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Concert and festival previews and reviews.

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Vodafone Paredes de Coura ‘17: our highlights

Post author By bolachas
Post date August 29, 2017

(At the Drive-In. Photo: Hugo Lima / Vodafone Paredes de Coura)

10. ALEX CAMERON

Pop music for “indie” audiences done right. Co-writing songs with Angel Olsen and Brandon Flowers? Check. Singer-songwriter-performer-dancer Alex Cameron and saxophonist Roy Molloy are two of the funniest guys in the circuit and of course it was physically impossible for us to leave early for Benjamin Clementine.

(Photo: Hugo Lima / Vodafone Paredes de Coura)

9. FUTURE ISLANDS

You’ve certainly overheard comments about how all their songs sound the same, right? What if their one song is actually great and you’re standing there hungry in the middle of the crowd, waiting for one boring song so you can go eat something, but somehow you cannot leave? Yes, they all sound the same, there’s only so much variety Samuel T. Herring can fit into his dance moves and growls, but guess what? It was one of the most entertaining concerts of the festival and we would totally see it again from start to finish (but probably having eaten something beforehand).

8. BRUNO PERNADAS

The Portuguese composer and guitar player opened the main stage on Friday and, unlike your typical festival opener acts, actually set the bar pretty high for what would be happening next. His ensemble, composed of nine musicians – including one of our favorite national songwriters, Minta – was certainly the biggest discovery of the festival for those who didn’t know his music before. No wonder the people in BadBadNotGood were amazed by the show.

(Photo: Hugo Lima / Vodafone Paredes de Coura)

7. MÃO MORTA

On Wednesday, the legendary Portuguese rock band revisited their 25 year old record Mutantes S.21 for a few thousand devotees who knew every word to every song. In a corny but sweet moment, near the end, there was still time for them to sing happy birthday to the festival.

6. LIGHTNING BOLT

Lightning Bolt’s only European date this summer and their first in Portugal since 2008 was everything everyone was waiting for: the last adrenalyn discharge of the festival in a huge pit far from the dust-covered main stage that was leaving everyone coughing (still dealing with it a week after it). No Dracula Mountain? No problem.

5. BADBADNOTGOOD

Some skeptics might have thought jazzy vibes wouldn’t fit a territory where big sound indie rock bands usually prevail, but those who watched Bruno Pernadas’ ensemble take over the main stage earlier on Friday quickly forgot about it. The Canadian outfit didn’t take long to win over the audience – although, frankly, judging by people’s reactions on social media when they were announced to the festival, we could have anticipated that this was one of the most celebrated concerts of the festival anyway – and, mid-concert, the crowd cheers were as loud as any headliner could get. The four musicians seemed to be having a blast. BBNG are a band on top of their game.

(Photo: Hugo Lima / Vodafone Paredes de Coura)

4. TIMBER TIMBRE

Tucked away in the Vodafone.FM stage and starting before the end of Car Seat Headrest’s lukewarm set, the Canadian outfit did not make as big as an impression as they could if the circumstances were different, but they were still one of the highlights of this years’ festival for the Bolachas crew. The dark, brooding melodies of Timber Timbre were good company to the beginning of the night, transforming the stage in a mini-batcave. (Seriously, where did those people around me come from? Did their goth-y clothing just appear from the middle of nowhere and vanished after the gig? I didn’t see them anywhere else during that day. Oh well.)

3. AT THE DRIVE-IN

Omar, Cedric & co would probably haven take the first place in an alternative dimension where 1) we weren’t too old for this shit; 2) their new record didn’t exist. Not that the new songs are particularly bad – they aren’t. They were also useful for the older folks in the audience, some of whom have waited 17+ years to finally see them live, to catch their breath before and after the classics. “Arcarsenal” provided everyone with their first energy bump of the night. Old farts and young kids smiling, shouting and hugging regardless of their past experiences with the band. Such a pretty sight to see. If only you could see anything, as dust was reigning supreme over the crowd. Set closer “One Armed Scissor” unleashed both the last moshpit and a collective sigh of relief brought to you by everyone’s lungs. It was fun, but can we new ask for a The Mars Volta 2018 De-Loused in the Comatorium 15th anniversary tour?

