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NOS Primavera Sound 2016, the review

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© Hugo Lima

I’ll start this article by stating the obvious: the fifth edition of NOS Primavera Sound ended up having the most solid set of shows so far. As it’s the case with most festivals, this obviously depends on the choices you make, your taste in music, from where you choose to watch the gigs from, your level of intoxication, your company (or absence of) and, of course, the profile of the crowd surrounding you. Never leave those bastards spoil any show for you. Also, don’t be that bastard. Everybody hates you. Why don’t you just play with your phone in the new amazing food truck area instead of being in the front rows shouting like you’re in a loud bar? Summer festivals definitely need to have a stage with DJs permanently playing dance music the whole day. Maybe those idiots who don’t want to see concerts anyway spend the whole day there.

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Festival para Gente Sentada – the review (1/2)

Time stops for no one and the Bolachas crew is
now growing old

and
can barely handle the intensity of the big summer events. That’s just one of
the reasons we embrace Festival para
Gente Sentada
(FpGS) dearly. What’s the other? The chance to see some of
our favorite singer-songwriters in a semi-intimate setting while comfortably
seated, of course. Despite what we just said, don’t think that FpGS is a
festival for “old people” (whatever that is). The wide range of generations we
saw in the audience should be proof enough of that.

Officially, the festival opened on Friday afternoon
with performances by Serushio, Benjamim and Box 2 Box on tiny outdoor stages across the city. Unfortunately other
responsibilities prevented us from being there from the get-go so our festival
started at 21h30 when we stepped into the majestic Theatro Circo to see Bruno Pernadas.


With a remarkable line-up of nine musicians (including
members from You Can’t Win, Charlie Brown, Tape Junk, Minta and a three element
brass section) this show was a real treat. Even if you don’t really like Pernadas’ music it’s hard to look at
this group of talented musicians and not admire the way they work together complementing
each other and creating this organic free-flowing style somewhere between the
soundtrack of a space-opera and some exotic old-time big band while still
sounding fresh and maintaining a pop-like charm. From the brass section to the
choirs, to the synths and the drums everything fits perfectly together sounding
as complex and exquisite as in a studio recording. Truly impressive!

Starting the show off with “Ahhhhh”, which
is also the album opener, Pernadas
and his band seamlessly played the songs from his critically-acclaimed work and
immersed the audience in his imaginary outer-space fantasy in such a way that
it was really disappointing when, after announcing a new song to close the set,
the production didn’t let him play it due to schedule restrictions. It was a rude
awakening back to a reality where (unfortunately) there are no pink ponies
flying on Jupiter.


The next artist to grace the stage with her presence was
Yasmine Hamdan, the alluring bare-footed
beauty from Lebanon. With songs ranging from love and heartbreak (like the
lovely “Hal” from the Jim Jarmusch film “Only Lovers Left Alive”) to traditional
fisherman songs from the gulf of Persia or theatrical representations of
stereotypes in old Egyptian films, Yasmine
and her band took the everyone for a smooth ride across the Middle-East.

Even if the audience can’t really distinguish any
words (apart from the occasional habibi),
the truth is that music doesn’t always need words to get through to the
audience. This was a prime example of that because, even if Yasmine did put some effort into
briefly explaining the stories behind most of the songs, her sensual dance
moves and emotionally charged voice would be more than enough to enthrall
everyone. It was almost magical, like she was some kind of enchantress from an
old One Thousand and One Nights fairy-tale. Shakira must’ve been onto something
when she claimed that the hips don’t lie.


It was time for Giant
Sand
to blow us away with, not only one of the most musically fulfilling
shows of the festival, but also the most entertaining one. Presenting
themselves to Braga with a classic rock-band formation (guitars, drums and
bass), the new moniker they have adopted (Giant3
Sand
) works both as a way for them to keep making new songs (their new
album Heartbreak Pass proves that) and also to celebrate their 3 decades of
history.

Between toasts, cell-phone pictures, crazy
pedal-effect guitars and other funny antics, Gelb was acting even goofier than his usual self so it was kind of hard
to take even the most heartfelt ballads (like the beautiful cover of Leonard
Cohen’s “A Thousand Kisses Deep”) too seriously. There’s no doubt that Howe Gelb is the star of the show and
heart and soul of Giant Sand but,
despite his intense presence, it was humbling to see that he doesn’t selfishly
hog the attention for himself and is able to disappear into the shadows and let
the spotlight shine on his bandmates Brian
Lopez
and Gabriel Sullivan as
each of them each perform a song of their own authorship.

