On Sunday, Caetano Veloso made his Toronto concert debut, and the Globe and Mail takes the opportunity to weigh in on the ever-evolving performer it calls, approvingly, "a master of 'all is not what it seems.'" "The music of Cê in itself is prime Veloso in trickster mode. It's rock music that's a poke in the eye of 'rockism,' the elevation of certain rock music to exalted elite status ... But the music, whether audacious and driving or achingly melancholic, and from whatever period of his prolific songbook, was unfailingly stronger for any inherent contradictions." In advance of tomorrow night's show in Pasadena, the Los Angeles Times has published a profile of the performer examining how he has maintained what may be "the most varied career of any '60s icon."
This past Sunday, Caetano Veloso made his Toronto concert debut, and today's Globe and Mail takes the opportunity to weigh in on the ever-evolving performer it calls, approvingly, "a master of 'all is not what it seems'" and "a trickster." (The latter is a particularly interesting choice of words, given that composer John Adams has used it to describe some of his own work.) And those tricks are no trifle. Caetano is, above all else, according to the Globe and Mail,
a creator of inverted notions of what it is to be alive and able to express that life through song—and of the meaning within the songs themselves. Back in the (Tropicalismo) day, he was famous for it ... Now, nearly 40 years later and in his mid-60s, he's still exploring the realm of contradiction and clearly enjoys having an audience that will happily follow him through the strands of that double helix. On Sunday ... a full house enthusiastically went wherever he took them, from old favourites to songs from his most recent recording, Cê.
On the new album and in concert, Caetano's unfailing ability to both play with and move beyond cliché expectations shines through:
The music of Cê in itself is prime Veloso in trickster mode. It's rock music that's a poke in the eye of "rockism," the elevation of certain rock music to exalted elite status ... But the music, whether audacious and driving or achingly melancholic, and from whatever period of his prolific songbook, was unfailingly stronger for any inherent contradictions.
Next up, Caetano heads to California with stops this week in Pasadena, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco. In advance of tomorrow night's show at the Pasadena Civic Center, the Los Angeles Times has published a profile of the performer. Writer Elijah Wald examines how Caetano has continued to excel in a culture and profession so geared to the young, maintaining what may be "the most varied career of any '60s icon."
Further supporting the concept of Caetano-as-trickster, the singer tells Wald that the sound for Cê evolved from an inside joke of sorts he developed while working with his son Moreno and guitarist Pedro Sá, both 35, who co-produced the album: "We would create a repertoire, invent sounds, and I would hide," Veloso says in an interview with Wald. "It would be a secret thing, like those guys in England did, the Gorillaz, and we would do it as an experiment, as if it were a new band."
The Times article points also to the juxtaposition of this record with Caetano's previous Nonesuch release, A Foreign Sound, from 2004, in which the Brazilian legend put his own spin on classic tunes by an older generation of songwriters, including Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and the Gershwins. "So in a way," writes Wald, "that album and this one have allowed him to confront his own maturity from opposite directions."
To read the Globe and Mail Toronto concert review, visit theglobeandmail.com.
For the LA Times preview of tomorrow night's show, visit latimes.com.
For complete tour information, click here.
