Monday 17 April 2023

Bill Callahan - Theatro Circo, Braga, 15.04.2023.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/João Vilares

In A State Of Deep Contemplation


words & photos: João Vilares; editing: Raquel Pinheiro

Bill Callahan takes to the stage accompanied by Matt Kinsey (guitar) Jim White (drums) and Dustin Laurenzi (saxophone) for what thesecond concert of his European tour - ranging April 14th to 27th and in addition to Lisbon and Braga includes Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Rennes, Paris, Lille, Brussels and Amsterdam, in a total of 13 shows.

The completely sold out spectacular Theatro Circo’s Main Hall, in Braga was the perfect atmosphere for what Bill announced: "As we're coming out of dreams/ And we're coming back to dreams", from the chorus of First Bird.

The motto was set for the script of an American folk story about simple people in a wild land where poetry and overwhelming love are in the most mundane things and therefore so easy to get caught up in the feelings that are also, after all, of our own.

Without ever introducing himself or any member of his band and parsimoniously interacting with the audience, Bill Callahen made it clear that he was there for the music and that his extraordinary voice, the details of White's jazzy drums, the almost psychedelic solos of Laurenzi's saxophone and the perfection of Kinsey's guitar were more than enough of a business card. If it was!

Predictably, Bill Callahan has mostly gifted us with songs from his latest album, Reality (2022). There was, however, room for other more or less inescapable themes of his discography, like Cowboy (Gold Record, 2020), Small Plane (Dream River, 2013), Drover (Apocalypse, 2011) or, already in the encore, the beautiful Too Many Birds (Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, 2009), not before visiting Smog in Hit The Ground Running (Knock Knock, 1999) and Keep Some Steady Friends Around (Rain On Lens, 2001).

Natural Information served as a farewell to Portugal and, despite the inevitable feeling of missing one or another song, it did not prevent getting us "in a state of deep contemplation".

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/João Vilares
© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/João Vilares





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