Mondo Bizarre Magazine Concert Reviews, Festivals, Reviews

Sonic Blast 2026 – Praia da Duna dos Caldeirões,Vila Praia de Âncora – Recap

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Sonic Blast Fest 2026: More Than Just a Festival, It’s an Annual Tradition

words: Joana Coelho
photos: Ricardo Silva

Every August, the quiet coastal stretch of northern Portugal transforms into an international sanctuary for heavy underground music. Sonic Blast Fest has long carved out a unique identity in the European festival circuit: an event where the laid-back rhythm of Atlantic ocean breezes, pine forests, and beachside culture collides head-on with a wall-of-sound lineup spanning stoner, doom, hardcore, psych-rock, and extreme metal.

The 2026 edition arrived with huge momentum, boasting yet another completely sold-out gathering and drawing dedicated fans from different countries to witness a lineup that balanced rare classic reunions, explosive international debuts, and underground trailblazers.

This was not merely a sequence of individual concerts, but an immersive multi-day marathon testing the endurance and enthusiasm of its audience. By the time the gates fully swung open, the 2026 gathering set out to prove once again why its signature “Beach and Riffs” motto remains an unmatched Summer experience.

Capela Mortuária © Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Day 0: Setting the Bar High

The festival grounds roared to life early with a warm-up day that felt significantly busier than in previous years. The heavy turnout was felt immediately around the intimate Third Stage, where photographers and fans navigated a packed pit to catch the opening salvos. Wizard Master had the honor of warming up early arrivals, setting the stage for Spin the Skull, who delivered the first major surprise of the night with catchy hooks and driving riffs that ignited immediate mosh pits.

Capela Mortuária carried that momentum forward with a barrage of straightforward thrash, elevated by a double-guest appearance – the frontmen of both Vai-te F*der and Besta joined the stage to lend their vocals. Headliners Bongzilla closed out the night with a dense wall of sound, alternating between moments of raw crushing power and dragged-out sludge passages. Paired with a massive rush on official merch that saw several designs sell out before midnight, Day 0 established a high-standard precedent for the marathon ahead.

Deafheaven © Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Day 1: High Energy and Unforgettable Moments

Official festivities opened on the Third Stage with Free Ride delivering stoner-tinged heavy rock to a remarkably full early-afternoon crowd. Following travel logistics that saw Elephant Tree step up to an earlier slot – performing a raw, stripped-back set as a trio following guitarist Jack’s absence – the festival hit its full stride. Australia’s Clamm brought high-velocity garage punk to the Second Stage, but it was Trash Talk who delivered what many hailed as the show of the day. Making their Portuguese debut to a heavily international crowd, the hardcore outfit unleashed absolute chaos, complete with massive circle pits, a seated audience section, and the frontman crowd-surfing all the way from the accessible viewing platform back to the stage.

Turbonegro © Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Day 2: Heavyweight Titans Take the Podium

As the day progressed, Midnight brought daylight banter and maximum adrenaline, handing out beers from the stage, inviting fans into the photo pit, and leading a massive singalong to Satanic Royalty. Frankie and the Witch Fingers delivered a masterclass in psych-garage virtuosity before Deafheaven took the First Stage as night settled in. Acting like a master puppeteer, the frontman held the crowd spellbound through hypnotic soundscapes, continuous mosh pits, and the festival’s first encore, while teasing a new album on the horizon. Chat Pile delivered crushing noise-rock laced with stand-up-style movie trivia, Snapped Ankles turned the Second Stage into an experimental dance party from the middle of the crowd, and late-night sets from Mephistofeles and Madmess kept the grounds alive past 3:30 AM.

Friday opened on a spacey note with Jesus The Snake on the Second Stage, offering a hypnotic synth-prog buffer for fans recovering from Day 1. Hög quickly picked up the tempo with fast riffs and a new track preview, while Clamm returned for a second weekend set to fill in for a last-minute Dead Meadow cancellation.

