Review: We Buffalo + The Zanibar Aliens in Cascais, The Stairway Bar

On July 26, We Buffalo gave a show at the renewed The Stairway Bar, in Cascais, with the help of The Zanibar Aliens (who some might know... they performed recently at Optimus Alive).

We Buffalo warmed and heat up the night. Since their last show, at Musicbox, to this performance at a small and cozy bar we were able to see some wild differences, not only on posture and sonority (they some more cohesive this time), they seemed relaxed and were able to connect with their audience in a larger way.

It was amazing to see this performance because it was flawless.
From some guest fans (friends) singing Home Is Where Your Heart Is on stage, contributing to a more funny and interesting interaction with their audience, We Buffalo were at their purest element.

It was really grateful to see We Buffalo that night because they did their best and showing why they have such a bright and long future in front of them.

From the sweet duet between Márcia and Ricardo and their great sound as individuals, the power of Pedro's drums and sound and all the interaction between them as friends and band made this performance into something incredible!
They were the life and soul of the night and more than ever, they showed what We Buffalo are made of.

We Buffalo at The Stairway Bar

We Buffalo at The Stairway Bar 

We Buffalo at The Stairway Bar

The Zanibar Aliens... The band that seems visually so edgy and different from the expected.
I expected some great things from them, at this close presentation.
Yet, it was a bit disappointing.
They were instrumentally interesting, some of the songs were extremely good but 45 minutes later, people were tired and each song seemed the same as before.

The Zanibar Aliens are talented but the show was boring and a bit disconnected from the audience.
The singer seemes too much like Robert Plant and their sound highly breathes the 60's and the 70's, brighting a relative new sound.
It wasn't entirely their fault, the acoustic didn't quite help to their presentation.

They are talented, they know quite well what they are doing but this performance lacked in cohesion and harmony and I really expected more.

The Zanibar Aliens at The Stairway Bar

The Zanibar Aliens at The Stairway Bar

Photography by: Jorge Antunes
Edited by: Sara Juma

Review: We Buffalo + Corda + The Yardangs in Lisbon, Musicbox

On July 11 the night was set to celebrate the release of We Buffalo's first EP "Wild Miles".
We Buffalo also invited Corda and The Yardangs to join the party.

At 10.05pm, Corda - that is composed by Tiago Proença (vocals), Raul Carvalho (drums), Pedro Ferreira (bass) and Pedro Bento and Jorge Ramalho, both on the guitars - started their solid show. From a previous performance, I'm glad to notice that they've grown and turned into an exciting band, with a strong psychedelic rock and proudly sang in Portuguese.
Corda made a great job that night and between the powerful guitars and bass and the unstoppable drums mixed with a warm vocals - they began to sound interesting.

Later on, We Buffalo - a trio composed by Ricardo Ferreira (vocals/bass), Pedro Veiga (drums) and Márcia Correia (keyboards/vocals) - gave a solid show representing essentially the wildness of their debut Wild Miles and the friendship that joins them, turning their performance into something real and honest.
Musicbox was now full and loaded to see the main band of the night.
To highlight the raw and pure sound without guitars and huge (but interesting) contrast between Ricardo's hard and deep vocals and energy and Márcia's soft vocal melody.
With high influences of Dead Weather or Queens of the Stone Age, We Buffalo brought the classic keyboards and sweet solos to their iconic sound. And it works!
A strong and cohesive first EP, highlighted by a very good show - surely, a band to keep an eye on.

We Buffalo at Musicbox 

We Buffalo at Musicbox

The Yardangs ended the celebration. Created three years ago and composed by Luís Fernandes (vocals/guitar), José Pedro Esteves (guitars), Henrique Branco (bass) and Ricardo Espiga (drums).
From this band, we expected nothing but a solid and unique performance... That didn't quite happen, being a bit below than expected. Yet, they gave a good show and shared their power rock with their one-of-a-kind attitude proving why they are such a cohesive band.
With a wide path of influences, they are a clear mix of different sounds but that only highlights their own sound.

The balance of the night is clearly positive where three different bands united by their rock sound and their passion for music gaving their hearts and souls to what was a good night for music and especially, for Portuguese music.

Photography by: Sara Juma

Interview // With We Buffalo

We Buffalo are this freshly new band composed by Ricardo Ferreira, Pedro Veiga and Márcia Correia.

The trio are releasing their first EP Wild Miles and the presentation single Home is Where Your Heart Is is already online at the band's facebook page here.

Full of humour, honesty and passion for music, We Buffalo gave us their first interview.

The presentation of their debut EP is going to happen next July 11, at the Lisbon's Musicbox around 10pm - and we are supporting them!
More information check this link.

[Special thanks to We Buffalo for their sweetness, to Ana Júlia Sanches for everything and to Jorge Antunes]

Review: The Hypers + Unwanted Heroes in Cascais, Rock N' Shots

Last Saturday, on November 24th we had the honor to see the amazing The Hypers again, after their performance in MUSA, earlier in July - find it here.

The night promised to be very interesting. Just half an hour, the small but cosy Rock N' Shots in Cascais seemed to be small for the upcoming gigs.

The first band to perform were the young and local Unwanted Heroes.
Formed by three guitars: Alexandre - also the singer-, António and Pedro; a bass guitar: Nuno and drums by Vasco. It seemed to be a bit too extravagant for this band - especially, being their third gig as a band.
What was supposed to be a mess turned into something really huge and mostly revealing.

