kept the crowd rocking and dancing the entire time despite the language barrier. Of course they played "A Minha Menina," "Technicolor" "Baby" and the singalong favorite, "Balada do Louco" but my favorite part was hearing them play "Bat Macumba"--a song that really helped define what tropicalia is all about. It was good to watch Dias, the lone remaining member of the original Mutantes lineup, smile so much as it was evident he still loves to play. There was a smattering of Brazilian transplants singing all the words, but even if you don't understand Portuguese, Os Mutantes make songs that you can groove to and feel, which is what good music is all about.