In the midst of a tour across the US, Caetano Veloso stopped for two nights in NYC, where he performed songs from throughout his career, focusing on his latest album, Cê, for packed crowds at the Nokia Theatre. "Lyrically, much of Cê is unabashedly carnal," says the New York Times. "Yet Mr. Veloso’s voice carries an abiding tenderness, and he sounded nearly as alluring on bitter new tunes (like 'Rocks,' a natural closer) as on vintage fare ('Sampa,' a natural singalong)."
In the midst of a tour across the US, Caetano Veloso stopped for two nights in New York City, where he performed Monday and Tuesday this week to packed crowds at the Nokia Theatre. Today's New York Times reviews Monday's "briskly energetic show," in which "the tensions between body and spirit" that Caetano has often explored over the years have become all the more present for the 65-year-old performer. At the show, he performed songs from throughout his career, focusing on his latest album, Cê. "Lyrically, much of Cê is unabashedly carnal," writes Nate Chinen in the review,
Yet Mr. Veloso’s voice carries an abiding tenderness, and he sounded nearly as alluring on bitter new tunes (like "Rocks," a natural closer) as on vintage fare ("Sampa," a natural singalong) ... At another point he found meaning in juxtaposition, starting with "Homem Velho," a poignant tribute to the nobility of old age .... Then came "Homem," from Cê: a defiantly lustful, Fellini-esque rollick.
Of course there was stealthy sadness in the chorus, which bears this English translation: “I am a man / Loose skin over muscle / I am a man / Thick hair in my nose." Somehow this was just the right complement to the last few lines of "Homem Velho," written more than 20 years ago and possibly truer now than ever: "But he hurts and shines / Unique, individual, a wonder without equal / He already has the courage to know he is immortal."
Read the complete review at nytimes.com.