Thrash veterans Voivod drew a massive turnout to the Second Stage, sharing fistbumps with the front row during an intense performance, paving the way for Conan’s caveman battle-doom to trigger continuous crowdsurfing and a massive circle pit on the First Stage. Street-punk legends The Casualties tore the Second Stage apart, with their frontman leaping directly into the pit. Kylesa’s triumphant return marked a major peak in festival attendance, bringing dual-drum sludge power. Headliners Turbonegro sparked pure euphoria with a sailor-hat-clad crowd singing All My Friends Are Dead in unanimous chorus, delivering what was considered by the majority as the standout set of the day.

Late into the night, festival veterans Deathchant proved once again why Sonic Blast has truly become their home away from home. Having graced the festival stages multiple times over the years, the heavy rock outfit commanded an absolute crowd-favorite reception, delivering a raw, explosive performance and highlighting their brand-new single “Enemy” – released that very day from their upcoming album Kova. Goya and an industrial electronic late-night party from N8NOFACE pushed the remaining energy straight through to 3:00 AM.

High On Fire © Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Day 3: A Grand Finale

The final day opened to an eager, energetic crowd. Summer Of Hate and Primitive Ring got the early afternoon moving before Margarita Witch Cult brought heavy fuzz doom to the First Stage. Necrot delivered a dark, ferocious wake-up call on the Second Stage, blending old-school death metal with underground crust punk roots and urging security guards to get to work as crowdsurfers flooded the front. Greek stoner-rockers 1000mods ignited massive singalongs, paying tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with a cross bearing his name during “Overthrown,” while Teen Mortgage made a fierce Portuguese debut packed with strong political statements and earning enthusiastic cheers from the audience at the end.

The battle for the day’s podium came down to two monumental First Stage performances: Elder captivated a spellbound audience with sprawling heavy psych riffs that sparked a non-stop wave of crowdsurfers, while High On Fire delivered an unstoppable performance featuring Converge drummer Ben Koller behind the kit. Following an electronic shift with ADULT. and a heavy doom debut from Early Moods – which survived a brief late-night rain shower – Ungraven brought the marathon to a close on the Third Stage with crushing sludge.

Counting Down to the 15th Milestone

As the final amplifiers powered down and the hum of distortion faded into the early morning air, festivalgoers began their slow trek back toward the campsites and coastal roads. The 2026 edition succeeded not only in delivering dozens of world-class performances, but also in cementing the deep sense of community that turns this festival into a cherished annual ritual. Over four days, thousands of fans shared mosh pits, ocean dips, late-night dance parties, and heavy riffs, proving that the spirit of heavy underground music is as vital and unified as ever.

However, this edition also brought into focus the festival’s own phenomenal success. Year after year, Sonic Blast continues to experience exponential growth, and with another completely sold-out edition, the sheer density of attendees created noticeable friction during peak movement between stages. Highlighting the growing consensus among festivalgoers that the event may well deserve a venue upgrade – a larger, better-optimized space capable of accommodating its burgeoning crowd without sacrificing comfort or flow.

Now, as the dust settles and reality sets back in, everyone is already feeling the inescapable post-Sonic Blues. Leaving behind a trail of ringing ears, salt air, and unmatched memories, fans are already eagerly counting down the days until next Summer. All eyes turn toward the Portuguese coast once again, where Sonic Blast Fest will celebrate its landmark 15th anniversary milestone edition.

There are photo galleries of Sonic Blast 2026 on our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mondobizarremagazine/

Reviews: Day 0 Warm-Up, 05.08.2026; Day 1, 06.08.2026; Day 2, 07.08.2026; Day 3/, 08.08.2026;

Turbonegro Fans at Sonic Blast 2026 on Mondo’s Instagram

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva



Mondo Bizarre Magazine Festivals, Reviews

Sonic Blast 2026 – Day 0 – Warm-Up, 05.08.2026, Praia da Duna dos Caldeirões,Vila Praia de Âncora.

Bongzilla © Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Sonic Blast 2026 is on and we will be bringing you daily reports of the festival.

words: Joana Coelho
photos: Ricardo Silva

The 2026 edition of Sonic Blast Fest kicked off with an unusually massive turnout, with many festivalgoers noting that the grounds for Day 0 felt significantly busier than in previous years.

