Os Mutantes bring the sound of revolution to the Earl

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In September of last year I had a chance to see Os Mutantes play a show at the Waiting Room in Omaha, Neb. The reformed faction of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s Tropicalia revolutionaries were on tour with their ’09 comeback record, Haih...Ou Amortecedor...; the first new Os Mutantes album in nearly 35 years. The group was touring as a larger ensemble than what I expected to see. It was a seven-piece band, and the original trio was represented only by frontman Sérgio Dias. The rest of the group was a mish-mash of mostly younger musicians. The duty of invoking ’60s psych babe Rita Lee’s crooning singsong parts fell on the lungs of a fiery young lady named Bia Mendes, who served up the original numbers with a little extra kick while truly shining as she breezed through the newer numbers. It all merged into one, seamless and mesmerizing whirl, and the show nearly surpassed the two-hour mark.

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For this tour a young lady named Esmeria Bulgari takes the female lead, and she’s actually been a part of the group for quite a while.

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Being that I’m not a Spanish Portuguese speaker I can’t help but wonder how much of the group’s rich, cultural irony and lyrical wit is lost on me. But despite the language barrier, it was still an awesome show.

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They were the Beatles of Brazil and they’ve been championed, even sampled, by everyone from Beck to Kurt Cobain, and yes, Devendra is a big fan too.

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It’s strange to think that such joyous music was born out of a time when Brazil was steeped in bloody revolution, and Os Mutantes shows were often raided as the group was deemed radicals and something of an enemy of the state. But for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and tonight’s show brings a piece of that cultural history and struggle, all wrapped in blazing, psychedelic washes of guitar, organ and barreling rhythms.

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Tonight they’re playing with Ariel Pink (who headlines) and Magic Kids.

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$15. 8 p.m. The Earl, 488 Flat Shoals Rd. 404-522-3950.