“Cambiemos el color de la amargura
Sembremos puro amor sin pestañear
Sin temer a reír hasta la locura
Nada es más hermoso que vivir con valor”
Evoking a showmanship akin to the Rat Pack of the 1960s, Adán Jodorowsky was bigger than life on stage at the Beat Kitchen during the Chicago stop of his tour across the States. Jodorowsky is currently in promotion of his newest album, Esencia Solar, heading to Mexico, and beyond, this March.
With an array of uplifting sounds – ranging from tropi-folk, classic rock and even bossa nova – Esencia Solar shines a spotlight on the sheer bliss of making music, the kind inspired by this thing called life, and the essence of a man’s evolution as he experiences its glorious transformations. “It vibrates with light”, he explains to Catalina Maria Johnson, in an interview for NPR, “… and that’s why it’s titled “solar essence.”
Esencia Solar’s 14 tracks break slightly away from Jodorowsky’s last recordings (2014’s Ada, a fun dance-off to electro-pop) though the French-Mexican artist continues to evoke that profound love of life, with that characteristic presence of eternal hope.
Esencia Solar beautifully radiates the essence of a man who’s found peace through sharing his vulnerabilities in song.
In the song Alion, his legacy and pride is clearly felt in the folksy rhythm as he sings to his son, “How much love I have for you, Alion…” adding, “How beautiful it is to discover the world through your eyes.”
“Cuanto amor siento por ti
Alion, hijo del alma
Desde que te vi nacer
El corazón me canta
Por ti siempre viviré
Nutriendo mi esperanza
Que belleza descubrir el mundo
Por tu mirada”
All photos by @carofotos9
When it comes to his on stage performance, all this writer can say is, wow… enchanting!
On stage at Beat Kitchen, Jodorowsky didn’t hesitate to call out his fans to ask for more, diving energetically from one hit song to another, while nourishing his performance off the almost palpable energy of his fans. And, it’s fairly easy to be mesmerized by his performance, and such talented musicians he surrounds himself with, as his musical appeal is highly contagious. That, along with his innate ability to make the entire room swoon with the quick twist of a hip, or the bluesy twang of his guitar, had him handling the Chicago audience like silly putty in the palm of his hands.
It was also great to see him speak up against the – unbeknownst to some folks ‘sense of nationalism’ – as some in the crowd went wild when he mentioned his Mexican mother as he was about to sing a bolero. “Being from one place or another doesn’t make one better or worse. We’re all human beings,” he quickly responded, calming them down. (Please note that’s not verbatim but simply the essence of his message.)
As he was ending his set, he couldn’t help but ‘Ozomatli’ his way through the crowd, making love to his guitar with his adoring fans surrounding him. As his bandmates left the area, he headed back to the stage, mentioning the fact that there isn’t a back stage area for him to come back from for an encore. So his fans willingly began to chant “¡otra, otra!” and he quickly acquiesced with a silly grin. The fact that he ended his set with some blues, fit only for Chicago, was the additional cherry on top of this excellent performance.
Aside from creating this new album and touring, Jodorowsky has also been releasing videos for his newest singles, beginning with the Natalia LaFourcade collaboration, Vivir Con Valor, and most recently debuted this video for the song, Color Café.
“El amor ya lo pensé
Es como el café
Ahora que lo probé
El antojo se me fue
Y ya me cansé del café
Y ya terminé
De su olor me olvidé
Recuérdame el sabor que tiene”
Thanks to Rock Sin Anestesia, who put together the show, the audience was also offered a glimpse of Chicago talent with the addition of Kelroy and Divino Niño who seemed the perfect fit to warm up the stage for this one-of-a-kind performance.
PS – Here’s a super cute clip of Jodorowsky catching our photographer Carolina as she was attempting to get on stage to take photos from behind the band. LOLsies on this one! Watch it here.