Classic_Pop_Issue_30_July_2017

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A

heavy gold curtain

rises as Sónia Tavares

strolls onto the vast

stage of Lisbon’s

Centro Cultural De

Belém. She’s alone,

accompanied only

by backing tracks –

a rippling piano line,

twitching electronic

percussion, soon a swirl of

strings – but her resonant

voice soars, bewitching this

stunning theatre’s capacity,

1,450-strong audience.

Tattoos spilling from her bold,

black outfi t, she’s a gripping

presence, part punk rock

Sally Bowles, part pugnacious

Morticia Addams, and her

solitary arrival for Loved It

All is an acknowledgement

that she’ll be tonight’s focus

of attention. But it’s also

confi rmation of something even

more fundamental for The Gift:

theatre is intrinsic to everything

that they do.

Tonight’s a special night for

the Portuguese band, who,

over the past 20+ years, have

earned a reputation as their

homeland’s most successful

independent group.

Their latest album, Altar –

produced by Brian Eno – has

just hit the top of the country’s

charts, and this is the fi fth

time they’ve headlined this

prestigious venue.

There is, consequently,

a sense of celebration in

the air – albeit a typically

humble one – as the band’s

sharply dressed members

shuffl e on to the stage a few

minutes later, their line-up

expanded by three further

musicians dressed in colourful,

tasselled shirts.

The Gift being The Gift,

however, they choose not to

milk the wild reception.

Instead, they pace

themselves, easing into the set,

beneath stained glass windows

suspended from the rafters,

with the subdued affection

of Vitral and the romantic

sweep of Hymn To Her, on

which Tavares’ voice ascends

from its renowned, sultry,

tremulous depths.

But a crescendoing You Will

Be Queen leads to a series of

established hits, among them

the piano-led Primavera, whose

extravagant gestures make

it a clear fan favourite, and

Classico, which lifts the crowd

from their seats as Tavares belts

out its sentimental chorus.

Though less familiar, it’s the

concluding four Altar songs

that impress most: Love Without

Violins, with main songwriter

Nunu Gonçalves bouncing

behind his keyboard desk

like an excitable receptionist;

the gloriously melodramatic

Lost & Found; the gospel

fl avoured funk of Malifest;

and the breathlessly paced

Clinic Hope, like a synth-

powered Strokes.

A 12-minute, quasi-medley

• the Bowie-does-Bohemian-
  Rhapsody of Singles – and
  a joyful Big Fish earn them a
  second encore, and they go out
  as theatrically as they arrived,
  with the muted refl ection of
  What If... For those beyond
  Portugal’s borders, though, the
  drama is only just beginning.
  Wyndham Wallace

THE GIFT

CENTRO CULTURAL DE BELÉM, LISBON

19 APRIL

PORTUGAL’S FINEST POP MERCHANTS PROVE THEY’RE READY FOR THE WORLD

STAGE, AND THEY’VE GOT BRIAN ENO ON THEIR SIDE, TOO. IT’S SHOWTIME!

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