Caetano Veloso Rocks Out
The closest American equivalent to the 65-year-old Brazilian music legend Caetano Veloso would probably be Paul Simon, who's 66. Like Simon, Veloso is a celebrity equally at home in folk, rock, and various international styles, whose career took off in the late sixties and early seventies before blossoming in various interesting directions thereafter. (Unlike Veloso, however, Simon has never been imprisoned by a military dictatorship, as Veloso was in 1968.)
You could even imagine Simon tossing his comfortable band aside in favor of a tight young rock trio, which happens to be what the immensely more prolific Veloso has opted for on his recent album, "Cê," and in his current tour, which came to Manhattan's Nokia Theatre Monday night.
Veloso's earlier appearances have usually been elaborate, almost theatrical presentations, with the singer indulging his cheerful flamboyance amid string sections, samba drummers, and horns—all under the musical direction of his longtime arranger, Jacques Morelenbaum (whom Veloso referred to at the Nokia as "the man who made me unafraid of music"). That's all missing this tour, however. Veloso bopped around the stage with only a slightly ironic twinkle in his eye, waved to friends in the VIP section and slapped every palm extended upward from the floor when he wasn't playing electric guitar. He performed virtually all of "Cê," an album containing songs about spiky relationships and the occasional regret: "I only envy longevity and multiple orgasms," he sings in "Homem" (Man). Veloso couldn't avoid playing a couple of crowd-pleasing ballads on acoustic guitar, and it was also great to hear the trio, which consists of musical associates of Caetano's son, Moreno, play stripped-down versions of Veloso classics such as "London London" and "Desde Que Sampa é Samba." Jagger and McCartney had better watch their backs.
Catch Veloso if you can Nov. 23 in Tampa, Fla., or Nov. 24 in Miami.