2. ANDY SHAUF

Everyone who reads us knows we’re all about songwriter music (whatever that is), so it’s no surprise Andy Shauf, the top songwriter music guy in the program is as high as it could be in this list. The surprise, instead, came from the little army of devotees in the first few rows who knew all the brass melodies from Shauf’s latest record, The Party, who seemed to melt the songwriter’s heart midway through the set. The sweetest show of the festival.

(Photo: Hugo Lima / Vodafone Paredes de Coura)

1. KATE TEMPEST

Come on, you knew this was coming. Kate Tempest is the finest artist of our times and that kid who was trying to take a nap during her set right in front of me will, one day, look back at his life and and tell his very disappointed children that he was lying down while KATE TEMPEST was performing right in front of him. KATE FUCKING TEMPEST

Tags alex cameron, andy shauf, at the drive-in, badbadnotgood, bruno pernadas, festival paredes de coura, future islands, kate tempest, lightning bolt, mão morta, paredes de coura, timber timbre, vodafone paredes de coura

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Vodafone Paredes de Coura 2017: timetables, playlist & our starting XI

Post author By bolachas
Post date August 9, 2017

Our favorite week of the year is coming up fast, and in less than a week time we shall be praying for rain not to grace the beautiful and green Minho region. If you’ve been following us, you know we rarely miss an edition of Vodafone Paredes de Coura, regardless of the part of Europe we’re living in at the moment.

And, of course, half of the reason why you still care about us is our insistence in creating the famous printable timetables that, inevitably, you’ll lose somewhere in the festival grounds before the third day. Stop saving trees and print some for your friends, too. PDF version / editable XLS version. Scroll down for our special Spotify playlist with our 11 artist picks!

ALEK REIN (Tue 15, 22:30, Main Street stage)

Plenty of people choose Paredes de Coura as their yearly summer holiday destination. Why wouldn’t the organisation put together an extended four day warm up? From Saturday 12 to Tuesday 15, a small stage is set up in the town center, where up and coming Portuguese artists play free entrance concerts from 22:30 to past midnight.

Alek Rein is probably the most interesting of the bunch (but be on the lookout for the Sunflowers [Sat 12, 23:30] and Nice Weather for Ducks [Sun 13, 22:30], too) and could easily be in the main festival programme. The southern psychedelia of his debut LP, Mirror Lane, has been on heavy rotation around here late last year. Having a relaxed, hearty dinner at one of the village’s nice and cheap restaurants would be a good reason to go to Coura earlier, but this year there’s an added value to it.

MÃO MORTA (Wed 16, 21:55, Vodafone stage)

Just like the festival itself, Mutantes S.21, the iconic fourth album by the most interesting Portuguese rock band ever turns 25 this year. They’ve also put out one of the more memorable shows of the festival’s history, in a rainy and muddy night back in 2007 – the first time yours truly, an inexperienced camper, went to the festival and swore to never do it again. Ten years later, they’re back to trigger veterans’ old memories and show the new kids who still keeps the Portuguese rock and roll crown.

(Yes, The Wedding Present and Future Islands will surely be two of the most celebrated gigs of the festival on what’s probably the best Day 1 of the festival history, but we can’t focus on everything…)

KATE TEMPEST (Wed 16, 01:55, Vodafone stage)

Earlier this year we went to South London’s Brixton Academy to witness Kate Tempest’s homecoming concert in her biggest stage so far. The humbleness in Tempest’s words and facial expressions when taking and leaving the stage certainly triggered a shy tear in the local kids who have witnessed her rise from performing in open mics to performing in one of the biggest venues in the city and huge festivals like Glastonbury. If you told me ten years ago that a poet, rapper and spoken-word artist like Kate Tempest would play Paredes de Coura’s – or any other Portuguese summer festival’s – main stage, I would probably laugh at you. If you told me someone like her would be the most interesting artist performing in that festival – or any festival – in 2017, I’d politely ask if you need medical help. I’m so glad you were right. There’s no one like Kate Tempest and you’d be a fool to be somewhere else than right in the front of the stage during her time slot.

