Festival Sudoeste, Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal

This morning we met Julian from Brisbane and Pedro from Lisbon, who happened to set up camp next to us last night. So, two more for the clan.

We caught the bus back into town to get some groceries and a gas cannister, as ours has finally run out. It was a dogfight to get on the bus, but I’m glad we stuck it out. When we got out, Simon and I went bought out bus tickets for Lisbon on Monday, while the girls went to the supermarket.

Once the important things were done, we headed to the beach to brave the cold Atlantic Ocean, and how glad am I that we did, as it is another scorcher again today.

Another struggle onto the bus back to Sudoeste this afternoon at five pm.

Once again, we cooked dinner before heading into the grounds.

The first band tonight was Pinhead Society, a Portuguese indie guitar band. They were pretty good and obviously another local favorite.

Next up was New York’s Yo La Tengo. They play lo-fi rock and sound very similar to tonight’s headliners, Sonic Youth. They had a couple of good songs (none that I recognized though), but not really for me.

 

  

It must be New York Band night, as Fun-Lovin’ Criminals were next. They had some danceable tunes and put on an entertaining show. Everyone went wild for Scooby Snacks and like Godinho and The Cure before them, Fun Lovin’ Criminals got an Ole! chant, which Pedro told us was a sign of the highest appreciation from a Portuguese crowd.

Me, Simon, Andrea, Rohan, Katrina, Roberta, Kirsty, Jeff, Julian & Pedro, 

Festival Sudoeste, Zabujeira do Mar, Portugal

Lastly was Sonic Youth, who came to play their new album, A Thousand Leaves, which nobody knew. Not once did they acknowledge the crowd or introduce a song. I found their performance boring and left with streams of other people before their set was over. I have literally seen the best concert of my life and the worst ever, in consecutive nights. It’s a shame, cause I’ve seen Sonic Youth at the 1993 Big Day Out and they were great. Tonight was far from that.

The Crap Facts

This is my 150th concert.
This is my 2nd concert at Herdade de Casa Branca.
This is my 2nd concert in Zambujeira do Mar.
This is my 2nd concert in Alentejo.
This is my 2nd concert in Portugal.
Pinhead Society are the 196th band I've seen.

Pinhead Society were the 400th time I've seen a band.

Yo La Tengo are the 197th band I've seen.
Fun Lovin' Criminals is the 198th band I've seen.
This is my 2nd Sonic Youth concert.
Sonic Youth are the 1st band I've seen in 2 different countries.