Gilberto Gil is everywhere on the cruise whose main attraction, Navio Tempo Rei, is. Bahian only performs on Tuesday (2nd) and Wednesday (3rd), but he and his work have already been present in every corner of the ship – on posters, totems, in surround sound and even on stage – since Monday (1st).
Navio Tempo Rei, part of the farewell tour of one of the big names in Brazilian popular music, travels from Santos to Rio de Janeiro between Monday and Thursday (4). The boat left port shortly after 6 p.m., when the cruise program began. The first day saw performances by Gilsons, Nando Reyes and Jorge Vercillo.
The 18-deck hull has swimming pools, a theatre, casino, cinema, gym and several bar and restaurant options. The massive ship resembles a hotel in its cabins, but it’s easy to get lost in the maze of corridors leading to the attractions.
Apart from more than 1,000 crew members, the flight carries about 4,000 people, which is practically full. Children swam and played in the pools even during performances on a stage upstairs, with a mezzanine featuring boxes and VIP spaces.
The Gilson family, a trio consisting of son José and two grandsons, Francisco and João, from Gilberto Gil, opened the cruise program. They played at sunset, when the ship left Santos and some people weren’t sure whether to look at the stage or the scene next door.
The audience naturally consists of people from the upper classes, and the cost of the cabins starts from R$4,698 per person, excluding food, drink and other expenses. Many people did not know the band’s repertoire.
The Gilsons showcased the repertoire of the EP they released in 2019 and their only studio album, as of 2022, with smooth, well-executed MPB songs. The set included “Algum Ritmo,” “Devagarinho,” “Alecrim,” and “Love Love,” which has amassed tens of millions of plays on streaming, and a cover of Novus Payanos’ “Swing de Campo Grande.”
But the audience only reacted at the final stage, when they brought out their biggest hit, a rhythm version of “Várias Queixas”, originally recorded by Olodum. They also sang two sambas – “Eu e Você Semper”, written by Jorge Aragão, and “Alguém me Avinu”, written by Doña Ivoni Lara – before invoking patriarch Gilberto Gil.
Francisco Gil remembered his mother, Britta Gil, who died this year, and whose name the audience sang, and he began performing the song “Balco.” The music was a reminder of why everyone was there – the ship seemed to shake more than usual as the crowd danced and sang Jill’s song.
Tropicalista is everywhere on the ship. In addition to his totems and images, he is remembered by masters of ceremonies – one of whom is Airy Johnson – and his songs are widely played in elevators, corridors, entertainment venues and restaurants.
“She’s one of our biggest references,” Francisco said backstage at the event after the show about his mother. “People talk a lot about pressure, about defending a legacy, but the truth is we learned a lot from her generation, from what she did — not just on the road or musically, but our reality and how things work within this family.”
Before going on stage, Nando Reyes said Bound who, through a generation, had managed to break the paradigm—composition was not an exceptional matter, a refinement far removed from life. “Not this distance (from life), you don’t need to be a stranger.”
He remembers watching Gil perform on the “Luar” tour in 1981 at the former Sesc Pixinguinha – now Sesc Consolação. He said that on the floor below the presentation, there was a photo presentation that featured the tropical player playing soccer.
Nando said: “I had a bit of an epiphany there, I said: ‘Damn, Gil plays football.’ “He was extraterrestrial even then. I thought: If he plays ball, maybe I can play. He is a human being.’ She, though exceptional, is able to identify essential human characteristics.”
Nando later performed an entire show dedicated to his well-known songs in his or other singers’ voice. This was the case with “Dois Rios” and “Resposta”, famous for Skank, “Segundo Sol”, “Relicário” and “Luz dos Olhos”, with Cássia Eller, and “Onde Você Mora”, with Cidade Negra.
It was a performance that highlighted the successful side of Nando Reis, who read the environment he was in. He did not sing to an audience of fans, and almost non-stop showed off his most famous works – including songs from the Tita era, such as “Marvin” and “Cegos do Castelo” and solo songs, such as “Pra Você Guardei” and “Por Onde Andei”.
The show was characterized by strong winds as the ship crossed the sea, and some raindrops fell on the ship. But nothing bothered the thousands of people on the main stage of Navio Tempo Rei.
At the end of the show, Nando left the stage to the sound of an EDM (electronic dance music) remix of Alceu Valença’s song Anunciação. The master of ceremonies also reminded those present that the ship had a casino and bingo, in addition to a party that lasted until the early hours of the morning.