This surge in attendance was particularly evident around the intimate 3rd Stage, where the dense crowd made walking around tight for attendees and proved a challenge for photographers trying to capture the action. Yet, the unique ecosystem that defines the festival was alive and well, blending the peaceful backdrop of the beach with the impending chaos of heavy riffs – living up to the event’s signature “Beach and Riffs” spirit.

Wizard Master had the honor of opening the festivities, efficiently warming up the early arrivals and setting the stage for the noise to follow.

The evening’s first major surprise came courtesy of Spin The Skull, who instantly won over the crowd with a blast of catchy riffs and commandingly powerful vocals, throwing the audience into an immediate frenzy.

If Spin The Skull set the standard for high-octane vocals and wild moshpits, Capela Mortuária picked up the torch without missing a beat, channeling that exact energy into a relentless assault of straightforward Thrash. Their explosive set was further elevated by a “double-Paulo” guest appearance, as the frontmen of Vai-te F*der and Besta crashed the stage to lend their voices for a track each, driving the crowd wild.

As the night’s most anticipated act, Bongzilla took the stage to close out the live music with their signature wall of dense, crushing sound. Delivering a set that ultimately divided the audience, the American sludgelords alternated between moments of absolute sonic brilliance and slower, more dragged-out passages, leaving the crowd suspended between raw heaviness and sludge.

The rush to the Festival’s official merch booth proved the strong loyalty of the festivalgoers, with several designs selling out quickly on the first day. Fueled by an electric atmosphere across the grounds, Day 0 set the bar sky-high and laid down the perfect foundation for what promises to be another unforgettable edition of Sonic Blast Fest.

There are photo galleries of Sonic Blast 2026 Warm Up and other days on our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mondobizarremagazine

Reviews: Day 1, 06.08.2026; Day 2, 07.08.2026; Day 3, 08.08.2026; Recap

Turbonegro Fans at Sonic Blast 2026 gallery at Mondo’s Instagram

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Mondo Bizarre Magazine Concert Reviews, Concerts, Reviews

Father John Misty, Coliseu, Porto, 02.06.2026.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Daniela Tedim

words: Paulo Carmona (edited by Raquel Pinheiro)
photos: Daniela Tedim

Ladies & Gentlemen — welcome to the celebration of sound.

I cannot remember attending a concert at the Porto Coliseum, and there have surely been well over fifty by now,with such outstanding sound. And this is precisely where I want to begin. Credit must be given to the entire team of musicians and technicians who allow us to experience music in its purest and most beautiful state.

Father John Misty appeared on stage in all his musical splendour, surrounded by musicians capable of performing at the very highest level of what I consider quality music.

What happened there was magic. It was moving, overwhelming, and capable of making the hairs stand up on the head of even a centenarian with no hair left to stand. Everything in that music was perceptible, everything was tangible, everything was everything.

A consummate performer, possessing the natural poise of his essence as a cult artist, he wandered across the stage like a siren whose song captivates the audience with a visceral diplomat’s passport.

With a set built around 21 songs from his already long career, which from the very first second sent the audience, who almost completely filled the Coliseum, into raptures, there was no shortage of favourites such as Mr Tillman, Chateau, Buddy’s Rendezvous, Mental Health, the joyfulness of Novel contrasting with the nostalgic introspection of Magic Mountain and the agonised, warlike energy of Payoff in flashes of rhythmic poetry. She Cleans Up, of course, and finally the magnificent Mahashmashana.

That scarlet red backdrop, the deep blue tones and the lighting did the rest, and everything was simply… just perfect!

There’s a photo gallery on our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mondobizarremagazine/

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Daniela Tedim
Mondo Bizarre Magazine Concert Reviews, Concerts, Reviews

Bombino, Casa da Música, Porto, 31.05.2026.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Daniela Tedim

With All The Feeling and Soul In The World

words: Raquel Pinheiro
photos: Daniela Tedim

Presenting songs from his latest album, Sahel (2023), Bombino returned with the hypnotic blend of desert blues and rock that has made him one of the most distinctive guitarists of his generation.

