🔥 LIVE REVIEW 🔥 SUNBURST STONER FEST LIVE AT CINE INCRIVEL, ALMADA

Two weekends ago we crossed the Tejo River and ventured into the south bank city of Almada, where the 4^th edition of Sunburst Stoner Fest was held during 3 days at the iconic Cine Incrivel.
We could only made it on friday night but still had the pleasure to see Sun Mammuth, Moon Preachers and Then They Flew, three promising projects in a wide range of styles, proving that the local scene is healthy and in good hands and to close the night, all the way from Denmark, came the heavy psychazz ensemble Mythic Sunship to turn, with their sonic magik, Cine Incrivel into Cine Paraiso.

Was really curious about this place and I sure was not disappointed... an old cinema theater converted into a live music bar adorned by vintage decor and movies paraphernalia with such a unique and kool ambiance.

Sun Mammuth were the first band on the stage and started the night quite well with their electrifying instrumental stoner jams. The trio from Lousada formed in 2013, that released their acclaimed debut EP in 2015, has recently changed the band formation and that´s still visible on their performance... nonetheless, a fun and rad show with captivating and fast paced tunes spiced with heavy psych reminding bands like Kyuss, Colour Haze, The Machine ending their set with a nice cover of Karma to Burn.
In need of more gigs and experience but the potential is definitely there... Already saw the improvements from the show they did in Alcobaça a few weeks ago.

It was now time to shake things up with the savage garage punky duo Moon Preachers coming from the nearby city of Seixal. With speedy riffs, frantic vocals and heavy drumming these two stormed the place like a hurricane, unleashing chaotic and fast tunes with elements of surf and psychedelia in the mix. Impressive performance by this young band, keeping it simple and having loads of fun... and that´s what´s all about!

Next in line was post-rock band Then They Flew from Lisbon chilling the vibes with contemplative and cinematic instrumentals. The quintet uses multi layers of effects and textures of sounds that converge into beautiful compositions alternating between peaceful sequences and heavy sections, reminiscent of the good old days of bands such as The Allstar Project, Mogway, God is an Astronaut or Explosions in the Sky. Entrancing show that made me feel quite nostalgic for that era...

  

It was already late into the night, when the headliners Mythic Sunship showed up to close the nigh. The danish psychedelic ensemble of cosmic rock and jazzy freakouts, with four LPs (two just this year) released by the prestigious El Paraiso Records, were for the first time in the country on a mini tour, promoting their latest Another Shape of Psychedelic Music. Well accompanied by a saxophone player, the quintet wasted no time with their set and took things to a whole new level pretty quick... Anaconda Rock, as they like to call it, in full effect as the robust rhythmic section and the colorful guitars constricted the room and devoured the unsuspected crowd whole. Not this dude... I “ride the snake to the ancient lake” of free jazz waters, psychedelia mist and doomy creatures lurking around until "Ophidian Rising" came for the much expected climax.

Big up to the organization for such an epic & gnarly night... This is a really nice event with so much room to grow and also a great alternative to the same old circuit of bars in Lisbon, which we salute and proudly support.

Pics by Rodriguez!
Event promoted by Sunburst Triptych

🔥 LIVE REVIEW 🔥 STONED JESUS & SOMALI YATCH CLUB LIVE AT RCA, CLUB

Last Thursday, on All Saints' Day, the Ukrainian procession composed by Somali Yatch Club and Stoned Jesus rolled into Lisbon to preach the gospel of rock to all the faithfuls gathered at RCA Club for an orthodox eastern sonic mass. Not a big religious guy myself, but I came out of there a true believer that if I had to follow a god... might as well be a stoned one!

I was immediately surprised by the large crowd at the door and let me tell you... didn´t seem that much off from the one at Igreja Mana, a few buildings down, for their own service.
But just like as a child, I arrived late for church and just missed the first act Somali Yatch Club opening the ceremony promoting their new album titled The Sea... bummed out, but I will always treasure the gig at Alfa Bar back in 2015 and wait for the next opportunity.

With the place packed and me still trying to find a spot I could fit, playing tetris with the crowd, headliners Stoned Jesus took the floor to present their new album Pilgrims. The three high priests delivered a powerful sermon of hard rock tainted with prog and heavy psych to the fervent

stoned cult waiting. With a strong presence on stage and showing a lot of road experience, celebrating apparently their 400^th show that night, the band goes through a set comprised mostly of new songs that felt already as classics, even for me that hadn´t the opportunity to spend much time with the record and was kinda listening it for the first time. But they´ve seem to have perfected, over the years, the craft of slowly building their jams with peaceful soundscapes until it descends into apocalyptic sections or nefarious riffs followed by the rapture of super phased out solos like in “Thellasia”, “Feel”, “Water Me” singed with the help of a S.Y.C. member or my personal favorite “Hands Resist Him”. The highlight of the night was as expected, their classic “I´m the Mountain”... what was unexpected was the small intro that preceded it with Moonspell´s “Alma Mater” that left the crowd ecstatic. After an intense encore that put an end to this weedian church service, everybody was cheering up as enlightenment was reached.

