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 Concert Reviews, Concerts

Bill MacKay, Understage – Rivoli, Porto, 13.09.2024.

Bill MacKay @ Rivoli © Raquel Pinheiro
© João Octávio Peixoto/TMP

Guitar Poetry

words & video by Raquel Pinheiro; photos: João Octávio Peixoto/TMP

To say Bill MacKay’s concert was extraordinary, would be underwhelming. Sublime is a better word. Transcendental, another good one. Those words still don’t do justice to the music, guitar, playing, singing. In fact, being there is the only thing that would do it justice.

Beauty, poetry spoken with an electric guitar as I’ve seldom heard it. Bill sings too, and tells little stories about the songs, however, his visual, sound, poetic mastery of the guitar is the domain of few.

The songs from MacKay’s latest album Locus Land (by the way it’s Terra do Gafanhoto, Bill 🙂 ) gain a different, spiritual, otherworldly dimension live. They become a time within time. A time of gentleness, until the final piece served: Arcadia. Bill stood up to play Arcadia in full, distortion mode adding a sharp dramatic contrast to the tone of the concert.

Bill MacKay @ Rivoli © Raquel Pinheiro
© João Octávio Peixoto/TMP
Mondo Bizarre Magazine Amazing Sounds & Other Delights, Radio Show, YéYé Radio

Amazing Songs & Other Delights #62 – The Spring Wonders edition by Raquel Pinheiro @ Rádio Yé Yé @ mixcloud

My Amazing Songs & Other Delights #62 – The Spring Wonders edition is a simple programme with songs that evoke Spring even if several of them aren’t Spring songs per se. I like the feeling and emotions of the chosen songs put together.

Monday 25th, 3-4pm (gmTracklist:
01 – The Learning Station – Spring Is Here
02 – Bill McKay – Glow Drift
03 – Erica Buettner – Our Most Fragile Things
04 – Candelion feat. Cody Francis – I’m Thinking of You
05 – Laura Veirs – Lake Swimming
06 – Combustible Edison – Hot and Bothered
07 – Einstürzende Neubauten – Ist Ist (Rudy Shadow percussion version)
08 – Jasmine Minks – Soul Station
09 – The Gentle Spring – Dodge The Rain
10 – Pernice Brothers – The Ballad of Bjorn Borg
11 – Six Organs of Admittance – New Year’s Song
12 – The Divine Comedy – Perfect Lovesong
13 – They May Be Giants – Birdhouse in Your Soul
14 – The Hit Parade – Apple Tree
15 – Brian Eno & John Cale – Lay May Love
16 – The Beatles – Blue Blue Sky
17- The Smiths – There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

All previous shows on mixcloud: www.mixcloud.com/infoyeye/|www.mixcloud.com/MondoBizarreMagazine

Mondo Bizarre Magazine Amazing Sounds & Other Delights, Radio Show, YéYé Radio

Amazing Songs & Other Delights #62 – The Spring Wonders edition by Raquel Pinheiro @ Rádio Yé Yé, Monday 25th

Celebrate Spring by Ine Louise Mourick

My Amazing Songs & Other Delights #62 – The Spring Wonders edition airs Monday, 25th, 3-4pm (gmt) on Yé Yé Radio: yeyeradio.com (or on the app).

It is a simple, gentle programme with songs that evoke Spring even several of them aren’t Spring songs per se.Some of the ongs are just out – Einstürzende Neubauten’s Ist Ist – one is not even out, therefore the enigmatic “?”, others are from various decades.

I like the feeling and emotions of the chosen songs put together. I hope you like it too.

Tracklist:
01 – The Learning Station – Spring Is Here
02 – Bill MacKay – Glow Drift
03 – Erica Buettner – Our Most Fragile Things
04 – Candelion feat. Cody Francis – I’m Thinking of You
05 – Laura Veirs – Lake Swimming
06 – Combustible Edison – Hot and Bothered
07 – Einstürzende Neubauten – Ist Ist (Rudy Shadow percussion version)
08 – Jasmine Minks – Soul Station
09 – The Gentle Spring – Dodge The Rain
10 – Pernice Brothers – The Ballad of Bjorn Borg
11 -? – ?
12 – Divine Comedy – Perfect Lovesong
13 – They May Be Giants – Birdhouse in Your Soul
14 – The Hit Parade – Apple Tree
15 – Brian Eno & John Cale – Lay May Love
16 – The Beatles – Blue Blue Sky
17- The Smiths – There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

All previous shows on mixcloud: www.mixcloud.com/infoyeye/|www.mixcloud.com/MondoBizarreMagazine