During the show, the band did a kind of “presentation game” making a fast but characteristic solo and you can see a lot from it:
On Alexandre’s voice I was able to identify some Kurt Cobain or even Dave Grohl’s style. I am a fan of voices with clear flaws. Alexandre's voice brings another excitement to each song, otherwise the band would lose a bit of their element. In this case, his voice sounds so perfect with his flaws.
Both António and Pedro, even though they are both guitarists they couldn’t be more different – and that’s really funny to see on a gig. António is more from the roots, from the classics, something from Jack White and Pedro is more “hardcore”, resembling more strong rock bands.
Nuno is quiet but his bass guitar seems to be a perfect extension of himself reflecting a calm but pretty strong and talented young man. Vasco is, probably, the most charismatic – he is very communicative and his drums don’t get in his way. He is very strong and secure and his way of playing drums is kind of unique.

Gladly, they proved me wrong, with ages around the twenties, their sound really relates with those classic rock bands, even though it would almost be described like grunge.

Their sound is very clear and melodic. The songs seemed so elaborated, so well connected and so strong.
All the instruments have a position and there are no gaps during the show. On Twitter, I explained "I am shocked with their talent, their grace, their spirit. They are way too good!".
They really shocked me, not only for their great talent and their multi-tasking but also for the way they connected with their audience, the seriousness I wouldn't expect from such a young band. They were flawless on their organization, presentation and mostly for giving so much to the performance.

They give a big credit and attention to the melodies, to the instrumental constructions, to the composition of each song. The songs' structure sound really good.
All of this is reflected on their wild spirit because they seem to perform just like those sold-out stadium bands. One thing is for sure: Unwanted Heroes have a bright future and I’m going to be there to celebrate it.

[More Unwanted Heroes pictures here]

In July, FYMS described The Hypers as "A rock n' roll band with a very cool 70's look but a very modern and remarkable sound."
For this show, these three amazing musicians promised “Friendly, Electric, Passionate and Vibrant rock n’ roll” show.

A fun intro it’s always acclaimed, especially when we talk about talented bands like The Hypers.
The interaction between band and audience was a constant during the entire gig, bringing more excitement and connection to their brilliant performance.

Musically speaking, they know how to groove, how to play good rock influenced by old and classic bands and mostly, they know how to catch their audience’s attention with their energy, power and joy.
Although it seems like Pedro Veiga, as the drummer, is quiet, well, give him a drum set and he shows you what a great musician is made of.

Their shows are never the same and it’s always intriguing to see them because you don’t really know what to expect.
Everything happens thanks to their love for their music and for what they believe.

That’s why their shows are always so complete, so warm and so full of everything.
The Hypers sound really secure with the instrumental solo parts. Each instrument fits perfectly with each other, without being excessive.
To highlight the strong sound of Ricardo Ferreira’s bass line on some songs.
One of the songs that really got me were The Voice Of A Broken Generation and my favorite You're Never Too Old where Gonçalo Larsen’s incredible rock n’ roll style and voice is nicely noted.

The Hypers have this special endless energy that really makes you wishing the gig to keep going on.
Yes, The Hypers have that power!

[More The Hypers pictures here]


Special thanks to Ana Júlia for the pictures.

The Antic Groove, Another Day

This is a grunge rock n' roll band. A very particular and talented noisy, heavy, rock n' roll band.

The band's story started in 2009 under the name Furious Fist with two lead guitars and a drummer. A little after, the bass guitarist Ricardo Ferreira joined the band sharing the vocals with Mário Fernandes. A year after, one of the guitarist left Furious Fist and they became The Antic Groove.

The band who's name is based on the bizarre and strong meaning of the word - although due to their genre, it can be also related with "old or antique" even though the band rejects this kind of interpretations describing themselves as "a band with a very unsettled, relaxed and party spirit" which is reflected on their songs and performances. They aren't afraid of being unique.

Officially, formed as The Antic Groove on October 5th, 2010 with Ricardo Ferreira on vocals and bass guitar, Mário Fernandes on vocals and drums and Bruno Almeida on guitars and vocals.
Early this year The Antic Groove entered on a short hiatus.

Nowadays, they are working on the presentation EP.

They've already played with bands like Miss Lava, Yardangs and Bizarra Locomotiva.

Another Day is an amazing song that reflects the society that we actually live in, for some people the simple act of "thinking about the other day" it's just hard, for several reasons, such as their life quality, social and human condition and they are coming ordinary because society and crisis says so.
Another Day is a great reflection of our daily life.

When listened carefully, it probably sounds like a mix of an old grunge instrumental song and a very particular and fantastic strong vocals.

Note: You can check them live next October 5th, from Cine Incrível Almadense - Almada. Don't miss them, more information here.

More details about The Antic Groove - check their Facebook.

Entrevista // Com The Hypers

Continuing the festival MUSA Cascais interview marathon, see our previous interviews with Viralata and Jimmy P.
If there's any interest from you, we can translate from Portuguese to English or vice-versa.
For more details about the artists performances, check our review.

The Hypers are a Portuguese young band created in 2006 and it's now composed Gonçalo Larsen (vocals and guitars), Pedro Veiga (drums) and Ricardo Ferreira (bass guitar).
Supported by MTV and MySpace Portugal they entered some competitions and won, in 2008, the Almada Modern Music Competition being able to record their second Wreckage of a Riot, previously they've released Coming Out Loud.
Last year they've performed on Themometer Festival. Nowadays they are focused on recording their record and making live performances, like what happened on Festival Musa Cascais, this year, where they gave us this interview.