words: Paulo Carmona (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: Paulo Carmona
Many went to Mouco to New Castle band Lanterns On The Lake first concert in Porto.
The band started with The Likes Of Us, Real Life and Every Atom. Right there it shows the band is instrumentaly very competent. Be it 9n the rhythm or the melodic section. The harmonic sequences are irreproachable.
Hazel Wilde’s lead vocals are impregnated with loud, vibrating sounds that perfectly dress the songs, fully tailored for her vocal range. As it is said, it fit like a glove. Indie rock set Mouco’s the room on fire with Blue Screen Beams, When It All Comes True and Rich Girls. Paul Gregory’s guitar is so intense that it is impossible for bodies not to vibrate with its riffs.
Before the encore, Hazel jokes a little with the cliché saying they will no behind that door and be right back with a few more song, which generates laughter. After the show, I wandered around and was left with the impression of a friend’s gathering in which between people who did not knew each other well. Music does such things.
Jozef van Wissem presented The Night Dwells In The Day, his latest album, last Sunday at Salão Novo Ático-Coliseu, Porto.
With his usual gloomy image of long hair and painted eyes, Jozef played his lute compositions. Interestingly, the first tracks were instrumental, some pre-recorded sounds supporting the slow, minimal, lute music. A few of the more electronic sounds displayed a certain sound experimentation leading to a strange, somehow dissonant contrast between the classic sound of the string instrument e the modemsoubd coming out of the laptop by Jozef’s side.
Silently, the audience listened in an introspective mood induced by melancholic baroque lute melodies. In a flashlight leave, Josef returns for an encore. Two more songs in his deeply cavernous voice were sung wrapping those attending in a melodically deeper, obscure ambient.
50 minutes flu by leaving the feeling it wasn’t enough.
words: Paulo Carmona (edited and freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: João Castro & Marcos Leal
Nothing more, nothingless than a colloquial conversation with music. . I’ve seen concerts with audience participation, but I have never witnessed to such close and afable dialogues between musicians and audience. It was really cute to watch.
From the start Marty didn’t stop telling jokes, stories, situations and events, and interjecting, in perfect symbiosis with the tone of one song after the other. Irish pub talk. Paraphrasing Marty: “The first song is called blah, blah, blah, is from blah, blah, blah album and was recorded at blah, blah, blah. Verbatim what I write you dear readers. Of course laughing and laughter echoed in unison through the room.
The duo presented itself with electro-acoustic folk guitar, violins, all its musical talent that was enough to the great celebration of their songs Tristesse, She’ll Come Back and Feed Your Mind in growing succession. Helpless You, I Don’t Think So, Almost With You where also sung, always growing to Into My Hands, You Whisper, Water Milkyway and Hopes and Fears.
The Celtic tone impregnated by the violin on the songs is contagious and Marty’s firgerstyle that goes along with is intense, memorable and extremely well performed. The songs breath among silence, rhythm and rather balanced vocals, between close or further from the microphone, depending of the flow and intensity. Brilliant in all its spendour.
Of note, the classical component brought by Olivia’s violin to the cheerful duo’s Celt folk inspired songs. There wasn’t an encore per se. Among clapping and request for more songs they didn’t left the stage. They prompty accept a presented with Melody of the Rain, Grind and Spark.Hard Rock Cafe room was already lively and kept being. Everyone was entitled to selfies, conversation and hugs with Marty and Olivia.
It is always good to feel such warmness from artists that know how to be upon a stage and set all star ways aside. The evening was cold and wet contrasting with what happened at the heart of the city. Pump pump heart.
words: Paulo Carmona (edited and freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: Paulo Carmona .
Recently, a lot has been talked about music as therapy. Sometimes more rightly, others less so. As everything else these days. In a deciduous Sunday, the moon already a companion., a few hundred people, among them myself, witnessed the confirmation of the preamble I’ve just mentioned by watching The Saxophones.
They started with Lamplighter, and right there the atmosphere changed in the blink of an eye.The music melodic smoothness soaked Francisco de Assis with a perfumed swing retro pop, capable to craddle de most attention sentinel of a fortification in danger. It is a very contagious and appeasing sound.
Alexis Erenkov is a very compente and compassionate baritone. He allows the music to and speaks for itself, that he only adorns with his frail, almost naive, verses, at times, here and there, accompanied by Alison Alderlice’s sweet voice.Alternating between saxophone and guitar, and a transverse flute in Boy Crazy, the songs, very aesthetically similar between themselves, appeared in a slow, rhythm, intimate sequence.
Alexis confesses this is the first tour he plays saxophone. The original idea was ever to do so, but times and wills change and it happened. I confess that, to my delight, they played If You’re On The Water on the encore. And right afterwards, as closing, In My Defence. I left satiefied and peaceful among a sea of happy glowing people. As is wished on an early Autumn Sunday evening. Turns out it seemed to had been therapeutic to everyone. All the better.
British singer Corinne Bailey Rae didn’t lie when, right before playing A Spell, A Prayer, invited the audience to ,“… to a spell of pleasure”. Corinne entered the stage like a wizard, wrapped in cloak resembling Merlin’s one, rocked by her band’s music ready to bewitch.
words: Marcos Leal (edited and freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: Marcos Leal
At each rest, Corinne spoke of the inspiration behind each song of her latest record, composed after a visit to the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicado, a 1923 bank building turned arts and archive center for the people of South Side.
An exhibition with strong afro-american and racial segregation in the United States, curated by Theaster Gates, lead Corinne to a number of objects that would be the driving force behind Black Rainbows. Given the diversity of influences and Corinne’ need to properly live express the feelings brought by the inspirational objects the record proved to be very dynamic in concert.
Some may had been surprised by such versatility from the singer when New York Transic Queen (an old beauty pageant) was performed in a more rock way, steaming from a photo of former model Audrey Smaltz, that took Corinne to compose a more rebellious and feminist song.
The evening highlight was Put it Down, introduzido by the story of a party at Stony Island Arts Bank in celebration of dj Frankie Knuckles. Corinne tells that at the entrance there was a big jar where people would drop a piece of paper with whatever worried or tormented them.
At a point, fire was thrown inside the jar and everyone danced as a community like what had been written in those pieces of paperhsd stop having so much weight upon people. And that was how,, in Put it Down, the audience was contaminated by the music dancing and smiling along Corinne in the middle of room, a few hugs and emotional words shinning in their faces.
Music really has an incredible power and Corinne and her fantastic musicians turned the night into a celebration and freedom of the worries that torment our days making us forget the outer world for a little bit.
Podendo, é ir. Não podendo, é partilhar, protestar, fazer ruído! If you can, go. If not, share, protest, make noise! Cultura não se cala! STOP | Culture does not shut up! STOP Segunda feira, 24 Julho | Monday, 24th July Porto: Concentração às 15h em frente a CMP | Gathering 3pm in front of Porto’s City Hall Marcha até ao STOP 19h20 | Marching until STOP (Rua do Heroísmo, 329) 7:30pm
Lisboa: Concentração às 15h em ao Teatro Dona Maria II | Gathering 3pm in front of Teatro Dona Maria II
Mondo Bizarre’s print issues are part of Materiais Inflamáveis: Culturas de Resistência, Média Alternativos e Fanzines (1982-2021) [Flammable Materials: Resistence Cultures, Alternative Media and Fanzines (1982-2021)] an exhibition curated by Paula Guerra (Maria de Guerra) and Pedro Quintela as part of @K I S M I F International Conference. The exhibition is held at Foyer Auditório Biblioteca Municipal Almeida Garrett- Museu da Cidade, Porto and will run until August 15.
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