TIMBER TIMBRE (Thu 17, 20:30, Vodafone.FM stage)

The Canadian quartet has been releasing stellar records on Arts & Crafts since 2009, but it wasn’t until sometime during the wait between 2014′s proper breakthrough Hot Dreams and this years’ Sincerely, Future Pollution that I’ve seen more and more people join us in our devotion through enthusiastic Facebook posts. Better late than never, and their announcement for this year’s edition was one of the most celebrated between the festival’s fans. The small stage will be packed for Timber Timbre’s debut concert in the country and they will surely come back soon.

CAR SEAT HEADREST (Thu 17, 19:40, Vodafone stage)

Sometime during Primavera Sound 2016, around dinner time. This weird kid called Will Toledo had jumped to the “indie” spotlight a couple of weeks ago when his second “proper” album – after a shitton of Bandcamp-released bunch of records that sounded like Pavement demos – Teens of Denial, was released on Matador. Maybe a couple of hundred kids would be curious to see them at Pitchfork’s stage at 9pm with something else going on in the main stages, so we thought. Well, a couple of hundred kids _were shouting the lyrics to the newly released songs _and hundreds more flocked to witness the start of yet another love story between an indie rock band and the enthusiastic Portuguese sub-25 public. Toledo and his band have so far matured their live show, as we were fortunate to witness in a sold out show in Brussels’ L’Orangerie du Botanique last March. Can’t wait to see them again.

AT THE DRIVE-IN (Thu 17, 23:15, Vodafone stage)

Well, you don’t really need an introduction, right? This is maybe the laziest way of introducing a band, but of course you know who they are. At the Drive-In are the band you want to see because you probably never did, either because you were too young to know who they were back in 2000 or too young/too poor to travel elsewhere to see them back then. Their two most famous “spin off” bands, Sparta (2007) and The Mars Volta (2008) have played in the festival before (no one really cared about Sparta, though) but the original band was yet to play in Portugal. Founding member (and Sparta’s frontman) Jim Ward is not with the band anymore, but Cedric, Omar et al. have just released their first post-break-up record, in•ter a•li•a and seem to be enjoying themselves in this new reincarnation of the band so far. Don’t forget to not mosh.

JAMBINAI (Thu 17, 02:00, after hours stage)

What’s a South Korean band who play post-rock music with traditional Korean instruments doing in an after hours time slot? Well, it’s waiting for you to go see them. Because you need to. If this description and the two tracks on our playlist didn’t make you feel like you should, chances are there’s something wrong with you.

ANDY SHAUF (Fri 18, 19:00, Vodafone.FM stage)

The Bearer of Bad News is coming to Coura and he’s already the winner of the “Artist Who Sounds Like Something You’d Listen To in a bolachas.org Playlist, No Shit They’re Promoting Their Concert” award of 2017. The Party was one of our favorite albums of 2016 and we’re glad we can see Andy Shauf still promoting that amazing record before venturing on new endeavours. Catchy, sophisticated but simple pop tunes, too perfect for those Coura lazy late afternoons (too bad he’s not playing the main stage for “sitting in the grass” purposes).

BEACH HOUSE (Fri 18, 00:45, Vodafone stage)

List of bands everyone else has seen live except for me: Beach House. That’s right, even though they play Portugal (and, frankly, everywhere) all the time, this will be the first time I’ll get to see the most important dream pop duo of the past decade, so shut the hell up if you happen to be nearby and help me pray for a good career-spanning setlist (like this one, please).