Often described as a pioneer of Tuareggae, a fusion of traditional Berber rhythms and rock and roll, Bombino sings and writes primarily in Tamasheq. Watching him perform, however, labels quickly become secondary to the experience itself.

The concert began acoustically. Bombino, accompanied by drummer Corey Wilhelm and a bassist whose name sadly escaped me, eased the audience into the evening with gentle rhythms and fluid melodies. Dressed in traditional Tuareg garments, the trio immediately established an atmosphere that felt both intimate and expansive.

The first songs unfolded with graceful ease. The bass remained smooth and steady beneath Bombino’s singing, while the guitar moved between delicate flourishes and syncopated desert-blues patterns. There were occasional vocal exclamations, almost calls carried on the wind, and moments where the music shifted unexpectedly between melancholy and propulsion.

One particular acoustic number began like a lament, only to transform into something far more rhythmic. What fascinated me was the contrast between the apparent mournfulness of the voice and the increasing momentum generated by the guitar and percussion. It created a tension that felt both ancient and modern.

As the instrumental passages expanded, Bombino and the bassist repeatedly moved face to face, exchanging phrases with a distinctly rock-and-roll energy. The chemistry between them was one of the evening’s recurring pleasures, while Corey Wilhelm’s drumming provided a powerful foundation throughout.

Then came the transition that many in the audience had been waiting for.

The acoustic guitar was set aside and Bombino plugged in.

Instantly we entered the territory for which he is best known: electric desert blues infused with the spirit of Hendrix.

Bombino has often spoken about learning guitar by watching videos of Jimi Hendrix and Dire Straits, and while the influence is present, what emerges is unmistakably his own voice. The economy of movement is remarkable. There are no unnecessary gestures, no theatrical flourishes. The hands move sparingly, yet the sound that emerges is immense.

Addressing the audience in French, Bombino thanked everyone for their support and spoke about the years since his previous visit. The response from the crowd was warm and immediate.

From there the concert steadily gathered momentum. Traditional melodies intertwined with psychedelic textures. Guitar and bass once again found themselves in conversation, sometimes duelling, sometimes dancing around one another. The bassist was extraordinary. More than once I found myself writing the same note in my notebook: “that bass, that bass, that bass.”

One particularly exhilarating piece felt almost like a desert cavalcade. The bass groove was irresistibly danceable, the drums drove relentlessly forward, and Bombino’s guitar soared above it all with long, electrifying solos that somehow felt both effortless and deeply rooted.

As the evening progressed, the audience became increasingly animated. The bassist joked in English that he knew everyone wanted to dance and apologised for the chairs. It was a fair observation. Before long people were standing, moving and swaying wherever space allowed.

I eventually joined those dancing along the upper steps at the side of the auditorium. Down by the stage, one audience member repeatedly appeared, danced enthusiastically and then disappeared again, becoming a small performance within the performance.

The later part of the set moved through a variety of moods. There were moments of traditional singing, extended instrumental passages, slower and almost jazzy sections, and long stretches where the audience clapped along with the rhythm section while Bombino explored melodic pathways on guitar.

By the end, the entire room was on its feet.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Daniela Tedim

One of the final highlights featured a wonderfully grooving drum solo followed by an equally captivating bass feature. Bombino stepped back, danced, and allowed his bandmates to take centre stage before all three musicians returned to a hypnotic, almost primeval groove that felt as though it had emerged directly from the desert itself.

For the encore, Bombino returned alone. Guitar in hand, he began with a solitary groove and a series of twanging phrases before the bassist and drummer gradually rejoined him. It was a fitting ending: a reminder that, whether acoustic or electric, intimate or expansive, Bombino’s music ultimately rests on the power of rhythm, groove and connection.

Desert blues may be the term most often attached to his music, but on this evening it often felt just as much like a rock concert. Not because it abandoned its roots, but because it embraced them with such confidence that they could converse effortlessly with Hendrix, psychedelia, groove and pure rock-and-roll energy.

And judging by the number of people dancing by the end, the audience understood that perfectly.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Daniela Tedim

Mondo Bizarre Magazine Art, Reviews

Libby Heaney – Eat My Multiverse,  Escola das Artes da Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto, 28.05.2026.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva

Libby Heaney’s performance was part of Eat My Multiversepart of the Art + Tech x Cosmos programme of Escola das Artes of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto’s campus.