We won’t deny that, for a few minutes, we were taken
aback by the heavy focus on their most rock’n’roll-tinged songs (their concert at
NOS Primavera Festival, earlier this year, was mostly country-based and we
expected something along those lines) but, as we settled into the noisy storm Gelb had prepared for us, the surprise turned
into pleasure quite naturally. “It’s ok to leave a little early.” Howe said “You’ll hear the last one
from the street.” he warned before throwing “Tumble & Tear” (from Giant Sand’s first album) at the
audience and ending this terrific concert with a very loud ‘bang’.


Not everyone decided to take the short walk between
Theatro Circo and GNRation to see Mdou
Moctar
and his band (if you are
one of those persons: too bad for you) but, as the trio stepped onto the stage
of the adequately named “black-box”, the room was still comfortably crowded. Moctar and his bandmates took the tribal
rythms and the arabesque finger-picking from their homelands and evolved them into
a sweet psychedelic desert-blues that was the perfect excuse for us to stretch
our legs and loosen our muscles a bit after all that time in Theatro Circo’s
chairs.

There were only two downsides to this show. The fact
that the encore had to be cut short (and we mean really short… that was the
shortest encore ever) for the band to make it to Barcelona on time and the many
technical difficulties that made the technician look like the fourth member of
the band – always on stage checking the cables and the amps. Fortunately, none
of those managed to disrupt the communion between band and audience or stop the
band from bringing the Saharan heat to Braga and ending the first night of the
festival on a very high note.

JR

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Vodafone Paredes de Coura 2015 – the review

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Someone playing in front of a lot of people in the most perfect scenery you can get in a music festival. Photo by Hugo Lima [Vodafone Paredes de Coura]

Writing a review about Vodafone Paredes de Coura is always one of the most painful things I can do as a music writer. First, if I am to judge the musical performances – and, of course, some of those were pretty forgettable, others not even worth mentioning, as there are always some rotten strawberries even in the nicest basket – I can never do justice to how good the festival is as a whole. Second, if I’m to write a review, it means this years’ edition of the festival – and the best week of the whole year for most people who attend it – is over, and there are 51 boring weeks left until we return.

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NOS Primavera Sound 2015: the review. DAY 3

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Foxygen. Photo by Hugo Lima [NOS Primavera Sound]

We told you Xylouris White would be one of the acts to watch on the last day of the festival and they didn’t disappoint. Too bad their entertaining lute-drums combo was witnessed by only a couple of hundred people, some of them laying down in the ATP meadow, enjoying the sun without having to see local hero Manel Cruz on the main stage, who gathered a huge crowd early in the afternoon (full of people who clearly need to check their priorities, of course). The Thurston Moore Band was next, interesting as always, but we would rather listen to Demolished Thoughts-era straightforwardness rock songs instead of seemingly endless guitar riffs that seemed to go nowhere. 

Now, Foxygen’s circus was pretty entertaining. Sure, if you saw their concert in Barcelona you noticed none of the theatrics was improvisation (he also broke up with both his girlfriend and boyfriend a week before…) including their stage exit mid-concert when they left their best song, “San Francisco”, playing in the background and then came back to butcher their second best song, “Shuggie”. Sam France knows how to annihilate his own band – they’ve announced this as their last tour ever – going out with a bang and having fun while doing it. Kudos.

Kevin Morby. Now we’re talking! It was Kevin Morby’s second time in Portugal (remember the first? We do.). Now presenting his second album, Still Life, with an added bass player that adds an extra layer to his songs (what a fantastic performance of “Harlem River”!) he has clearly surpassed what was already a great concert back in October. Songs like “Amen” (video above) or “All of My Life” sound even better live, and the final sequence of Bill Fay’s “I Hear You Calling” into his own “Parade” is already a live classic that we’ll be sad to see vanishing from his setlist when the time comes. A truly fantastic concert by one of the best songwriters of this decade and the best of day three.