ALEX CAMERON (Sat 19, 20:30, Vodafone.FM stage)

Fresh off a hot new track from his forthcoming album (a duet with Angel Olsen), the Australian exquisite (fancy word for ‘weirdo’) songwriter will still be presenting songs from his critically acclaimed debut album, Jumping the Shark, released exactly a year ago.

LIGHTNING BOLT (Sat 19, 22:20, Vodafone.FM stage)

We’re all gonna die. Wouldn’t it be fun if they didn’t play on top of the stage, like in the good ol’ days? Bring your balaclava (or buy one – why would you already own one, you filthy hooligan?) because you’re healthy and want to keep your lungs intact, unlike all those fools (read: me) who decided to join the dusty pit at last year’s Thee Oh Sees gig.

Tags festival paredes de coura, festival vodafone paredes de coura, paredes de coura, vodafone paredes de coura

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NOS Primavera Sound 17: welcome to our top ten

Post author By bolachas
Post date June 21, 2017

(Photo: Hugo Lima / nosprimaverasound.com)

Oh my brothers and oh my other comrades… six years of NOS Primavera Sound, six years we’ve left the Parque da Cidade hungry for more. After another sold out edition, we’re wondering if the festival needs to grow a bit more. And the answer is “no it doesn’t”. We love it just the way it is: a smaller, familiar festival that keeps us from going to Barcelona because we simply don’t need it anymore, even after those two sweet, sweet editions we were a part of (’09 and ‘10).

10. HAMILTON LEITHAUSER

After repeated listens of Leithauser’s debut record (with Vampire Weekend’s Rostam), I Had a Dream That You Were Mine, we couldn’t help but think “A 1000 Times” was a one hit wonder. Things are shaken up a bit live, but the single still stands strong as the major highlight, a contender for one of the best moments of the whole festival, with Leithauser screaming his heart out during the verses.

9. THE GROWLERS

Half an hour of The Growlers’ gig was enough to grant them a spot on our top ten. In the end, all you need is a great song – and they’ve delivered it in the form of “Love Test”, off hit record Chinese Fountain. The Growlers have grown from the garage scene and matured well enough to grant them a safe spot at a festival’s major stage, but they remain young at heart. Wish we could have stayed for “Going Gets Tough” later in the set, but some band was calling our names in a stage nearby… (Photo: Miguel Oliveira / pointandshoot.pt)

8. SLEAFORD MODS

The Nottingham duo sounded a bit less abrasive than in the past, but they’re still what you should look for in a festival stage if you want a good time. Props to Andrew Fearn for keeping the best job ever (traveling the world, hitting the ‘play’ button every now and then and bobbing his head while holding a 50cl can of beer, and drinking it). (Photo: Hugo Lima / nosprimaverasound.com)

7. SAMUEL ÚRIA

Our favorite Portuguese songwriter of the 21st century had the honor to open NOS Primavera Sound 2017 and of course he was up to the task. It was also the first time in six years that we’ve seen someone dance in the first concert of the festival, when people are usually busy seeing friends they rarely see during the rest of the year and having the first beers while there’s barely any queuing. “É Preciso Que Eu Diminua”, from his latest record, and old favorite “Teimoso” did the trick.

6. JULIEN BAKER

Playing simultaneously with the festival’s headliner, especially since the headliner is also a fellow singer-songwriter, is a tough job. Still, the few hundreds who (rightfully so) thought this kind of music is best enjoyable in a small crowd, close to the stage, and not in the middle of 20-something thousand people were rewarded with what was probably the best solo delivery of this festival. The young Julien Baker, alone at the microphone, presented new songs (“Distant Solar Systems”, “Funeral Pyre”) from her second record, her yet unnamed Matador debut that should be due later this year. We have, indeed, witnessed the beginning of something important. And beautiful.

