Rock in Rio Lisboa: it won’t be okay, but with Xutos & Pontapés it’s already much better
At the entrance to the City of Rock, which, these days, is settling in Bela Vista, in Lisbon, a lady was busy selling “Xutos scarves: two, five euros!”, she insisted. But, shortly before the Portuguese band opened the programming of the Palco Mundo of the first edition of the post-pandemic festival, most spectators who went up the road to the entrance of the venue were already equipped with their own t-shrits and other accessories. The Xutos, precisely, and the Muse, headliners of this inaugural day, dominated as clothing choices. But we also saw ‘t-shirts’ by Pink Floyd, Pixies, Guns N’ Roses (who debuted this summer’s big concert season in Portugal), Gorillaz (stars of NOS Primavera Sound, which took place in Porto last weekend) and Foo Fighters, Saturday’s biggest name, whose concert was canceled after the sudden death of Taylor Hawkins, the band’s drummer and Dave Grohl’s right-hand man.
While the first adventurers slide down the slide that crosses the Mundo Stage, the ‘fantasy quartet’ of Tim, João Cabeleira, Kalú and Gui sets out on the mission with ‘Fim de Semana’, a 2004 theme chosen, perhaps, for the lyrics that reflect these times of eagerness for small great pleasures. “Hungry to go out / Hungry to see you / Hungry to jump / Hungry to have you / Hungry to fly / Hungry to fall / Hungry to love you / To live later.” With Zé Pedro always present, in spirit and also in the first of the shirts worn by Tim, Xutos & Pontapés gave their ninth concert today at a festival that is in its ninth edition; than the best palm of the Portuguese, even that of Ivete Sangalo, who in 2016 replaced the young Ariana Grande, only twice in the same edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa.
Even though it’s been in this since 1979, and even though they haven’t faced the collection of Portuguese rock problems, the greatest hits & Pontapés continue to play with a very personalized mix of commitment and humility. “Hey guys, how are you? Arms in the air!”, starts by appealing Tim. And how good it is to see this sea of people, which gradually, and to the satisfaction of the band, will become more and more voluminous.
Betting on first place in first place rock, the ‘guests’ of Palco Mundoam even played ‘Voo das Águias’, from the album “Cerco”, and “Dados Viciados”, from 1997, to recover “Não Sou Jesus”. About halfway through the concert, “a song that became known here about two years ago” arrives, he jokes, referring to ‘Black Like Night’. From the harvest, also, of “Addicted Data”, the beautiful theme came back, in fact, at the peak of the pandemic, thanks to the optimism of the refrain “everything will be fine, I know that”. Nesta also knows, everyone – and Tim, who takes the opportunity to remember that “there has always been war”, – that it didn’t stay, nor will it end, that’s okay. But it can get “more straight”, the vocalist-bassist believes, and with this reunion we already feel a little better.
After the two volumes of ‘Inferno’, ‘Perfeito Vazio’, the beautiful ballad from the 2009 eponymous album, with Tim on acoustic guitar, opens the way to the concert’s greatest hits phase, which begins with ‘Homem do Leme’ ( plays in both acoustic and electric versions!); the anthem ‘Circo de Feras’, whose reception makes the band smile; the joy of ‘Ai Se Ele Cai’ and the false farewell of ‘Para Ti Maria’. “We have more concerts to give, let’s take a van to the north”, is Tim’s playful introduction to the song that stretches “from Bragança to Lisbon”. After Kalú comes to the ‘walkway’ that breaks through the middle of the audience to deliver drumsticks to the fans, a shy chorus of “just one more” becomes a demanding challenge. “Thanks, everyone, this is a free one”, thanks the good-natured staff, before riffing the crowd, there’s a chorus that has been heard on the south bank.
With an evident pleasure in playing together and a dream catalogue, it was time for popular Portuguese rock bands to ‘climb’ in the well-known and play more with less light. Long live the Xutos.