Gal Costa still silvery

Caught Gal Costa at the Arsht's Knight Concert Hall Thursday night, and so glad I did. Even though I don't speak Portuguese (speaking Spanish is not that much help), her voice was enough to enjoy. It may not have quite the pure, soaring shimmer of her youth, but there's a warmth to her famous silvery tone now that made her singing seem both luminous and deep. At 64, she's still a diva, coming out in a silky colorful caftan kind of thing, her smile still spectacularly wide and illuminating. I have to say, I was jealous of the sold-out, mostly Brazilian audience (which looked fabulous, everyone, whether 20 or 60 something, seemed comfortably chic in their own way, the kind of hip, cultured crowd I liked to think would fill the arts center) - they sang along with almost every song, happily carried away. And I finally got why Girl From Ipanema is a hit; Costa made it so in-the-moment-nostalgic, so dreamy, sensual, and longing, that it finally stopped seeming a bossa nova name-drop cliche and became a perfect capture of a moment by the beach. Alas, here I am blogging it, instead of drinking caiparinhas by the waves.