5. MITSKI

Like The Growlers an hour before, Mitski was hurt (well, not literally, just our appreciation of her gig) by the fact that our annual celebration with a certain Chicago trio did not allow us to be there at 9pm sharp. Still, our swift run to the Pitchfork stage has rewarded us with the chance to witness her playing the song that turned us on to her music, Bury Me at Makeout Creek’s “First Love / Late Spring”. However, the highlight of her show had to be the closer “My Body’s Made of Crushed Little Stars”. Who does not relate to the words “I work better under a deadline”?

4. WEYES BLOOD

Her birthday wasn’t until one hour later, but in the end it was Natalie Mering who gave us a present instead. Playing most of Front Row Seat to Earth, an album we unfortunately haven’t seen her play before – and with a full band – this was one of our most awaited shows and we weren’t disappointed. And, on top of her having the most beautiful voice of the whole festival, the band delivered a pretty decent version of Can’s “Vitamin C”.

3. JAPANDROIDS

In an edition of the festival where we ended up seeing mostly “quieter” acts, Japandroids – along with our favorite band, read along… – was one of the exceptions to the rule. It’s difficult to stand still while the Canadians are on stage, throwing us punches left and right. (Photo: Miguel Oliveira / pointandshoot.pt)

2. NIKKI LANE

Playing for an understandably small audience given the options, the Highway Queen still deserved a bigger crowd. Mostly playing songs from her latest album (“700,000 Rednecks”, “Send the Sun”, “Highway Queen”, “Jackpot”), our favorite country princess/queen/just give her a crown already ended things in style with a great version of Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”. (Photo: Miguel Oliveira / pointandshoot.pt)

1. SHELLAC OF NORTH AMERICA

What did you expect? My seventh Shellac show in eight Primaveras (two in Barcelona, six in Porto), although not my favorite from the bunch – 2016 was unreal – was indeed the best of the 2017 edition. Back in the ATP meadow, and earlier than ever (8:30), they didn’t even need two of their biggest classics (“The End of Radio” and “Prayer to God” were absent from the setlist) to set the crowd ablaze. New crowd favorite “Wingwalker” was as fun as ever, “Steady as She Goes”, “My Black Ass” and “Squirrel Song” provided the most headbanging fodder and, by the time the show ended, most people would be perfectly fine with an additional half hour. Yes, it’s true: year after year, Shellac is still the best rock band you can see in a stage. (Photo: Hugo Lima / nosprimaverasound.com)

Tags hamilton leithauser, japandroids, julien baker, mitski, nikki lane, nos primavera sound, nos primavera sound 17, primavera sound, samuel úria, shellac, sleaford mods, the growlers, weyes blood

Bolachas Now Playing live

#104: NOS Primavera Sound 2017

Post author By bolachas
Post date June 5, 2017

Don’t miss our printable NOS Primavera Sound 17 timetables:

PDF: http://bit.ly/bolachasNPS17pdf

XLS: http://bit.ly/bolachasNPS17xls

Tags nos primavera sound, nos primavera sound 17, printable timetables, timetable, timetables

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NOS Primavera Sound 2017: what not to miss

Post author By bolachas
Post date June 5, 2017

Shellac.

Ok, ok, let’s get a little bit deeper than this.

First, the playlist:

THURSDAY, JUNE 8

We know it’s hard to go to the festival this early, especially when the only artist playing that early is a Portuguese singer-songwriter singing in a language you probably don’t understand. But really, give him a shot: Samuel Úria (17:00, Super Bock stage) is probably our favorite dude-with-a-guitar-singing-in-Portuguese. This should have been Grandaddy’s night, but misfortune knocked at their door and we’ll get Arab Strap instead (21:10, Super Bock). Recently reunited after a 10-year hiatus, the Scottish influent duo might look oddly placed between Miguel’s adventurous R&B (20:00, NOS) and Run the Jewels’ (22:20, NOS) raucous hip hop set, but hey, this is Primavera.

