One of the best things about traveling is the ability to reinvent oneself on the fly. In New York, I’ve become somewhat of a curmudgeon. After four years in town I’m not as filled with wide-eyed wonderment, or as willing to experiment. One consequence has been my declining intake of live music, a significant departure from the days when I would trek to the Bronx or Brooklyn to see African Hip Hop or grime rappers at a moment’s notice. Expensive drinks, snobby fans and long, late commutes home were just some of the reasons that come to mind.

Not so in Brazil. Last night I attended my third concert in two weekends; a pretty good streak. Last weekend I saw Seu Chico, a group from the city of Pernambuco who cover songs by Brazilian legend, Chico Buarqe.  The venue, Studio SP,  which bills itself as an urban art space and performance hall on Rua Augusta, had a nice blend of grit and posh, with an upbeat crowd.  Even better were the cheap drinks, such as the “busca vida,” which was a mix of cachaça, extra cane sugar and lemon juice.

Of course, the highlight was the band itself. In spite of the fact they played covers, or perhaps because of it, they had the crowd enraptured, singing along loudly with every tune. While the lead singer looked a bit bereft, the group’s 19-year-old pianist, Vitor Araújo, stole the show.

The young virtuoso, Araújo, makes frequent appearances on Brazilian television shows and has performed as far afield as the Glastonbury music festival. As he pounded out tunes on a Kurzweiler keyboard,  one hand furiously clutching his head, the other hand careened over the black whites as though he might fall off the rhythm at any moment. Those expecting him to lose a note were in for disappointment. His solos were an exhilarating mixture of classical influences such as Bach and Beethoven, with rock, jazz and Brazilian influences assaulting and delighting the senses in a single, overpowering barrage.

Friday and Saturday nights of this week, I went to rock shows at CB Bar in Barra Funda, Toy Lounge on Concolaçao. Nothing stood out about Friday’s performers. Pretty standard rock fare, with a crowd that could have been at home in Brooklyn as in Brazil. Black t-shirts, long hair and scruff were the flavor of the day, with a shot of Jack Daniels to wash it all down. I did, however, vibe with the surrounding neighborhood which reminded me a lot of San Francisco’s Mission District.

Overall, The concert-g0ing experience in Brazil has been indicative of my time here writ large. While the music itself was sung in Portuguese, the consumption patterns have decidedly American feel.  Last night I saw two very talented rock bands, Gangzila and Izi, who play pop punk not unlike Avril Lavigne. Oozing with stage presence and catchy, danceable melodies, I was swept by the feeling that if the music were sung exclusively in English, the groups I was watching would be smash hits. It’s the same way in the tech sector.

One problem that keeps arising in conversations with Brazilian technologists is that of immitative innovation. While a product or service may be new to the local market, most are clones of existing technologies from the U.S. and elsewhere that have simply been repurposed.

Examples abound, such as UOL, an early portal whose call letters are an abbreviation for ‘Universo Online.’ Sound like American Online? That’s because  UOL is also an ISP (Internet Service Provider), which is how AOL first gained popularity. One thing I don’t know is if UOL ever drew the scorn of Brazilians for mailing out trial disks by the millions. UOL did, however,  launch a social networking site called UOLKut in 2005, no doubt to skim users from Google’s wildly popular service Orkut.

If Web 1.0 was  about replicating the real world online,  Web 1.0 in Brazil was about replicating what worked in online in America.  Brazil’s heavy hitters in e-commerce and content are a lot like last night’s rockers: they do excellent covers of Michael Jackson and the White Stripes, but their original material consists of Portuguese versions of American radio hits.

I’ve never played in a band and I’ve never piloted a successful e-commerce platform, so I can’t disparage anyone whose success may be due to cloning an American idea. I’m sure it’s a lot harder than it seems, even if the concept has been proven elsewhere. The competition is always relentless once the rubber meets the road.  ( FWIW: I hung out with musicians from both groups after last night’s show and they were incredibly gracious)

While the standard bearers of Brazil’s Web 1.0  may lament the paucity of R&D conducted here, things are changing quickly. The important fact to remember is that innovation often follows imitation. Reverse engineering military hardware is one way that countries stay competitive in an arms race, and eventually develop solutions of their own. Araújo’s acclaim may stem from his work with a Chico Buarque cover group, but having seen him solo, I almost afraid of the original musical ideas floating around in his head. When he comes into his own, he’s sure to leave a lasting impression on music in Brazil and beyond.

Tech folks here fall into two camps. Fabio Akita, Marcos Tanaka and others with whom I have met have decades of experience running Web companies in Brazil.  Youngsters like Marco Gomes, Marco Vanossi and folks at The Hub have decades of experience using social media and may have remember glimmers of a time when they were without a computer of their own. The combination of hands-on experience and osmosis is sure to be potent.

The future of the Web has yet written. Fortunately, Brazil’s next generation Internet is in the hands of capable composers who care deeply about the finished product. Note by note and line by line, these visionaries are crafting a masterpiece from the shards of the present.  Brazil’s innovation typhoon is almost here.