Such a fun show and night, no wonder more and more people are finding salvation with these fellas evangelizing both the old and new world in the name of Stoned Jesus. Praise the Lord 🙏

All photos by Rodriguez!

Production by Garboyl Lives

🔥 SONICBLAST MOLEDO 2018 REVIEW 🔥

First off, I´d like to apologize for the delay but I´ve been swamped at work and had to compensate for the days I asked my boss in august so I could attend an alleged “wedding in Spain”. See, the key to a good lie is to have some truth in it... You, most certainly, can see our neighbor country from Moledo do Minho and Sonic Blast Festival is in a fact, at least for me, a religious and spiritual ceremony celebrating love.

With such an amazing line up this year's edition, sold out almost a month before, was destined to be a success and probably the best one so far... felling pretty excited to go a day earlier and also catch the warm up sessions, specially for Acid Mess. You could feel the energy and freedom pulsating through the streets giving life to the otherwise quiet village has you walk in direction to Ruivo`s, a small bar by the beach. Certainly not one with the best acoustic conditions and definitely overcrowded, the place was set a blaze by the cosmic group from Oviedo as they jam late into the night with their perfect mix of psych & prog sonic infusion that left the crowd all fired up for the main event.

By the first rays of sun light I was already regretting my poor choice on the brand new tent and realized that my stay wasn´t going to be as pleasant as last year´s... even the private camping where I camped again, was failing with to many people/cars and the WC´s always locked. With a forced trip to Vila Praia de Ancora to hit an ATM and get some cash since Moledo´s only one was already as dry as a nuns nasty, we arrived to the pool with the first band already playing and the place packed. Remember laughing at a fool the night before saying that he was going to the pool in the morning to save a good spot as I watched from the balcony Portuguese psych rockers Solar Corona setting the right mood with warm instrumentals and inebriating psychedelic rhythms.

The vibe was golden and the good times were rolling with the following shows and solid performances by hard psychers Desert Smoke, Astrodome and Atavismo all presenting their new records and fresh batch of interstellar traveling instrumentals.

Under a scorching sun this poolside trip was getting hectic with the crowd taking turns between the pool and the bars to cool things down as the wild card of the afternoon took the stage... from the UK the jam band Electric Octopus came to close the spot with their unique party rock and funky sound, that ended this fiesta.

Finally on the main stage, UK doom band Conan were set to open the hostilities while I browsed the merch tent. Quite a barbaric way to start the evening if you ask me... Ufomammut came next and suffered from the same problem. The Italians were miles away from the gig given a few years back at Reverence Festival in Valada as the dark sound atmosphere and devilish projections failed to deliver, during the daytime, the full doomster effect I was expecting to see.

Returning from a long hiatus, iconic desert band Nebula arrived in Moledo to deliver a compilation of Californian dusted hits. Classic songs from the stoner genre that gave this band a place in it´s history but if they´re relevant to the future only time will tell... The years haven´t been good for Eddie Glass and company who looked like they were with the conspicuous crowd that came directly from the EDM festival Neo Pop that was held the week before nearby. The fact that he had to apologize during the set because the drummer was too high on MDMA certainly left me wondering...

A quick drive by the food tents to manage something to eat and grab a bear, no time to loose when the next band stepping in is Causa Sui. You don't wanna miss a second of a performance by the danish dudes... they tour so rarely that their live shows can be considered a natural phenomenon, rare and beautiful as a perfect storm of heavy psych and jazz. The psychedelic quartet returned finally to Portugal after a magical show in Barcelos at Milhoes de Festa in 2011 to unleash the power of Freedom Fuzz. With a visual projection as mesmerizing as the soundscapes they create, Jonas Munk and company go through an amazing set, mixing the classics with recent jams and deliver, quite easily, the best show of the day.

Not an easy task to follow such an epic performance but german psych lords Samsara Blues Experiment rose to the occasion. Returning now as power trio to an electrified audience, they knew out to keep the fuzz & buzz going with a spaced out performance and great show. The experienced group never let´s you down and even though a more straight forward approach to the old material was noticeable, where you definitely miss the second guitar, it was fun to finally see the new material live.

Already tired and anticipating a bad nigh of sleep I decided to fall back and go to retreat has Mantar, the psychotic german duo, demolished the place, at least judging by the tumultuous noises and diabolic vibrations creeping into the camping site.

As expected, another poor night of sleep followed and after some discussion in full zombie mode, we all agreed to skip the overcrowded pool and go instead to the beach to try get some rest.

A wise decision for a dude who needs a little peace, right?

With a much more friendly ambiance, started the second day on the main stage as Naxatras, the greek psychedelic trio, welcomed everyone with a festive performance on their debut show in Portugal. The cool vibes all around created the perfect setting for a laid back and mellow entrance for the last day of the fest.

   

Changing into the fast lane, came The Atomic Bitchwax drifting all the way from New Jersey. But what I´ve said about Nebula is also valid here... despite the always fun show, not much different or new since I saw them headlining this fest in 2014.