FRIDAY, JUNE 9

Painful decisions are to be made early in the day, with Whitney **(18:50, Super Bock) and **Royal Trux (19:00, Palco., or “the stage formerly known as ATP”) fighting for your attention. Last year’s _Light Upon the Lake _and their recent new single “You’ve Got a Woman” brought Whitney to the spotlight and were one of our highlights at last years’ Vodafone Paredes de Coura Festival. If they bring the full band to Porto it will be difficult to not see at least part of their show, but the prospect of witnessing Royal Trux’s reunion show swings the pendulum on the other direction. Last year, Neil Hagerty walked all over whoever was seeing him at the same stage, and this year he brings his lifelong partner Jennifer Herrema along. Well, at least **Angel Olsen **(19:50, NOS), who needs no introduction (seriously, she doesn’t – this is usually what people say when they’re too lazy to write anything substantial about an artist, but she really doesn’t) has no opposition, so I guess we’ll all be there, right?

Same with the first 30min of Sleaford Mods (20:30, Palco.), we’re guessing. Their music is definitely not for everyone, but then again most music isn’t. Just one day after the British election, expect the Nottingham working class heroes to be extra angry while spitting their verses. We were similarly angry when we realized two of our favorite acts in the whole festival, Nikki Lane (21:00, Pitchfork) and Teenage Fanclub (21:00, Super Bock) are clashing. Life isn’t fair. Country darling Nikki Lane has just released her third solo album, Highway Queen, and has a mountain to climb trying to win over a crowd that usually disregards country music as food for hillbillies’ ears. Teenage Fanclub, lords of British indie rock, have been touring relentlessly after releasing one of the finest albums of their almost 3 decades long career, Here. The toughest choice of the year.

And here’s to hoping we can hear Julien Baker (22:30, Pitchfork) during Swans’ set a few metres away (22:00, Palco.). The young songwriter from Memphis is set for indie stardom, releasing her sophomore record later this year on Matador, and faces fierce opposition, not only from Swans (on their last tour, at least with this lineup) but from bearded-folky-guy-turned-glitchy-weirdo Bon Iver. Later on, Hamilton Leithauser (00:00, Pitchfork) returns to Primavera without his Walkmen and the party goes on with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (01:00, Palco.) and Nicolas Jaar (01:00, NOS) splitting the audience in half: rockers to the left, dancers to the right.

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

The Growlers’ (19:50, NOS) make some of the catchiest songs of modern rock and roll, and their latest record, produced by the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, is filled to the brink with such tracks. Expect fun. Then, it’s time for the yearly pilgrimage to wherever Shellac are playing (20:30, Palco.). This year, they play unusually early, but maybe that’s a good thing – they’re back to the stage where they originally played every year. Steve Albini, Bob Weston and Todd Trainer will – of course – once again provide us with the best show of the festival. I’m pretty sure we wrote the same exact thing last year.

Mitski (21:00, Pitchfork) is not exactly a good kept secret anymore, with her Dead Oceans-released latest album, Puberty 2, making her reach new heights. She will be followed by another songwriter at the top of her career, **Weyes Blood **(22:30, Pitchfork). _Front Row Seat to Earth _was one of our favorite records of 2016. Like Julien Baker the night before, she’s playing simultaneously with two of the most popular artists in the festival, but will have no trouble catching the attention of whoever passes casually through that stage.

Towards the end of the festival we switch to full-on party mode, with Canadian garage rock duo Japandroids (23:20, Super Bock) warming up to Aphex Twin (00:30, NOS)’s clusterfuck of a set (preview here) and The Black Angels (01:00, Palco.)’s psychedelic rock. And while we’re still longing for another of those DJ Coco sets at closing time that (again) won’t happen this year, there’s still a lot of dance to be had until the sun comes up for the last time.