words: António Carvalho (edited by Raquel Pinheiro) photos: Ricardo Silva
Upon arriving at RCA – Radioclube Agramonte concert hall, I spotted a low table in the center of the room, with a paraphernalia of interconnected devices under a dim light. A real challenge for Ricardo Silva, our photographer.
The spectators were seated or lying on mats, rugs, and cushions. It seemed an invitation to immersion and contemplation. Concepción was kneeling in front of this table. Although she is a multidisciplinary artist, this concert focused on the sound she created using the chosen devices, which included a cassette player and two walkmen.
She delicately manipulated buttons and potentiometers, inserting and removing cassettes, completely focused on producing sounds, loops, and drones resulting from the manipulation of the recordings on these tapes. Sometimes the sources were identifiable, but that didn’t seem to be the goal.
The transitions were smooth but clearly defined. This exploration of the sound spectrum, more concentrated in the mid-frequencies, but with occasional strong bass and atmospheric treble, rarely presented obvious rhythmic patterns, as drones and sonic brush strokes dominated.
This entire sequence of ambient themes took the audience on a wordless sonic journey, which induced alternating sensations in me, such as harmony and connection, agitation and strangeness. I am convinced that this was the purpose.
Concepcion clarified at the end that this presentation was based on her latest album, El Sol de los Muertos.
words: António Carvalho (edited by Raquel Pinheiro) photos: António Carvalho
Attending a concert by Canadian singer-songwriter Sean Nicholas Savage is like discovering a hidden gem. The modest stage of Lovers & Lollypops seemed too small for everything he delivered in just over an hour.
His exuberant presence, his larger-than-life poetry, his attention towards the audience, his virtuoso and expressive voice are just parts of a larger whole that is difficult to describe. His electronic pop, heavily indebted to the eighties, reveals itself as confessional, honest and with a dose of apparent naivety, where joy and melancholy, loss and gain, mystery and revelation, pleasure and pain coexist, sometimes within the same song.
Whether in ballads or upbeat music, the classic themes of love – the euphoria of passion, the discovery of the other, the broken hearts – are dominant and served in catchy and well-crafted melodies, like many of the pop classics. Sean’s excellent technical mastery of his voice, including a delightful falsetto, doesn’t take away any of the moment’s authenticity, as if he were pouring his heart out and offering it to the audience.It was almost impossible to take your eyes off this magnetic, barefoot figure.
Besides the privileged ones in the audience, Clara Phends on synthesizers and Max-Elie Laroche on electronic drums joined him in this brief, intimate journey. Sean covered a representative sample of his prolific discography, with some emphasis on his latest album The Knowing, a record he is very proud of, so he told me after the concert.
He even granted a request from the audience, performing half of Chin Chin, and finished with one of his favourites, the single It’s Happening. Thank you, beautiful freak!
There’s a photo gallery of the concert on our Instagram
words: António Carvalho (edited by Raquel Pinheiro) photos: Vítor Neves
Rita Braga says that, despite living in Porto since 2011, she doesn’t play often in her adopted city. She has traveled physically and musically to many corners of the world, but her latest album, Fado Tropical which she presented live at Rádio Clube de Agramonte is her first album entirely sung in Portuguese.
In the small spaces between songs, Rita explained its concept to the audience. She went back to the history and origins of fado, drew inspiration from research and literature dedicated to this theme (mainly A triste Canção do Sul), and brought many songs from that era (late 19th and early 20th centuries) back to the present day and to her peculiar style. The exotic mix of old melodies with instruments foreign to traditional fado (Rita’s inseparable ukulele, and Rui Rodrigues on the marimba, percussion, electronics, and the banjo) is harmonious, continuing to prove that fado is a permeable language.
The projected images reflect this coexistence of eras, alternating between photos, posters, and period articles with black and white portraits of Rita, as well as her stage pose (that of old fado singers) and attire. Her high-pitched, fresh, and somewhat unpretentious voice, without the mannerisms and virtuosity often associated with fado, revives songs performed by Ercília Costa, Maria Alice, and Hermínia Silva in the 1920s and 1930s, where it is clear that several themes remain very relevant today.
A version of the classic Chão de Estrelas was also heard, accompanied by an old recording of Armandinho’s guitar, establishing a link between fado and its possible Brazilian origins.
At the end, Rita presented us with one of the original songs from the album, based on a poem by Catarina Santiago Costa. Special mention should also be made of the other musician on stage, Rui Rodrigues (or “Pacheco III,” as Rita nicknamed him, as a reference to Hermínia Silva’s guitarist).
there’s a short reel and a photo gallery of the concert on our Instagram.
Noite do Cometa is a unique event Saturday 16, stretching to the early hours of Sunday 17, at a special space with concerts by Gabci, Baleia Baleia Baleia and Bulha the band of our very own Paulo Carmona, and DJ sets by A Boy Named Sue and Rodas at OPO’LAB, Porto (Rua D. João IV 643), doors 9pm. Tickets: €16.50 Euros + taxes (online at Shotgun)
Schedule: 9pm: Doors/DJs 9:45pm: Gabci 10:30pm: Bulha 11:30pm: Baleia Baleia Baleia 00:30am: DJ a Boy Named Sue | Rodas 2:30am: The Comet Passed By
words: António Carvalho (edited by Raquel Pinheiro) photos: António Carvalho
Lovers & Lollypops’ garage, transformed into a concert venue, was the chosen stage for Glyders, a three-piece from Chicago, performing in Porto.
It was a perfect setting. Garage rock is one of the distinctly American strands running through their sound, alongside southern rock, psychedelia, experimentalism, classic rock ’n’ roll, blues, and even country, all filtered in their own way.
