Where it all starts. And for me, the day started a little bit rough, I’d slept only a few hours and woke up dripping wet with sweat, because hell, the sun was already strong as if it were mid afternoon, although it nearly was 10:30 pm. But at least I made it in time for the first concert, right?
‘Tá maluca né?
Erm, no. In between practicing the dolce far niente or checking for some friends who had only arrived this day, I made it to the swimming-pool moments after Jibóia had finish his performance, so here’s a video to me – and to all of you, late festival-goers – from the Videoteca Bodyspace.
But actually, I made it there while Equations were doing their soundcheck, and oh boy: you could tell it would be fun only by watching the pussy-looking bassist do some man growls (aquele abraço, ZéZé), curiously the total opposite of what the main vocalist does/is. But as soon as they hurried up with that and started the concert, what did we get? A powerful, defined and crisp sound coming from the two large speakers at the swimming pool stage, a reflex of the diversity of instruments Equations put on stage. I’m not saying it was perfect, but regarding their conditions and space? Pretty impressive.
Dig that style, Equations’ guitar player.
But yeah, Equations rocked from start to finish, there was much headbanging, some moshing by the end of it, which eventually ended underwater, some friends helping the band onstage (a note to a great vocal performance by some death metal guy) and a crowdsurfing spiderman doll (probably my most beloved mascot of many in the Portuguese festivals scene), all this due to a fearless math-rock who puts no shame to a subgenre not that famous in Portugal. Bravo!
To follow, Alto!. And I must say, I had already praised this band a lot back then, and I was surely expecting a good rock concert. However, I did not see this coming for one bit: they were demential. To start, some effects to the mic, Mike Patton school. Then, a guitar who did tremendously effective riffing. Seriously, nothing too far fetched but great. Add a tight rhythm section and now try to imagine this thing really fucking loud! (no pun intended, I mean it: Alto! means Loud! non-portuguese speakers) This could be an example of an auditive knock out (figuratively speaking, of course, no extreme noisy wall of sound here), such thing also applicable to the poor awning covering the stage, almost put to the ground by their jumping lunatic of a singer. Milhões de Festa surprises, part one.
Alto!
This day took me further from the Taina Stage, specially when A New Kind of Mambo, the most appealing name in that stage’s lineup, got cancelled and they were switched with The Shine, the kuduro half of Throes + The Shine. And, even later on, checking these swag masters doing some crazy jumps in the pool wasn’t enough to quell the big let down that was the Lovers & Lollypops Soundsystem set. I mean, come on: I was dancing in the swimming pool like a fag with my sunglasses on. That’s your fault, you two (guess Fua, the boss, was too ashamed to be a part of this). And what about the fat man telling the crowd (but what crowd, really? No one cared to be in front of the stage) to fuck off and stop being pussies? Really, man, it was horrible. At least the setlist was pretty partyish and it was a really good time, living the life, and stuff. Nevertheless, horrible horrible horrible. Thank you, come again.
Some band covering Tool on our way to Barcelinhos. You can tell by the pose.
Done with the swimming-pool for today, I gathered the troops and thought this could be the best time to eat that infamous giant breaded-meat sandwich at the other side of the river, in Barcelinhos. Xispes Bar. Still unaware of this humongous piece of meat? Here’s a photo. The concerts can wait.
“It’s cool, I can do this” – mission accomplished
Enough of eating and drinking esquifante (or whatever that mixture of drinks was), the main stages were calling. Sensible Soccers. Guess what, another tremendously fine concert. Days before the band had bumped into a tiny problem, more of a troublesome situation, in fact: the guitarrist’s gear was stolen. That’s a bummer. Did it really harm the concert? No! Why? Because the great deal about this was the incredibly mixed electronics, filling the Barcelos’ ribeirinha zone with dragging beats and echoing synths capable of turning you into a pendulum. As for the setlist, SS didn’t fail to offer us the beauty of a girl named “Fernanda”, and also reveal us a new song of theirs. What else is there to say? Maybe the humble way they leave the stage after the concert, with one of them advising us to enjoy the festival and well, to listen to their music. Don’t worry, we got that covered.