It mixed a live performance combining quantum computing, virtual environments, sound, voice, movement, embodied ritual, and surprises.

Two things instantly drew me to Libby Heaney’s Eat My Multiverse performance: the word multiverse, and a photograph of Libby on Nibble My Multiverse, MU Hybrid Art House, Eindhoven (2026), taken by Hanekke Wetzer.

I work in multiverses. Whether through The Polymath, of which The Polymath is an expression, through The Listening Room HQ, my music, my poetry… It’s no wonder the word stood out as if it had been written in fluorescent pink.

We are in a secluded performance space. Some of us sit on chairs, others on cushions, others still on the floor, all facing a large screen like a canvas.

Someone claps their hands, like a cinema clapperboard. The lights dim.

Libby enters and positions herself in front of the centre of the screen, wearing a nude-toned suit.

Chapter 1 — Multiverse (put in bold)

“Feeding on a special… and stardust, my tissues kick under gravity,” she speaks.

A person moves through the performance space, walking around Libby with a digital torch. Its presence shifting attention across body and screen. Libby moves gently, almost dancing, her red hair catching the light. Her gestures are soft but precise, as if responding to both sound and image.

The screen behind her shows shifting visuals, loosely connected to her words. Movement and image begin to merge, slightly out of sync, slightly blurred.

Libby walks towards the right side of the space, moving closer to the audience.

Something is said about the speed of light.

A constant beating emerges, heart-like, insistent.

“Wake, chest, sleep, repeat…”

She continues moving along the right side, bending, contorting, her breathing becoming audible. Her voice softens into fatigue.

She returns towards the centre, now among the front rows of seated audience members. She keeps speaking throughout.

Head down. One leg lifted. Heavy breathing. A voice that begins to sound physically tired.

She pauses to drink water. Asks us how we are doing.

“How is my multiverse now?”

Libby asks if anyone would like to share their multiverse. “My multiverse likes participation.”

Someone eventually speaks, describing a spiral, hunger, and a sense of disorientation.

“My multiverse is disappointed.” She responds simply, almost candidly since she is not a stand-up comedian; she is not used to this, she says. Adding “We never know how an audience will respond. We have to try new things.”

Chapter 2 — Quantum

Libby opens a transparent box and takes out a viscous, slime-like material.

She begins to play with it, throw it to us, to distribute it among the audience. A small amount lands on my backpack. I gather it into a small sphere; it now sits inside Notebook 25 of my Morning Pages.

A metronomic sound underpins the space, repetitive, grounding, almost mechanical.

“2008 to 2013… cold clustering corridors…”

Now, Libby lies on her back on the floor, speaking and gesturing. The heartbeat returns.

She crawls, then stands. Screens flicker. Sounds fracture into squeals.

Chapter 3 — Digestion

We are asked to stand.

“If you would like to come up and place on my body however you want, come.”

For me, this moment feels more unfamiliar.

I remain seated.

A “light bearer” moves through the space, passing a torch across her body.

“I invite you to join me… let us touch our portals…”

Bodies, space, and attention begin to fold together in a shifting configuration. A heartbeat grows louder.

Libby is on the floor again. “Thank you.”, she says. And for now, for us, her multiverse ends.

We leave the black box, each back to their lives, their multiverses. Mine takes me to an ocean swim.

There’s a photo gallery of the performance on our Instagram http://www.instagram.com/mondobizarremagazine/

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Ricardo Silva
Mondo Bizarre Magazine Concerts of the Year, Raquel Pinheiro, Records of the Year

Best of 2024

My best of 2024 are records, concerts, a book and an exhibition that filled my soul, touched me, or left a strong impression. Art forms that early this year still resonate, and remain close to my heart.

In late April 2024 I wrote an essay with Deep Emotions, a single from Good Grief, Bernard Butler third solo album and his first in 25 years as starting point. It was my second essay for Mondo. Along with, earlier in 2024, the listening parties of Rafael Toral’s Spectral Evolution it was the beginning of marvels, emotional perils and tribulations, and new paths.

