words: Telma Mota (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: Telma Mota
The second edition of A Noite do Cometa once again surprised and reaffirmed its restless attitude, always refreshing in its commitment to promoting emerging Portuguese bands.
This time, the fusion of different musical genres travelled through the sounds of the chosen projects with spirit, elegance and youthful energy.
The event began with what was called a Prólogo (Prologue) surprise, bringing together Carlos Raposo and Alexandre Manuel Pinto in a string duet. Carlos, on the 10-string viola campaniça, accompanied by Alexandre on classical guitar, opened the event in the best possible way, with original pieces inspired by traditional music, somewhere between folk and pades.
Well played and performed, it set the tone for a musical night marked by freedom and diversity.
Next came the young bands Manga Cava, Mordo Mia and Lesma, which, in the words of organiser Garcia, were not chosen to fit into a mere playlist, but because they were capable of “altering the night for one another”. Interspersed with the consistently quality music of Jorge Monteiro’s DJ set, they took to the stage with attitude.
Manga Cava, a four-piece girly indie pop punk rock band, recently released the EP Retrato da menina abandonada no lixo. They are ironic, noisy and competent. Joana and Maria sing, accompanied by their guitars, raw songs energised by bass and drums. Among their original songs, they performed one by Pega Monstro, a band from the underground scene with which they identify.
Mordo Mia added discomfort, in an unusual mixture of musical genres. Guitar, violin, keyboards, bass and drums come together in an intense and extraordinary amalgam that makes us pay attention to the details through which they communicate complex and contradictory feelings. Surprising for a band made up of people so young. Still a somewhat immature sound, but promising.
To complete the emerging trio, Lesma, a girls’ band made up of three friends who released their first album, É mentira, in 2025 through Saliva Diva. Raw, strong and direct punk rock which, through Rita Mira’s voice, gains a particularly interesting life, with lyrics delivered in a machine-gun verbal register, reflecting current personal and generational concerns, so many and so intense that they almost trip over one another in streams of muffled screams. An excellent performance, delivered with confidence and commitment.
To finish, the comet exploded with the performance of Fugly, a Porto garage-rock band that began its activities ten years ago, but has performed little lately. Nevertheless, they retain their intensity, with their two noisy guitars, precise bass and an energetic drum kit that tears through everything and drives the band’s live performance. With an explicit anti-fascist message delivered from the stage, their vocalist Jimmy finished by expressing the hope we all want to hold on to while there is still “road to travel”…
After these magnificent high-octane live moments, the night entered its epilogue, provided by the already very well-known rock ’n’ roll DJ Rodas, owner of the recently closed Barracuda bar.
And so another special night of musical comet unfolded at OPO’LAB. Long may it be repeated.