Sensible Soccers back there, with all the pretty colors
To follow, on the VICE stage, not as immediate as I’d thought it would be – but thank you for the large space upfront -, were League. I must say, I’m still not sure till this day if I liked the concert or not. Don’t take me wrong, League were a competent band, and the music was often upbeat at times. But I think the problem was, by this point, when a song killed the vibe, it gave us no sparkle to keep going on. Unlucky setlist? Unfortunate easy songs? Ignorance of mine? Probably a few of each, but this concert fell short to me. You can say I’m probably being mean, but also that I excepted more, that these guys have potential, this is good right? Moving on.
League
It was all due to anticipation, most certainly. Because all of a sudden, this big crowd (for MdF standards of course) was planted in front of the Milhões Stage, while Iron Maiden was spicing up the public, coming out of the PA while the last preparations were being made. Then finally, this orchestra of feedback starts, holding on for a minute or two, and at last, Baroness are on stage. And what followed by a little over than a hour? Let me tell you, an impressive performance of heavy metal like no other. It’s a disarming quality of sound they offer, both by the technique of its four musicians and by the mixing. But this was no news to me, what really nailed me to the ground was, oddly, the singing. Some testosterone-charged growls John Dyer Baizley could do, plus the choruses of his fellow partners, but all that with an incredible definition, you could really get what he was saying. There’s years of practice in here, you can tell. But Baroness music isn’t all about singing, so what came after that? Glorious sludgy guitar riffs, uplifting guitar solos, well guitar work who missed to be a nuisance (the epic “The Sweetest Curse”, last one before the encore, Jesus fucking Christ). An acclaiming night for Baroness, who too felt very fond of Portugal and gave their permission to the audience to come talk to them after the concert, saying goodbye with a “see you soon” (free interpretation). If this wasn’t a concert for you, congratulations: you must like boring metal (or, I mean, none at all).
BARONESS.
Hey, talking about boring: Holy Other. This time let me plead my personal taste and momentum, because this one got some praise from a few people I know. The scenery, a dark stage with few lights and a DJ with a black turbant on his head bombing some crawling beats and stuff which sure could be trippy to some people, but to me? Come on. I had been flushed by a headbanging wave during Baroness and was about to check the most anticipated name of the night, of course this won’t work for me. Still seemed like something to enjoy in a crowed and flashing room, but no can do on an opening site like Milhões de Festa (yeah, the first day was beyond what was expected, in terms of audience).
Throes + The Shine
(…Until this happened:) Throes + The Shine, oh my god. Actually the correct name for the band should be Throes + a bassist + another guitar/synths + The Shine, which equals one of the most enjoyable concerts of my life. Yes, I mean it. This mixture is no joke, you could only be enjoying some kuduro moves. Instead, the violence of a rock show was also present, making it colossally intense. Even the MC duo didn’t do it for less, twice inviting people aboard on stage (all girls the first time, you know too well). Oh and the songs, like, every single one of them already has sort of a status, either because of a word (Ewe, Batida), a sentence (“isso é The Shine e Throes”) or even an instrumental section (Adrenalina). I think I’ve justified enough the reasons why by the end of it my voice was all fucked up, I was sweating as much as the morning and I felt happy as never. This is what a live festival concert should take from you. And congratulations Throes + The Shine, you’ve already written history in Portuguese music.
Dança bué
Youthless were next but unfortunately they weren’t able to amend my sleepiness, so I left by half of it. I must remind you this was really late, add near one hour and a quarter to the schedule. Yes. I don’t even know what to say about Youthless, other than you deserved better. And this sleep state of mine wasn’t your fault.
But then something bad happened, a friend of mine was coming back to the festival site and I decided to, at the very least, make him some company there, while I picked some water before sleeping. As I’m approaching, I start to hear an 8-bit sound and some guy yelling things to a defected micro, like those terrible voices you’d hear from a very old game. It was Meneo playing, and hearing those cheesy disco songs being covered in 8-bit and LIVE, I MEAN, just put me in the mood for concerts again. But it was too late, and I couldn’t return back there since the limit hour for reentry was 4:00 am. Back luck, I was really enjoying it. Bah, there’s more tomorrow, I thought. Time for a short but necessary sleep, and see ya then.
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Photos by SMF. More photos soon.
bernardo@bolachas.org