written by Maja Jakic
29 September – Sergio Salvador – Living Room Concerts
Sergio Salvador took us on a simple yet complex journey last Friday night merging music, lighting and storytelling. The evening was an artistic roller coaster where the music and feelings were visualized. Sergio proved to be yet another amazing edition to the Living Room Concerts performance roster..
It was clear from the start that Sergio takes his audience seriously.
The doors opened, people started entering the intimate setting and Sergio did not hesitate to put himself out there and began greeting his guests (soon to be fans) with a warm welcoming smile and thoughtfully prepared flyers with the setlist and his musical background. And just like that, he won people over, by making them his friends first and music critics the second.
Sergio’s close relationship with the audience continued throughout the performance. He told them about the origins of the songs and often asked for feedback. It was almost as if he was using the audience as his muse and inspiration for new material in future songs to come.
The addition of lightning was a matter of a great importance to Sergio. He installed his own equipment and played with the effects and colours. It was a concert where the sounds, the lights and the voice became one. It wasn’t just about hearing and feeling, it was taken to another level where this playful change of lighting allowed us to visualize emotions. The lights were following the rhythm but also the dynamic of the songs which gave a new dimension to the performance without having to sacrifice the focus that was on the vocals and the lyrics.
Sincere and transparent but also mysterious … Sergio was accompanied by clarinetist Carlos Gutiérrez who in certain moments helped to create the spiritual and liberating vibe that had us all in a state of wonder.
The concert was more than music, it was an opportunity to have a moment with ourselves and think about our relationship with ourselves in the context of what he presented. It was an introspective and cathartic experience if judging by the abstracted faces in the room.
The culmination was certainly the introduction of the two songs that had an important impact on the artist. Eterna, as Sergio presented, expresses the desire not to lose what’s dear to oneself. He didn’t however, reveal who the song was about but rather encouraged the people to have their own interpretations. The second song, Mamihlapinatapai, is of Chilean origin and as he explained, it comes from Yaghan language describing the look between the two people wanting to start something they both desire but none of them has a courage to do. This heated up the atmosphere in the room and gave the perfect closure for this musical treat.
In the words of Sergio Salvador, his life is a search for the right connection between the music and the world around him … and that Friday night, he successfully managed to find that magical connection and bring his music closer to all of those who came to see him.