The metronomic cadence of Miles Luttrell, the guest drummer on this tour, and the powerful bass lines of Eliza Weber form the rhythmic engine that carries Josh Condon’s guitar lines. He moves between melody and dissonance, between substance and explosion, between clarity and change, between a stable, conventional structure and sudden shifts in cadence and time signatures. Over this, his somewhat cryptic lyrics take shape, supported and expanded by Eliza’s harmonies.
A sense of unity emerges, creating a deep fusion between band and audience, where bodies, legs, and heads respond instinctively. The ten tracks from their two albums sound more intense live, more elusive, even when played right in front of us.
There was even time for an uninterrupted guitar string change, met with enthusiasm by what Josh called a “very polite” audience, and for an encore with the long and multifaceted Steppin’ / Tell Me About the Rabbit.
Rock is alive. It crosses our path, then disappears in a cloud of dust.
words: Paulo Carmona (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro) photos: Vítor Neves
Novos Românticos
A punch to the gut of the patriots. That’s what it is.
Any self-respecting lusitano, with a clear sense of their country’s history, recent or otherwise, will feel the almost unbearable weight of the stark, unvarnished reality served up by Novos Românticos. The silver platter is the sound, let that be clear.
This isn’t just music, it isn’t just musical aesthetics. It’s intervention, it’s agony, it’s the near-psychotic despair of someone who feels the weight of Portugalidade. Someone disillusioned with an Abril that seems ever more distant, with fewer and fewer reasons for pride.
David Félix is the man on duty, presenting himself to the audience as a kind of modern-day guru, fully prepared to press on the wound until it bleeds.
He carries an intrinsic ability to command attention: monochord vocal delivery, the sinuous movement of his body to the measured pulse of an electronic post-punk, hypnotic, corrosive, built on pre-recorded loops of guitar, drums, bass, keyboards, and samplers. He drifts across the stage, almost unsteady, faintly lascivious, but the message lands. That seems to be what drives them, and they achieve it with precision.
They performed material from across their repertoire, with a strong focus on their full-length work, Criptopátria. Worth highlighting are Pátria, Mesa Posta, and a very original version of the iconic Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart.
Bastonada @ Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Vítor Neves
Bastonada
Bastonada closed the night, delivering verbal and musical blows with their interventionist Electro Punk, edged with rap. It’s pure energy from beginning to end, without a moment’s respite.
They’re young, intense, sharp, and they fire off their songs as if the world were ending tomorrow.
The instruments are always front and centre, and their masked vocalist is a force of nature.
The insolent anger of their youth, combined with the level of competence in their instrumentation, points to a project with real substance and a great deal still to give. It will be interesting to watch.
Concert clips and photo galleries on our Instagram
words: Telma Mota (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro) photos: Telma Mota
On 16 April, it was a ‘Happy Day’ at the Teatro Aveirense, with the funeral march of PAUS.
Having announced their end, the band made their fourth appearance of the year in Aveiro with impact and a certain sense of occasion.
They presented their final album in full, in an uninterrupted 30-minute crescendo. As they have accustomed us, this work entitled Enterro is marked by intense, hypnotic and innovative pieces that combine old-school experimental rock sounds, with complex and repetitive rhythms, with touches of indie vocal lines and the psychedelic textures of post-rock.
However, at this stage, arguably more refined and mature, they decided to stop and die in a florid and controlled manner, celebrating their own funeral with a tour that will symbolically end on 19 November 2026, the date on which they began their journey 18 years ago.
In a relaxed register, they made a few pauses at the beginning and end of the concert, between better-known older songs, in some way justifying that it is far more interesting to die and bury PAUS with dignity than to pass away in a disordered manner.
Happily for me, as I prefer the band’s earlier phase, more visceral, raw and unrestrained, PAUS opened this concert with Mudo e Surdo and closed with Pelo Pulso, both from their first EP É uma Água
They said goodbye in style, with the intense rhythm of the Siamese drum set played by Quim Albergaria and Hélio Morais, and the striking sounds of Makoto’s bass and Fábio Jevelim’s keyboard. I stood there, clenched my teeth and tapped my foot, wishing only to be somewhere more suited to dancing and exorcising my demons. It is not often one is invited by the dead to their own funeral, but for those present it was certainly a smiling experience.
words: Paulo Carmona (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro) photos: Vítor Neves
Modern Nature performed as a trio, with Jack Cooper on vocals and guitar, Jim Wallis on drums, and Tara Cunningham on guitar and vocals. And for anyone who thinks a band operating within alternative rock / indie pop rock, in contemplative, nostalgic worlds and a slow-motion cadence, might deliver monotonous or dull concerts, they are completely mistaken.
Modern Nature are an excellent example of the opposite. With simple lines, without any kind of embellishing effects on the instruments, and an almost static stage presence, they gain in subtlety, in melodic richness, in soft worlds and warm breezes. The voices of Jack and Tara complement each other perfectly and draw us into a sweet, comforting calm, almost hypnotic. The drumming of Jim Wallis is magnificent, always exactly where it needs to be, carrying the melodies like a cradle rocked by maternal, steady hands.
They came to present their most recent work, The Heat Warps, and of course a range of tracks representative of their essence. From Pharaoh, Things, and Radio, with which they opened, through Jetty, Performance, Liverpool, and December, they maintained the audience in perfect alignment, with masterful control and a shared sense of sonic richness and delight.
After a demanding and intense week, it was exactly what I needed to reconnect with the universe, serenely.
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.
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”.
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
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)
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.
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.
Mondo Bizarre Magazine 