After seeing a bit of 1000 Mods and go for another round trip for food, everyone was eagerly waiting for Kadavar´s sound-check to be done... bet they´re not easy to please but you could tell just for that “test song” that we were in for a treat. And what a treat it was, as the german vintage power trio sucking the 70s put out an electric and flaming show. With a more complete sound and road experience since I last saw them in 2013, the band brought the hard & heavy sabbath as black as the night.

Quite the setup for the main act... the stage was still filled with static electricity when Earthless came up to drop the electromagnetic pulse and shut everything down. Good lord, the San Diego cosmic trio came to take us on a memorable trip through the cosmos. Always a pleasure to see guitar virtuoso Isaiah shredding hypnotic guitar solos and massive riffs with the fine company of the thunderous rhythmic section comprised of Mario and Mike. You just simply can´t get enough of this guys, as the set goes through the more recent material and ends with two covers of Led Zeppelin and Groundhogs.

Completely beaten down I crawled my ass back to the camp site as soon as the show was over, enjoying from there with a glass of home made licor in one hand and a doobie on the other, the last gig of the day with Portuguese heavy rockers The Black Wizards.

Congratulations are in order to the promoters and all the staff involved in making this a yearly pilgrimage I always look forward too go. Slightly concerned about the growing of this festival that doesn´t seem to be much sustainable anymore... sure you can open more space on the main stage to accommodate more people but I fear a loss of experience. Long lines on the food tents or to buy tokens, the pool stage is starting to feel really small for so many people and there was no skate activities this year, breaking part of the tradition. I say it´s time to go for the beach stage Duna Jam style, put some DJ´s on the pool and bring on board a skate shop and a constructor for a mini ramp or a best trick contest. 😎

All photos by Rodriguez!
All videos by Sonic Blast Moledo

REVIEW: COLOUR HAZE + TAU + JESUS THE SNAKE LIVE AT HARD CLUB [5/19]

The much awaited return of Colour Haze to Portugal is finally upon us so we start our pilgrimage to Porto to experience once again this transcendental live ritual. The majestic Hard Club was the venue chosen to receive all brothers and sisters in peace, congregating for this memorable love fest with the great support of Portuguese psych rockers Jesus The Snake and German folk creatures Tau.

With the always difficult task of opening the ceremony, Jesus the Snake rose to the occasion and showed why they are one of the most promising bands in the country at the moment. Presenting their ambitious debut EP, self-released by the band digitally last year, the quartet from Vizela offered an evolving and captivating performance with their warm psychedelic rock tainted with vintage acid drops. Dreamy guitar riffs floating around wonderful instrumentals provided by a gifted rhythmic section and wild progressive keyboards made us all, already there, feel welcomed and comfortable as the people still getting in, were greeted by the inviting classic 70´s vibe & dust of the group with a colorful and vibrant show.

The house is half packed when Tau came to the stage, changing completely the atmosphere of the place but keeping the fun going with a quite hypnotic gig. The experimental band from Berlin, has so many different influences that is hard to describe their sound other than heavy world music. With an entrancing performance filled with all kind of weird instruments and sounds, they certainly took this ride to the next level. Primal percussions, repetitive vocals and a ripping acoustic guitar are blasting in a unearthly freak ritual right when the insanely powerful weed smoked moments before begins to kick in and take hold... with THC levels that at times well exceed 25%, the Royal Gorilla squeegeed my third eye squeaky clean, leaving me no other option but to embrace this strange music and chase the magic dragon through folk tales and bizarre rhythms.

 

But if few people were expecting this sonic extravaganza, clearly no one was prepared for the draining psych marathon that would follow when the headliners Colour Haze took the stage. The veteran power trio from Munich returned to Portugal, after a mesmerizing appearance at SonicBlast last year, now joined by Jan Fassbender on keyboards. As soon as the first chords of "She Said" came up, the crowd now filling up the room, went wild and quickly surrender to a flawless 2 hour set by the magnificent group. In perfect harmony, the quartet went through classics from "Aquamaria" to "Tempel" and fresh material such as "Skydancer I-II" or "Überall" painting gorgeous soundscapes that combined with the spellbinding light show created the utmost magical experience. Stefan Koglek, the guitar virtuoso and maestro of the band, conducted perfectly this psychedelic ensemble as drummer Manfred Merwald and bassist Philipp Rasthofer, one of the tightest rhythmic sections on the scene, laid out the beautiful compositions now adorned with the celestial keyboards giving the songs more depth and smoothing even further their transitions. Like a nuclear reactor melting to its core, the cosmic radiation coming from the stage was so powerful that I was sweating profusely and was forced to go upstairs, where on my knees and drooling, I watched the stellar performance culminate with the quintessential encore that brought us "House Of Rushammon" and "Love" to the ecstatic fans who reciprocate in the end with a well deserved long ovation.

Pointless for me go any further trying to describe such an epic concert as words fail to do it any justice. Colour Haze live is something that everybody should witness as much as they can since it´s such a life changing experience... and in a world dominated by hate we sure could use a few more bands like this spreading the love around! 

Special thanks to the production team Garboyl Lives for allowing us to cover and report this unforgettable event. ❤️ Brothers & Sisters