Mondo Bizarre Magazine Concert Reviews, Concerts

Tinariwen | Calcutá, Casa da Música, 13.04.2026.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

words: Raquel Pinheiro
photos: Ricardo Silva

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Calcutá, composer and multi-instrumentalist Teresa Castro from Porto, presented her debut album Soon After Dawn. Opening with
Fleeting Grace an infinitum drone in crescendo, from which, at a certain point, voice-sounds began to emerge.

There’s a mélange of baroque music, folk, and experimental in Calcutá’s sound, carried by eerie, hypnotic vocals. The voice is like another instrument moving through the music.

Calcutá is sparse, atmospheric, slow, drifting. Adjacent in texture to Tinariwen, but not in pulse, and, to me, closer to Sigur Rós in feeling.

The last song performed, Run Come Rally, had a different feeling. Almost a ballad, with a beautiful, more grounded guitar presence.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

This year, Tinariwen came to present their new album Hoggar, named after the mountains in the Algerian Sahara.

Hoggar was recorded in Tamanrasset, Algeria, and features José González singing in Spanish on Imidiwan Takyadam, and Solafa Elyas singing in Arabic on Sagherat Assani, alongside Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni, who moves between Tamasheq and Arabic.

Both Imidiwan Takyadam and Sagherat Assani were played, as well as four other songs from Hoggar: Amidinim Ehaf Solan, Erghad Afewo, Asstaghfero Allah, and N’ak tenere Iyat.

Tinariwen started slow with Alkhar Dessouf, but by the second song, Imidiwan Takyadam, the audience was already clapping along.

Clapping, standing up to dance, even moving into the side steps of the aisles, all became part of the performance, as is common in their concerts.

Whether as a sextet or septet, the band marveled with their syncopated rhythms, chants, and extraordinary use of three or four guitars, depending on the song.

Tempering the set between faster and slower moments, including the almost spoken Erghad Afewo, Tinariwen were as compelling as ever.

As José González sings in Imidiwan Takyadam we are all “navegando bajo lo mismo sol”.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Imidiwan Takyadam (feat. José González) English translation:

Tinariwen in Tamasheq
Friends,
See what has befallen you.
You’re scattered across
So many different lands
That you barely exist.
Have you forgotten your sisters,
Who you left behind,
Living under a hellish tyranny
That scalds every living heart?
This life is ever-changing,
And it prowls around those
Who are still alive.

José González
Don’t forget your sisters
Nor the mothers nor the daughters
With eyes cast to the ground
Sharing the same sky

Friends, lift your gaze
What are our chains?
Asking who we are
Sailing under the same sun

Looking at the same sky
Sailing under the same sun
Looking at the same sky
We live under the same sun

Asking who we are
Living under the same sun

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Calcutá setlist:
Fleeting Grace (Soon After Dawn,2026)
Weep Valley (Over Night, 2017)
Eterno Retorno (Soon After Dawn,2026)
Mountain Valley (Soon After Dawn,2026)
Background of Purpose (Soon After Dawn,2026)
Run Come Rally (Soon After Dawn,2026)

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Tinariwen setlist:
Alkhar Dessouf (Elwan, 2017)
Imidiwan Takyadam (Hoggar, 2026)
Le chant des fauve (Elwan, 2017)
N’ak tenere Iyat (Hoggar, 2026)
Kek Aghlam (Elwan, 2017)
Sagherat Assani (Hoggar, 2026)
Imidiwan Win Sahara (Aman Iman, 2007)
Asstaghfero Allah (Hoggar, 2026)
Amassakoul (Amassakoul, 2004)
Amidinim Ehaf Solan (Hoggar, 2026)
Tahoult (Emmaar, 2014)
Assawt (Amatssou, 2023)
Erghad Afewo (Hoggar, 2026)
Matadjen (Aman Iman, 2007)
Matenam (Amatssou, 2023)

Encore
Sastanàqqàm (Elwan, 2017)
Chaygibou (Amassakoul, 2004)

You can read our May 2025 review of Tinariwen concert at Casa da Música, in Porto here.

Mondo Bizarre Magazine Entries, Raquel Pinheiro, The Polymath

Aries New Moon – On Not Acting Too Soon

Aries New Moon – On Not Acting Too Soon my new post on The Polymath site is about not every impulse to act is true timing. The New Moon in Aries, the tension between action and restraint, and why the most accurate beginnings are sometimes the ones that wait. The Aires New Moon is the beginning of the Western Astrology New Year. You can read it on The Polymath site.

