Valkyrian Music

Moonspell, Bizarra Locomotiva, Quinteto Explosivo, Via Sacra
Louro, Famalicão (PT)
22nd July 2016

The second edition of Laurus Nobilis Music took place this past weekend and, like last year (report here), the first day was dedicated to the “heavier sounds” – the alternative rock of Via Sacra, the “progressive punk” (you’ll soon understand the quotes) of Quinteto Explosivo, the industrial metal of Bizarra Locomotiva and the dark metal of Moonspell.

It was a little past seven when Via Sacra got on stage with a long and somewhat mystic intro – that sadly everyone heard from the outside. This is probably the only complaint I have about this year’s festival: how misinformed the security staff was regarding when they should let the people in… Anyway, there they were, in their 16th century clothes (maybe later – I’m not really good in ancient fashion), joyfully rocking out. The first act of every day was chosen after a national contest but the fest promoters must have felt a little proud of Via Sacra since they are a local band. Still I didn’t see many fans of them – people singing along and such – which doesn’t mean they weren’t welcomed by the crowd; songs like “Baby, Baby” and “Secret Garden” seemed to please everyone, even those who were listening to them for the first time. Via Sacra thanked them all, of course, but also their friends, family and even their parish.

www.facebook.com/viasacraband

Quinteto Explosivo is Portuguese for “explosive quintet”. If that doesn’t hint you about their goofiness, check out the Deadpool and Captain America outfits… The lyrics are also mischievous, full of offensive slang, and while some are pure nonsense, others have some raw truths beneath… When you live in a country with so much corruption and hypocrisy, laughing is one way of dealing with it. But don’t think that such shocking posture hides lack of talent, which doesn’t. On the other hand, call it “progressive punk” is quite a stretch; it misses the sophistication for it, but it surely is a hell of a well written irreverent punk. With only one album out, “Hinos Politicamente Incorrectos”, they went back to their previous bands Comme Restus and Kalashnikov, with toilet paper flying around. Muffy from Karbonsoul joined them for the song “Queres Caralho Vai Ao Talho”.

www.facebook.com/QuintetoExplosivo

I’ve been to a fair share of Bizarra Locomotiva gigs (the first one in 1999) but had never seen them with a bass player before – apparently the majority of their fan club was just as surprised, so I believe it’s a recent acquisition; don’t even know if it’s just a live one or if Carlos joined the band for good. I recognized him from Assemblent so I knew right away he was the right guy for the job – not just for his musical skills but also for his attitude on stage.
The sound was good, but something sent the power down right on the middle of the first song (“A Febre De Ícaro”) and while they were fixing the problem, singer Rui Sidónio jumped into the crowd, saying he would resume the gig from there when the power came back on. And so he did, with the next song on the set, “Gatos Do Asfalto”. After that, no more bumps stopped the massive adrenaline the guys in Bizarra Locomotiva always deliver – and the crowd returns.
Towards the end, Fernando Ribeiro (Moonspell) joined for “O Anjo Exilado” and once again Muffy got on stage – and on Sidónio’s shoulders, like their former keyboard player BJ used to do – to help out with “O Escaravelho”. Another “surprise” was Sidónio singing “Hecatombe” without a cheat sheet – it seems he finally learned the lyrics…

www.facebook.com/bizarralocomotiva

Still promoting “Extinct”, Moonspell’s setlist was mostly focused on it. And then on “Irreligious”, which turns 20 precisely today. Not the whole albums, no – that is reserved for a special concert in December, in Guimarães, where both and also “Wolfheart” will be played in full; sounds promising, uh? But for this night in Famalicão, they offered just a bit of each, plus a few other hits off their discography, like “Night Eternal” or “Everything Invaded”.
Rui Sidónio repaid the previous “featuring favor” by doing the same on “Em Nome Do Medo”, dressed in something similar to a hazard suit. Since he usually starts his own shows wrapped in black plastic, that gradually unwraps itself and the man ends up in his boxers, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so… covered up on stage.
At some point, talk of football came up and Fernando said that it felt good to finally be able to celebrate the UEFA championship with the crowd – he said he had introduced the band in a previous show in Spain as “European champions” and they didn’t like it that much… So for a moment the music was different, with everybody singing some football chants, and eventually demanding that Fernando would jump. He complained about his hernias but he did jump a bit – and those hernias didn’t seem to bother him much when dancing to the sound of “Ataegina” with guitarist Ricardo Amorim. On a more serious note, the shooting in Munich that happened that very same day was mentioned with sadness and how Moonspell would still be heading to Germany soon, as they – all of us – shouldn’t stop living our lives out of fear.

www.facebook.com/moonspellband

Text & photos by Renata “Pieni” Lino

Gallery at our Facebook page here.