More about: NOS Alive

Nos Alive 2016 got off to an incredible and sun-kissed start with explosive sets from The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, The 1975, Biffy Clyro, Wolf Alice, Soulwax and many more. We're having a pretty good time. 

With a fully immersive visual spectacular driven by lasers, giant robots and projections of a carnival of freaks and others, The Chemical Brothers led Lisbon into the early hours of the morning with a rave packed with dancefloor classics alongside cuts from their exquisite 2015 effort, Born In The Echoes. 

Coming out to the blissed out sounds of a psych wash-out rendition of The Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows', the dreamy haze was soon punctured by the seismic opening beats of 'Hey Boy Hey Girl' - kicking off with an early peak to set the bar high for the duration. If anyone knows the true magic of tension and release, it's The Chemical Brothers. Said magic was always just around the corner, as drops were forever teased but used sparingly. The reaction saved for Born In The Echoes' 'Go' and 'Sometimes I Feel So Deserted' proved that Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons can keep kids dancing throughout the ages, but proceedings reached an almighty climax with the closing tracks of 'Galvanise' and 'Block Rockin' Beats' - sealing their set with a lingering kiss. 

Fortunately, their decadent dancefloor spirit was matched across the site with a closing set from 2ManyDJs, whose genre-defying smattering of classics by everyone from Supergrass and New Order via Tame Impala, Hot Chip, Lil' Wayne and obscurities blended with pop bangers created that extended ecstatic rush that can only come from the greatest hits of the very greatest hits, given the Dewaele brothers' treatment. It's an honour to be in their presence, especially given as their appearance earlier that evening as Soulwax was nothing short of a masterclass in ageless dance rock done right. Soulwax is happiness. 

NOStalgia follows with alt-rock godfathers Pixies evoking salad day glories with distorted aplomb. 'Bone Machine' and 'Rock Music' bookend a comprehensive but flawed hour of guitar feedback and mightly misjudged setlist choices. Live rareties like 'Dead', 'Distance Equals Rate Times Time',and 'I Bleed' are more festival filler than killer and for every 'Debaser'-sized peak we sink into another trough. The muddied festival sound sees Joey Santiano's guitar work relegated to the back seat, something that doesn't really help with the three new tracks Pixies preview: 'Classic Masher', 'Head Carrier' and their more recent teaser single 'Um Chagga Chagga' - as bombastic as anything in the Pixies cannon, it's over and out before it gets anywhere.

With a new album and European tour to promote, this wasn't exactly the shop window display Pixies needed. Half disused bric-à-brac b-sides and mistreated antique cuts doesn't a legacy deserving set make.

Where the Tagus meets the Atlantic, NOS Alive's Main Stage sees rock royalty Robert Plant taking his Sensational Shapeshifters through recent glories and Zeppelin classics. Their sublime single 'Rainbow' segues seamlessly into the timeless 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Rock and Roll', the elder statesman of rock looking contented in the Portuguese twilight.

Another highlight came from Wolf Alice, who delivered an emotional set on the Heineken Stage. Opening with a volatile instrumental, the band roared into album highlight and arguably the best song of last summer, 'Your Love's Whore' - still resplendent in its full-bodied grunge majesty. Billy Corgan wishes he could still write a song half as good as this.

"This is our first time in Lisbon," beamed singer Ellie Rowsell, visibly moved by the swelling and screaming crowd that gathered to lose themselves to Wolf Alice rather than Pixies. Naturally, the warmest response was saved for the track inspired by this very city, as Theo emotionally recalls his first holiday alone here when he was 19. Youthful exuberance inspired, the tent goes mental. Wolf Alice are the sound of a perfect summer, and long may it last. 

They were preceded by the magnetically affable John Grant, who fluidly flowed throughout the full emotional and sonic landscape - from the utterly devastating 'Glacier' to yearning dance of 'Disappointing' and the sideways celebration of 'GMF'. "I don't think I would want to drive a car here in July in rush hour," he chuckles, "but it would be so fucking beautiful I don't think I would care." 

All the better for having you here, John. 

Crack down at sundown. Biffy Clyro are in uniform, naked from the waist up, and - unlike their glorious home nation - here in temperate Lisbon the balmy evening is giving more than a few people reason to bare flesh.

'Wolves of Winter' is first to rattle through the festival sound system, many decibels louder than the tempered volumes of this festival's UK equivalents, the song will become Biffy's call to arms in what is now their seventh full album/tour cycle.

"Obrigado" Simon Neil offers the locals, his thanks post a blistering rendition of 'Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies'. The Portuguese salutations are well meant but go lost in translation - especially when foreign visitors account for over half the NOS Alive crowd, more than a couple raising the Saltire tonight.

'Friends and Enemies', a new tune with spunky eighties retro-pop style, sounds not light-years from their warm up act The 1975 and certainly supports the Biffy rhetoric - this new record has them throwing in everything but the kitchen sink.

It's familiar favourites, like 'Bubbles', 'The Captain' and 'Mountains', that reliably deliver though, each one sending NOS Alive up in a chorus of rapturous fandom - arms pointed to the sky through each anthemic refrain.

"Can we play all night?" James Johnston queries, "we can jam with The Chemical Brothers." It's a popular suggestion but one that Simon soons puts paid to: "Maybe I'll mind. It's not for me that shit."

'Many of Horror' and 'Stingin' Belle' provide the final sing-alongs before Biffy bid farewell to Lisboa. This monstrous display of force, even with the obvious omissions ('God & Satan', '57' anyone?), bodes well for their much-anticipated return to Reading and Leeds headline duties next month.

The 1975 kicked off the day with a set that at first seemed bizarrely early at 6pm on the main stage - but as the baking sun seemed all the brighter by the Prince meets Peter Gabriel pure pop abandon of 'Love Me', we realise there's no better way to begin what could well go on to be the greatest weekend of summer 2016. 

The set is short but sweet, and nigh on perfect. The true and unsung scope of their sound is explored, to inspire every kind of extreme from the beautiful masses who gathered so early. The stop-start funk of 'UGH!' sitting alongside the M83-tinged bittersweet heartache of 'Somebody Else', the Boyz II Men gospel soul of 'If I Believe You', the bubblegum cheek of 'Girls' and the Euro-pop anthem of 'The Sound' showcases that just two albums into the career, The 1975 have proven that there's no avenue they can't explore to its fullest and totally make their own.

Matt Healy is every bit the rock prince that The 1975's star-reaching ambition set them up to be. With just a twirl of his mic and a shake of his luscious locks, he could probably make the dead dance. It feels like he's flirting with all of Lisbon at once, and it's impossible not to be totally smitten. Also, applause for his incredible Cannibal Corpse t-shirt. We fall in love with The 1975 a little more each and every time. 

- See more photos of The 1975 and their beautiful fans here

- Nos Alive continues today with performances from Radiohead, Tame Impala, Foals, Hot Chip, Two Door Cinema Club, Father John Misty and many more. Check back at Gigwise for the latest news, reviews, photos and more from Nos Alive 2016.

More about: NOS Alive