Quick guide to finding music in Rio

by request from several people, Kathleen's quick guide to:
WHERE TO SEE MUSIC IN RIO!


Sources of info:
- Every day, check www.lanalapa.com.br to see what's on at the music clubs in Lapa. Look for the "Programação" link for today's listings.
- Keep an eye out for the big posters on walls for major shows
- Buy "Veja Rio" at newstand & and check the listings for big-name acts.
- Doublecheck LIESA (League of Escolas-de-Samba) website for changes/cancellations in the Sambodromo rehearsals. www.liesa.com.br
- Check Gisele's great website at tdsounds.com.br. She keeps a very nice list of escola rehearsal schedules & locations
- Bloco shows & parades are also listed at: http://oglobo.globo.com/blogs/blognarua/
Some good blocos to look for: Bangalafumenga (funk/samba), Monobloco (funk/samba), Carmelitas, Empolga as 9, Suvaco de Cristo, Mulheres de Chico (new all-girls' bloco, very cool arrangements & play well), Rio Maracatu, Afro-Reggae, Escravos de Maua, Quizomba.
Also check websites of Bangalafumenga, Monobloco, Rio Maracatu (www.banga.com.br, www.monobloco.com.br, www.riomaracatu.com, look for "agenda") for shows & parades.


REGULAR WEEKLY GIGS
My personal favorites are (not a complete list; my top picks are starred)

Monday
*Samba/pagode: Carioca da Gema in Lapa, great band on Mondays

Tuesday
*Choro: Trapiche Gamboa, Praça Maua - fantastic choro on Tuesdays
Escola: Sao Clemente technical rehearsal at around 9pm
Escola: Grande Rio technical rehearsal, very far
Escola: Viradouro technical rehearsal, very far
GR & Viradouro have HOT baterias but are hard to get to.
Sao Clemente is new kid on the block but quite fun, easy to get to.

Wednesday
Pagode: Teresa Cristina & Grupo Semente, superb, every Wed at the Centro Cultural Carioca
*Escola: Salgueiro technical rehearsal, R$35 taxi from Ipanema
Escola: Portela technical rehearsal
Escola: Mocidade technical rehearsal, in Padre Miguel (very far)

Thursday
*Escola: Unidos da Tijuca street rehearsal near Praça Maua
Then go to Trapiche Gamboa for some nice pagode or choro afterwards.
Escola: Beija-Flor technical rehearsal in quadra. Absolutely fantastic, the champs, but very far (in Nilopolis)
Escola: Vila Isabel technical rehearsal

Friday
*Sambodromo rehearsals usually 7-11pm. Check www.liesa.com.br for schedule.
*Escola: Sao Clemente, at midnight after the Sambodromo rehearsals. Super easy to get to - across Av. Pres. Vargas from the Correios building, very close to Sambodromo
Escola: Portela. A great escola but harder to get to. In Madureira.

Saturday
*Sambodromo rehearsals from 7-11pm
Escola: Take your pick. Saturday's the big Party Night for most escolas.
AVOID MANGUEIRA during January. It's packed beyond belief and you won't see a thing.
Recommended escolas for Saturday: Unidos da Tijuca, Salgueiro (both are in Tijuca), Imperio Serrano or Estacio (both currently in Grupo A but are excellent)

Sunday
*Sambodromo rehearsals from 7-11pm
Many escolas have their technical rehearsals on Sunday, including Mocidade, Grande Rio
Escola: Imperatriz in the evening, supposed to start around 7pm but it really started at 9pm when I was there.
I heard that Mangueira has a tech rehearsal Sundays at 7pm; not verified.
Last year Grupo B escola Alegria da Zona Sul rehearsed Sunday at 6pm on Copacabana beach near Posto 6. Very easy to get to and they will let any decent player play along!
*Pagode: Bip Bip in Copacabana. But you can't really see or hear much or sit down, because it's so teeny.



MY FOUR FAVORITE CLUBS for pagode and small-group stuff:
Music usually starts 11pm or midnight

Carioca da Gema
One of the first clubs in Lapa, a classic little place. Very small. If you want a table get there at 9pm and have dinner there. (I like their soups & they make my favorite caipirinhas too!) Music starts around 11pm or so. Right in central Lapa a couple blocks from the arches. Cabbies know where it is, or ask anyone on the street.
Monday nights they always have the incredible singer Rhichah with an awesome little band of Paulao Sete-Cordas, mostly Mangueira players, playing escola instruments but in a pagode-style setting & anchored by the incredible Paulao himself on 7-string guitar.

Rio Scenarium
Probably the most interesting club in Rio. Fantastic decor, 4 stories of rambling floors full of old antiques. Even your friends who aren't into music can find stuff to look at here. Often a line out the door late at night.
Rio Scenarium is considered to be "in Lapa" but is actually down a side street (Rua do Lavradio) several blocks, almost at the Praça Tiradentes.
About a R25 cab ride from Copacabana
Budget transport: Take any bus that says "Lapa" or "Praça Tiradentes". Getting back: walk back to the arches and grab a combi (minivan).

Centro Cultural Carioca
AOn a corner of Praca Tiradentes. Great ambience, second floor.
I've never seen a bad show here. Often classic samba, and sometimes amazing innovative northeast bands or jazz type stuff.
Doublecheck what's on at www.centroculturalcarioca.com.br. They also run dance classes during the day.
Arrive early if you want a table. This place fills up.
About a R25 cab from Copacabana
Budget transport: Take any bus that says "Praça Tiradentes". Getting back: walk back to the Lapa arches and grab a combi (minivan), or look for a night bus from the Praça itself.


Trapiche Gamboa
Cool, elegant club, lovely decor, just a couple yrs old
Excellent choro on Tuesdays, great samba Wed, various good acts on weekends
www.trapichegamboa.com.br
Rua Sacadura Cabral 155, perto de (near to) Praça Maua.
Transport: About a R25 cab ride from Copacabana. Usually can get cab fairly easily back.
Budget transport: Look for bus that says "Praça Maua". Also fairly easy to catch bus back at night, from Praca Maua or walk 1/2 mile to Central bus station.

ESCOLA SORTED BY EASE OF ACCESS:

EASY (can use public transport)
Sambodromo rehearsals (Fri, Sat, Sun) - can take metro
Sao Clemente - Close to Sambodromo, across street from Correios building, Fri midnight
Unidos da Tijuca street rehearsal (Thurs), ~9pm-midnight, take bus to Praça Maua

MEDIUM: (About a R40 cab ride from Copacabana)
Mangueira
Imperio Serrano (Grupo A but fantastic bateria. Known for quad bells)
Salgueiro
Unidos da Tijuca (except Thursdays when they're closer)
Estacio (Grupo A)
Portela

HARD: (70-real cab ride or more, and more than an hour, one way)
Mocidade - Brits & Germans often have minivans going there on Sat,
Grande Rio - iffy neighborhood, only go if w/somebody who is in the escola
Viradouro - across the bay in Niteroi
Porto da Pedra
Beija-Flor - in Nilopolis. Definitely worth the trip on a Thurs but it is an odyssey.
... for these escolas, always arrange with the cabbie to come pick you up late at night.

SAMBODROMO WARNING
The Sambodromo's fun but watch out for SERIOUS pickpocket danger. Assume that any backpack or bag will get ripped open. Gringo guys: don't put anything in your shorts pockets. Put your cash in a money belt; or tie your room key around your neck and down your shirt; and don't bring a credit card. It's ok to bring cameras & sound recorders but tie it all very obviously to your wrist, and keep a tight grip on them at all times. I've never had anything snatched out my hand, but have been pickpocketed several times.