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Death Cab for Cutie. Photo by Hugo Lima [NOS Primavera Sound]

Death Cab for Cutie was right next on the Superbock stage. Nostalgia was never my thing – and it still isn’t. Ten years ago, I’ve listened to Transatlanticism and Plans more often than I would admit today. But hey, I also listened to the Editors and Kaiser Chiefs’ debut albums and people would have to pay me for me to go through the pain of seeing them live in 2015. What drove me to see DCFC instead of one of the best bands I’ve ever seen live (Einstürzende Neubauten at the marvellous Casa da Música back in 2008)? I don’t know, but I’m glad I did. For the first time in Portugal, and after cancelling their gig three years ago due to heavy rain (maybe they just wanted to see Portugal vs Germany like everyone else) they’ve presented some sort of greatest hits set (”Crooked Teeth”, “Soul Meets Body”, “The New Year”) along with a decent selection of songs off their latest albums (including the beautiful opener “I Will Possess Your Heart”). But what really made DCFC’s Portuguese debut memorable for the fans was show closer “Transatlanticism”, which lead to a reasonable amount of tears being shed throughout the audience. 

One Direction for adults.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that – I would rather see 1D among thousands of hysteric 12 year olds than sit through five more minutes of The KVB or aligning myself with all this fake nostalgia that is pretending to be a massive Ride fan when nobody actually listens to Nowhere or Going Blank Again since the 90s. Unless you were one of those post-rock nerds who listened to all instrumental rock albums released between 2005 and 2007 then proceeded to experiment with similar genres, like shoegaze or dream pop. Either way, you’ll probably never listen to Ride again until they’re announced to play other festival.


Speaking of bands people only listen to once per year, Shellac has played for the first time outside their natural habitat, travelling from the ATP stage to the Pitchfork tent for yet another massive show that words can’t explain. And I wouldn’t do it if I could, go check them for yourself next year. No excuses!

The New Pornographers were up next at the ATP stage. Massive disappointment for those who were expecting Dan Bejar and Neko Case on stage. Bejar is simply irreplaceable – so irreplaceable that the only song written by him that the Pornos played was the amazing “Testament of Youth in Verse” – but Kathryn Calder’s stellar voice quickly made most of us forget Neko Case wasn’t there. By the apotheotic show closer “The Bleeding Heart Show” you couldn’t tell if it was Case or Calder singing the coda. A great concert that could’ve been something else if Bejar had nothing better to do back at home.


If you were expecting to read a really excited review of Underworld’s rave by the main stage, please go somewhere else. Still on the ATP stage, Ought stole the show by playing one of the most exciting shows of the festival, which is even more surprising if you take in consideration the fact that Tim Darcy’s voice sounds like the official soundtrack of being constantly bored/being hollow on the inside. (That’s a compliment!) Starting with a triad of some of the best songs in their debut More Than Any Other Day (”Pleasant Heart”, the frantic “The Weather Song” and “Today More Than Any Other Day”), Ought then proceeded to numb the audience with some slower but inspiring numbers (including some new songs) and then proceeded to rip it all again by playing album closer “Gemini” by the end of the set. By the end of the concert – after shouting WANT IT!/WANTED! countless times – you could see people in such a state of ecstasy that made them celebrate, run and dance all at the same time while trying to catch a glimpse of Underworld’s concert. I might have been one of them. Right on time to experience “Born Slippy .NUXX” live, the moment everyone was waiting for (and which made a lot of people leave the ATP stage before the end of Ought’s gig). That “Gemini” -> “Born Slippy” sequence was probably the most exciting combo I’ve witnessed live – a mix of old and new, of organic and electronic, of shouting and dancing – and it could only have happened in one festival. See you next year, Primavera.

DSS

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NOS Primavera Sound 2015: the review. DAY 1

Caribou. Photo by Miguel Oliveira [Point and Shoot]

On its fourth year in Porto, NOS Primavera Sound has set a record attendance of 77 thousand people who passed through the Parque da Cidade during the 3 days of the festival, including a sold out Friday session, with the likes of Antony, Patti Smith and Belle and Sebastian headlining. As usual, the quality of the acts built on a crescendo, with Saturday night ending on a bang, making up for a weak first day (please make it a full festival day next year – only the two main stages were opened, along with the Pitchfork stage just for Patti Smith’s acoustic/spoken word performance that ended up not being an acoustic/spoken word performance at all) although, to be honest, it went better than last year’s. 

