The happening of the Autumn, the weekend of the year. Amplifest is back for its fourth edition with the most ambitious and varied lineup ever. Where else can you find Swans, Marissa Nadler, Ben Frost, Peter Brötzmann, Woven Hand, Pharmakon, Allhousseini Anivolla or Cult of Luna fit in the lineup of a small, indoor 2-day festival?
Amplifest.
In downtown Porto, European Best Destination 2014, lies the recently renewed and majestic venue Hard Club, in a centenary building where once operated one of the busiest markets of the city. Now it houses two concert rooms where most of the magic happens, plus a restaurant and the most pleasant mainfloor I’ve chilled in a music venue that will also hold a concert, talks, exhibitions, listening parties and a record fair. And don’t forget the film programme, which includes a really interesting screening of Raffaele Mosca’s March of the Gods: Botswana Metalheads, a film about, well, you know, Botswana’s exquisite metal scene.
But let’s not forget about what drives people to music festivals in the first place: s̶o̶c̶i̶a̶l̶ ̶n̶e̶t̶w̶o̶r̶k̶i̶n̶g̶* the concerts, of course. Here are our picks for this years’ edition of Amplifest. Be sure to check all the info, the complete lineup, buy your tickets in advance, etc at the festival’s website. Oh, we forgot. Not a festival, an experience.
SATURDAY
PETER BRÖTZMANN & STEVE NOBLE (Sala 2, 5:25 – 6:10)
“Free jazz from free jazz!” Steve Noble’s drumming skills will be pushed to the limit by German veteran saxophonist and free jazz luminary Peter Brötzmann. I chose to not listen by anything they’ve recorded together (spoilers!), but I sure expect a lot from this duo. While Brötzmann needs no introduction at all for the average music lover who dares to challenge himself every now and then, Noble is an experienced drummer who also plays in Æthenor and collaborated with the likes of Ikue Mori, Derek Bailey or Stephen O’Malley. This should be interesting. And produce a whole lot of noise.
MARISSA NADLER (Sala 1, 6:20 – 7:20)
The calm after the storm, except for the broken hearted. After releasing a myriad of lesser known albums, which includes the excellent Songs III: Bird on the Water (a true gem and one of the most breathtaking albums taken from the American psychedelic folk revival at the end of the 00s), singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler finally broke through this year with her not-major-but-certainly-not-minor-label debut, July (Sacred Bones/Bella Union). Playing in Portugal for the first time – despite having some of her official videos filmed by Portuguese video artist Joana Linda – this will most likely be the most intimate moment of the festival. If I could take my eyes off the stage, I’d sure see people crying.
BEN FROST (Sala 1, 00:15 – 01:15)
Yes, I skipped Swans. Everyone and their mother/father has heard about them, at least if they own a Facebook account. Enough is enough and the music speaks for itself. Ben Frost is the real highlight on day 1. When I first listened to his masterpiece, 2009’s By the Throat, I certainly did not expect and was appalled by the massive layers of industrial noise (Jesus Christ, I was hoping for something more soft and mellow when I decided to download yet another Bedroom Community record) that were presented to me before its true beauty revealed itself: an album that even without using visual elements sets an entire scenery for us to glare. It could be a movie. It could be a nightmare. I know he’s presenting his – actually as wonderful – new album A U R O R A, but during an entire hour I’ll pretend I’ll be living that nightmare again.
SUNDAY
WOVENHAND (Sala 1, 7:30 – 9:00)
One of the best possible reasons for not watching the final minutes of a FC Porto home game is being blessed with the possibility of seeing Denver’s finest outfit Wovenhand. David Eugene Edwards’ brainchild is one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen. I’ll never forget that rainy night at Casa da Música where I was repeatedly trampled by a Southern Gothic-inspired monster of a band, with Edwards preaching above all – and I liked it. This is the main reason everyone should be there and they’re worth every cent of your ticket. Shut up and praise the Lord.
CULT OF LUNA (Sala 1, 10:40 – 00:10)
Coimbra, 21st April 2007. Seven and a half years ago. That was one of the last times I listened to Cult of Luna. I was beginning to fall out of love with extreme music. I remember I didn’t even bother to pay attention to their next output, Eternal Kingdom, one year after, expect for that behemoth of a track that is “Ghost Trail”. Still, that night in a ruined monastery in Coimbra is forever carved in my mind – that was the most powerful concert I have ever seen in my life. That bunch of Swedes hit me like a sledgehammer even with all odds against them – only a couple hundred people showed up to a concert in a massive open room with the worst imaginable sound quality ever (poor Men Eater, who opened for them). Sometimes I felt my head was hitting hard against the inside of a bucket but ultimately I noticed it was free of pain and floating near some dense, dark clouds. 10/10, would experience that again.
ALHOUSSEINI ANIVOLLA (Mainfloor, 00:10 – 00:50)
Now this is risky. Listening to anything after a Cult of Luna show seems like a really bad idea, making it tempting to head home after a tough weekend. Not if you place the most exquisite proposal of the whole festival right after their concert in the mainfloor where everyone will be hanging out. Alhousseini Anivolla is a Nigerien guitarist who’s also the frontman of local band Etran Finatawa. If you follow the desert blues scene or spend your summer vacations in Sines, you probably already know about him. I don’t. And I won’t talk too much about something I know next to nothing about, but all it took for his concert to be featured here was this youtube link.
*The crossed out text is actually an ode to Amplifest’s mature and polite audience: I’ve never seen such a small amount of people talking or fucking around with their smartphones in a festival than in this one