Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens.
Branka, Bojana, and I arrived at the place we had imagined it would be.
And it was.
We were waiting for him.
The magnificent David Byrne.
We waited, waited, and finally he arrived.
Night had fallen. Then, like the blue night itself, he and his army of blue musicians came onto the stage.
An ovation. It hadn’t even begun. People were screaming.
We were all happy to be there.
And then, suddenly, everything became quiet.
We heard just his voice and suddenly, we found ourselves in
H E A V E N
Everyone is trying
To get to the bar
The name of the bar
The bar is called heaven
The band in heaven
They play my favorite song
Play it one more time
Play it all night long
Heaven is a place
A place where nothing
Nothing ever happens
Heaven
Heaven is a place
A place where nothing
Nothing ever happens.
then:
- Everybody Laughs
- And She Was
- Strange Overtones
- Houses in Motion
- T Shirt
- (Nothing But) Flowers
- This Must Be the Place
- What Is the Reason for It?
- Like Humans Do
- When We Are Singing
- Independence Day
- Slippery People
- I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party
- My Apartment Is My Friend
- Air
- Psycho Killer
- Life During Wartime
- Once in a Lifetime
- Everybody’s Coming to My House
- Burning Down the House
“An Ending (Ascent)”
Then we all left the Stavros Niarchos Foundation carrying the sun in our smiles. There was no need to talk. Everyone was rushing home – to their cars, their Ubers, their trams.
Branka, Bojana and I tried to order an Uber, but it turned out to be an impossible mission. So we waited for the tram. In the meantime, Branka had bought popcorn, which we shared while waiting for the tram.
The moment we stepped inside, a few Serbs who had also been at the concert recognized Branka. Their faces lit up with genuine excitement and then we heard them say it:
Branka Katić!
You could see how happy they were to randomly encounter Branka on the very same tram.
We were all happy. So we exchanged a few words.
We, were happy just because spent two hours with David Byrne and his magic. They were happy just seen Branka Katić on a tram.
Happiness is important.