Traffic jams meant we missed the unmissable Bruno Pernadas concert and arrived just in time for the second half of the Cinerama gig. David Gedge’s least known act provided not much more than a nice soundtrack for exploring the beautiful, green, and still uncrowded festival grounds: a scenic paradise right in the border between the city and the sea that would be a perfect setting for a festival if not for the chilling climate the ocean provides us with during the night. But we would never trade our warm sweaters for the sight of tarmac or concrete everywhere we looked.

Mikal Cronin. Photo by Hugo Lima [NOS Primavera Sound]

Right after Cinerama, Mikal Cronin made a nice move, trying to win the audience over by playing songs off the excellent MCII and not his (weaker) latest album MCIII. The live show lacked spark, though: “Weight”, “Shout It Out” or “Am I Wrong” are the definition of crowdpleasers, but they not only weren’t improved from the studio versions, they didn’t sound as good as on the record. His pop punk/garagy tunes may be suited for a late sunny afternoon, but it didn’t work out this time. 

Mac DeMarco. Well, what can I say. The dinner was nice, as always. NOS Primavera Sound has the best food stands of all music festivals I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to quite a few. This year there were 0 chain fast food stands available, which lead to people having very few options besides trying traditional Porto dishes and sandwiches prepared by some of the nicest restaurants in town (Conga’s bifanas, Lado B’s francesinhas and, of course, Guedes’ pernil). The only festival I’ve been where dinner time needs his own slot on the timetable just like any band. 


FKA Twigs. Photo by Miguel Oliveira [Point and Shoot]

FKA Twigs. Such overproduced and carefully crafted songs, regularly accompanied by visual stimuli (check out her music videos) need more visuals when translated to a stage environment; they ask an experience instead of a regular concert. Twigs’ voice is stellar live, but her music is clearly unsuited for daytime in a festival – probably unsuited for a stage at all, but we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt.


Interpol. [There are more people clapping on that backdrop than when they first left the stage. Poor guys.] Photo by Hugo Lima [NOS Primavera Sound]

Interpol. Or the shadow of the amazing band Interpol once was. Paul Banks’ 2015 voice is frankly below average, and, even with a competent band behind him, he managed to ruin a show with an almost impeccable setlist (maybe better than the first two times I saw them back in 2007). Sure, timeless classics like “Take You On A Cruise”, “Slow Hands”, “PDA” were sung by many old fans, “The New” and “Pioneer to the Falls” are still two of the best songs of the 00s, but show opener “Say Hello to the Angels”, “Evil” or “Leif Eriksen”, in the early stages of the concert, were thrashed by Banks’ flameless voice. Once they were done with the weaker El Pintor songs the show got slightly better, but the least asked for encore I’ve ever seen in a festival setting (seriously, it was depressing) was a complete disaster: “Untitled” is probably the weakest song off the first two albums, “Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down” was never interesting live and I had to walk off the concert in the middle of the show closer “All the Rage Back Home”. You simply don’t put a close on your “greatest hits” concert, made to appeal to people who loved you ten years ago, with a song from your uninteresting last record. Interpol, please go back to room 2005 and throw the key off the balcony. Rest in peace, like my memories of them will.


The Juan Maclean. Photo by Hugo Lima [NOS Primavera Sound]

The Juan Maclean. Speaking of the mid-to-late-00s, The Juan Maclean sound like they never quitted that era. Electropop with female vocals? Ok, nothing new to see here. They certainly aren’t the most interesting band on Earth, but at least they seemed to be enjoying themselves on the stage – and so were everyone around us by the middle of the concert, especially those drug-fuelled tourists right next to the drinks stand on the right side of the Superbock stage. All in all, a very fun way to make everyone forget about the disaster witnessed just a few minutes ago.

But the only truly magical moment of the night came from Caribou. For about a hour and a half, Dan Snaith and the rest of the crew took care of us all. Putting his last album Our Love on center stage, starting with ”Our Love” and the fabulous “Mars”, the result was an unforgettable aural and visual show – admittingly with some least interesting building-up moments mid-concert that, although technically incredible, felt somewhat out of place on a late night show – that ended on ecstasy with a wonderful sequence that included Swim’s “Jamelia”, “Odessa”, the magnificent closer “Sun” and last years’s most infectuous tune, “Can’t Do Without You”.