The albums by Rafael and Bernard are healing records. Basalto merges melancholia, drama, romanticism. Vini Reilly is a Record Store Day re-issue of the 1989 album by Durutti Column. If there is a musician, composer, guitarist that has been with me since I’m a kid and has an influence how I see, approach, the electric guitar, Vini Reilly is him. I become aware of Ned Swarbrick when Bernard made a shout-out for support acts, and I liked Ned’s music. His ep has been a constant since.

As the Universe would have it, in 2024 Bernard played in Portugal for the first time, solo or otherwise. It was an amazing concert. 2024 was also the year of Old Jerusalem’s last concert. Old Jerusalem and Francisco Silva, the man behind it, have been part of Mondo’s favourites for decades. Francisco also begun being part of mine, in a different capacity, in 2022 when we wrote our first song together. Old Jerusalem last concert was intimate, poignant, a gathering of friends.

Records:
Bernard Butler – Good Grief (355 Recordings)
Rafael Toral – Spectral Evolution (Moikai/Drag City Records)
Basalto – Blunt Knives (self-release)
The Durutti Column – Vini Reilly (rsd2024)
Ned Swarbrick – Michelangelo EP (self-release)

Concerts:
Bernard Butler – Casa da Música, Porto
Orquestra Barroca Casa da Música & Coro Casa da Música performing Messiah by Handel – Casa da Música, Porto
Basalto – Passos Manuel, Porto
Bill Mackay – Rivoli, Porto
Sleaford Mods – Casa da Música, Porto
Old Jerusalem – Socorro, Porto
Tindersticks – Casa da Música, Porto

Book:
Miranda July – All Fours (Riverhead Books)

Exhibition:
Cláudia Clemente – Plastic Bitch, Mira Fórum, Porto

Mondo Bizarre Magazine Concerts, Reviews

Rafael Toral, Understage-Rivoli, Porto, 04.10.2024.

© João Octávio Peixoto/TMP

words: Raquel Pinheiro; photos: João Octávio Peixoto/TMP

We’re literally seated, in the dark, in the Rivoli’s underbelly. My old friend Rafael Toral is presenting his new album Spectral Evolution. Spectral Evolution is a single continuous instrumental track. The concert follows the same format.

“There are already too many ruptures in the world, I’m more commited in peace, integration, healing, reconciliation, and this record assumes it.” said Rafael, on an interview, about Spectral Evolution. I wholeheartedly concur with him.

Spectral Evolution, one of my three favourite records of 2024 so far, does have an healing, a come together effect. It’s brings forward emotions, release, serenity.

Here, live, at least where I was seated, for me that was a little disturbed by the sound in itself. It’s part of the nature and the beauty of live music.

I’m not going into technical details or guitar approaches, many of which I’m not even sure or fully aware of. I’ll go with sensations, emotions, a report of how the sound and music reached me, what I made of it.

© João Octávio Peixoto/TMP

A piercing, erthquakerish, lound sound, under, or along which, church like and birdsong like music appears. Scratches, signals, noises. It moves towards gentleness, a slight return to higher intensity. There’s a coming and going, a departure, an arrival, a departure, an arrival, a departure. It goes up, higher, louder. It recesses. It floats. It pierces the heart, the muscles, the soul, the senses.

Hadn’t seen Rafael in person in a while it wasn’t no much a case of reconciliation, or even reconnection – we connect through his music, and in the usual current ways – more the joy, the affection, the hugs, the kind and godspeed farewell words in the now emptiness of a minutes before filled room. It was a good-bye matching the essence of Spectral Evolution.

© João Octávio Peixoto/TMP
Mondo Bizarre Magazine Middle of the Week Song, Reviews

Bernard Butler – Camber Sands

Good morning with our Middle of the Week song – Camber Sands by Bernard Butler. Camber Sands is the opening song from

Good Grief is Bernard Butler third solo album and his first in 25 years. Have listened to the song live on assorted youtube recordings I was curious to hear how the album version sounded like. There are shades of Bowie, snippets of lost dancehalls mood, murmurs of a land between countryside and the intangible real.

