Critic's evaluation
The clock struck 10:17 pm. The streets were empty, bathed only by the illumination of the streetlamps. Skirting the walls of the Honey Club, a small line of people formed. There was no commotion or any kind of frenzy. It was a calm linearity of people perceived only by the buzz of conversations coming from the small groups that were forming.
At 10:25 pm the queue began to move timidly into the concert hall. Inside, a large hall started to come alive with the presence of the paying people while DJ Kastro showed his pop, electronic, and, mainly, early 00's rap music.
With the house already full, but with empty spaces still asking to be filled, Kastro innovates the ambient sound playing music more in line with the style of the band that would soon perform. A long sequence of Brazilian hardcore served to heat up the engines and pour adrenaline into the bodies of all present while the stage came to life with the roadies coming and going, arranging the musical instruments.
At the end of Reggae do Manero, the time had finally come. At exactly 00:30, two and a half hours later than the organization had informed, Cali was on stage taking the stage with an introduction to Sobre Nós, the opening track. Filling the room with groove and swing, the song had the audience in an ecstatic pose watching the band perform with vivacity.
From there, the band followed with Cidade dos Anjos, their first single release. During its performance, the bottlenecks that still persisted near the band's band were considerably reduced. Part of the audience even dared to sing the verses of the chorus.
When the last chords resounded, Egypcio took the microphone again to make the first direct interaction with the audience. "Cali is a new band and to see people singing our songs is very good!", he said, slightly shy and giving the cue for the performance of the first single released from the upcoming album: the reggae rock song Lifestyle.
Taking the microphone again, Egypcio warned as if he was giving continuity to the speech previously started. "Just to warn you: we are an author band that came to promote the new national pop rock", he encouraged.
Received by the shouts of approval from the audience, the singer gave the cue for Leo Rota to introduce Sigo Na Promessa. With a part of the audience jumping and singing the verses and refrains, the song was the first high point of the night.
As usual, Egypcio then followed, before the next song, by introducing the band members: Bruno Graveto, drummer, Fouad Khayat, percussionist, Junior Slap Bass, bassist, and Leo Rota, guitarist. "Leo is the youngest guy in the band. To give you an idea, while we were in the back having tea, he was sucking lollipops", he laughed.
Longa Estrada, the next track, was another important moment of the show in terms of band-public bonding, with the audience clapping along with the percussion. But nothing compares to the reflective energy poured out by Honor. In a way, the lyrical message is so deep that, combined with the melancholic melody, it brought the audience to tears.
There were five more tracks scheduled in the setlist before the encore. And it was in the meantime that memorable moments of mutual complicity took place. It is true that Guitar Song gave the audience even more energy with its hardcore instrumental, but the surprises were the two unreleased songs played to the audience for the first time.
A Vida É Uma Lição and Tudo Que Eu Sempre Quis rebuilt the ecstatic torpor in the audience. As they were new and, according to Egypcio himself, had not even been played on the radio yet, the audience stood attentively to assimilate each note of the songs nominated to compose Cali's second studio album.
After the softened reggae Todo Mundo Chora, Egypcio again took the microphone. "Do you know that series La Casa de Papel? So, because of the requests, we did a re-reading of the theme song", he said as he pulled out a hardcore version of Bella Ciao, getting the audience off the floor and starting the final set of songs.
Hardcore E Festa was another big surprise of the night. Like A Vida É Uma Lição and Tudo Que Eu Sempre Quis, the song was another composition from the upcoming album to be released for the first time and that, surprisingly, was composed in partnership with Badauí. Not for less, the track has a strong hardcore punch that reminds a lot of CPM 22's vibe.
Closing the night, Cali relied on the option of re-presenting Lifestyle. Now with the audience already familiar with the lyrics, the group could count on a more active participation, which took the show to a close of reciprocal synchrony. At 01h37, with a photo of the band with the audience behind, the performance was officially over.
It was visible the faces of satisfaction and excitement that formed among the members of Cali. There was, of course, some tension as to whether the band would be well received or even if the audience knew the songs. But definitely, as their first show outside São Paulo, that is, away from home, the group was treated not as outsiders, but as locals.
First of all, the Honey Club offered enough space to hold an audience curious about the novelty that Cali represented for that May 12th night. Moreover, the structure of the house, in addition to the sound engineer's work, delivered an acoustic and an equalization that favoured Cali a clean and audible sound in all its layers. It was not overly loud. There were no squeaks. Just the synchrony.
And speaking of synchronicity, Egypcio, Graveto, Rota and Fouad showed a sharp interplay with Junior Slap Bass. As the last member to form Cali's line up, Junior had a double challenge: create chemistry and honor the legacy left by Lena Papini. The result couldn't have been any other.
The bass player delivered weight and a remarkable groove in each of the 16 songs of the set list. He fingered, he improvised. He put his signature on the songs. In his particular case, the bassist was proven to have earned his definite place in the quintet with Lifestyle, the first song he composed the bass lines himself.
The band paraded sympathy and musicality in a repertoire full of influences mixed in a stunning Brazilianness. It is the coastal breeze with the asphalt. It is the caiçara sun with the gray clouds. It is shadow and light. It is lightness and strength. Everything in the right measure to give even more strength to the Brazilian independent music scene.
As the second show of their career and the first away from home, Cali's performance at the Honey Club, despite leaving out songs like O Tempo and Estamos Em Guerra, showed that the band has weight, has swing, has groove. It has brasility, originality, and harmony. This is Cali: a band with character and family that messed up the sea.