Mondo Bizarre Magazine Entries, The Listening Room HQ

Why Sessions at The Listening Room HQ Matter

Flora Bowley – I Will Stand By You

Why Sessions at The Listening Room HQ Matter. Reading can open a door, but insight needs a place to live. The Listening Room HQ – my men’s practice – sessions offer men a rare space to speak freely and discover clarity through deep, attentive listening. You can book a session at: https://www.thelisteningroomhq.com/p/sessions.html

Mondo Bizarre Magazine Entries, The Listening Room HQ

When Doing Everything Yourself Becomes Sabotage at The Listening Room HQ

Yasir Azeemi – Landscape Painting

When Doing Everything Yourself Becomes Sabotage the new post at The Listening Room HQ HQ, my men’s practice, is about that point where doing everything alone stops being strength and becomes sabotage. It speaks on capacity, control, why it’s best not to overdo, and knowing when to let others in. It can be read at the Listening Room HQ site.

Mondo Bizarre Magazine Concert Reviews, Concerts

Tame Impala | RIP Magic, Super Bock Arena, Porto, 04.04.2026.

Tame Impala © Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

words: Marcos Leal (edited by Raquel Pinheiro)
photos: Ricardo Silva

The opening act was Rip Magic who, despite showing real quality in their dance punk approach, deserved better sound conditions.

RIP Magic © Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

It was at the Super Bock Arena, in Porto that Tame Impala, aka Kevin Parker, kicked off their European tour presenting the new album Deadbeat. Live,

It couldn’t have started in a better way.
Both for the audience, who got to experience the concert in a smaller arena compared to other dates on the tour, and for Kevin Parker himself, who expressed how delighted he was with the warm and enthusiastic reception from the crowd.

On a Saturday night after a day that smelled like summer, the energy was already palpable upon arriving at the venue. Expectations were high, especially considering Tame Impala’s new album leans into a more electronic sound compared to previous releases.

As Kevin Parker stepped onto the stage and the first notes of Apocalypse Dream echoed through the arena, the crowd was swept into a psychedelic whirlwind of light and color. The rawer, more electronic new sound blended seamlessly with the classics everyone was eager to sing along to, and once again the stage design and lighting were nothing short of impressive. Elephant continues to prove itself an unshakable live anthem.

Tame Impala © Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Kevin – who famously takes a quick bathroom break at every show – used that moment to reappear on a small circular stage in the center of the arena, decorated like an improvised living room.

There, he lay down surrounded by synthesizers and keyboards to perform the more electronic tracks from the new album, while the audience watched intently, bodies swaying.

Between songs, Parker didn’t hide his affection for the city. He said several times that he loved Porto and didn’t wanted to leave, perhaps the lingering effect of a sunset at Virtudes. The crowd’s reaction made it clear the feeling was mutual.

The final stretch was pure catharsis: Let It Happen turned the venue into a sea of lights and confetti, and The Less I Know the Better had the entire arena singing as if it were a generational anthem.

The farewell came with the first track unveiled from Deadbeat, End of Summer, perfectly delivering that sense of early nostalgia for a short but memorable summer, one that Tame Impala brought along for a visit to Porto.

Tame Impala © Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Setlist:

  1. Apocalypse Dreams
  2. The Moment
  3. Borderline
  4. Loser
  5. Breathe Deeper
  6. Gossip
  7. Elephant
  8. Afterthought
  9. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
  10. Dracula
    B-Stage
  11. No Reply
  12. Ethereal Connection
  13. Not My World
    Main Stage
  14. Let It Happen
  15. Nangs
  16. List of People (To Try and Forget About) [live debut]
  17. Alter Ego
  18. Piece of Heaven
  19. Eventually
  20. New Person, Same Old Mistakes

Encore:

  1. My Old Ways
  2. The Less I Know the Better
  3. End of Summer
Mondo Bizarre Magazine Entries, The Polymath

Artemis II and a Small Moon Called Rise at The Polymath

© NASA – Rise, Artemis II mascot

Artemis II and a Small Moon Called Rise sees me writing on The Polymath about space, zero-gravity, the Moon and more. Artemis II marks humanity’s first crewed journey toward the Moon since the Apollo era. A reflection on exploration, memory, and the small symbols, from Gagarin’s doll to the Artemis mascot Rise – created by 8 years old Lucas Ye – that travel with us into space. You can read the post on The Polymath site.