The video takes me back to an array of memories. Road trips with my dad. Going up and down my country distributing print Mondo or, years before, as a road manager finding myself in numerous small, unknown places.The lyrics “back to 83” when the possibilities were endless. The music to a certain house, by the sea, with its garden, pine tress, endless joy. And another house, close by, in pastels colours, hidden behind walls among an amazing garden.

For me, the song also conveys melancholia of childhood memories, of love found, and lost and found. Songs become ours. Each of us will put their own experiences, feelings, emotions to them. Making someone who hardly cries, me, shed tears is a gesture. Hats of to you, Bernard. Have a nice day everyone.

[Good Grief is out on 355 Recordings 31st May]

Mondo Bizarre Magazine Concerts, Reviews

The Legendary Tigerman, Hard Club, Porto, 23.03.2024.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Daniela Tedim

words: Paulo Carmona (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: Daniela Tedim

One thing is certain – Something new will happen. The Man is in constant innovation.
Is that cool? … It is. In this particular instance it is. There is a coherence in the manner and presentation in synchrony with the idyosincrasies of mi artist-performer. It is in aesthetics and the imaginary that Paulo Furtado’s art of music takes a different short cut, but the vanishing point between rock’n’roll evens goes away and returns to him. A dynamic present on Zeitgeist – the new album played at this concert.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Daniela Tedim

The rebelious gentleman presented a well structured setlist, starting with Everyone, One More Time, Good girl and Naked Blues, wandering between the before and the now in a frenzy of contagious emotions that seethed throughout the room with shades of insolent eroticism that insists on watering our garden on a pouring rainy day. Motorcycle Boy was also played, and, towards, the end Fix of Rock’n’roll.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Daniela Tedim

Very well accompanied on stage by Filipe Rocha (bass), Cabrita (sax), Mike Ghost (drums) and Sara Badalo (vocals) who, with her remarkable and sensual voice has a highlighted role on Zeitgeist.
The show never stops because there is no time to waste. We’re on the last round and hips haven’t stop moving at the rhythm of such incendiary rock’n’roll. Guests Ray and Best Youth join the party adding colour to the scenery.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Daniela Tedim

Already among the audience Paulo Furtado punchily asks what is supreme glory. Until someone gets the right answer: Love! He ends up upon the back bar. No one wants a K.O. We all want a mutually agreed and quite sweaty satisfaction.
I maintain this Legendary Tigerman is our most genuine case of pure, raw, é o nosso caso mais genuíno de rock’n’roll, even on the latest record in which keyboards and samplers a la carte are enequivally present. With the bar raised quite high, in my view, he remains a rock’n’roll guru. Legendary, no doubt.
Vive le Rock!

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Daniela Tedim
Mondo Bizarre Magazine Concerts, Reviews

Wolf Manhattan, Mouco, Porto, 24.02.2024.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Paulo Carmona

words: Paulo Carmona (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: Paulo Carmona

A contagious happiness, as if was thick fog, immediately came upon the audience. Wolf Manhattan’s cheerful music collides with the time period of its creation – during the pandemic – which leads to believe (I may be wrong) it was a very effective way that João Viera, such an alternative pop music chameleon, found to buffer that distressing period. Among the chaos, an artist soul emerges as one of the best medicines for humanity.

We were given an amusing, intelligent performance, created by sound and improvised theatre. There were rabbits, ghosts and aligattors with raving multiple signs in which shaking your butt dancing, grotesque and fantasy go hand in hand with the rocking of an hypnotic merry-go-round.

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Paulo Carmona

As for Wolf Manhattan’s songs, that join juicy electronic pop, alternative indie-pop-rock with a certain beat, Back to Her, Wanna go Back, Voices in My head and, of course, Sometimes attended the celebration. I would have far more to say,but prefer to tie with João Vieira’s own words to us “I want much more than a concert. A performance, a story, an imaginar, an universe, something different than just a music show.”,grounded, according João, in his be all – David Bowie. And he pulled it off. David Bowie??? – What else!

© Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Paulo Carmona