Photo: WENN
With the sun still beaming down on the second day of Lisbon’s Optimus Alive festival, it was the turn of American two piece The Black Keys to deliver some bluesy rock to a rather excited Portuguese crowd.
The ninety minute set drew on material from the bands last four studio albums but it was the tracks from their 2011 album ‘El Camino’ that really got the high spirited crowd going. 'Gold on the Ceiling', 'Money Maker' and closing number 'Lonely Boy' saw the lively audience embrace all The Nashville duo, supported on the stage with another two musicians, had to offer.
Frontman Dan Auerbach never missed a note as his sublime gritty vocals came into their own particularly during a fantastic rendition of new single ‘Bullet in the Brain.’ Despite having a plethora of material to choose from, the set did at times feel rather stale, with a feeling that a slightly shorter set would have suited both the band and crowd much better.
All being said and done, Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney still delighted many, and by returning to the stage for an 'Attack & Release' inspired encore, both 'Little Black Submarines' and 'I Got Mine' provided a fitting ending to a decent set.
Earlier in the day a raucous and angst driven set from Parquet Courts provided some very noisy early evening entertainment. The Brooklyn four piece rattled through their set at a fine rate of knots, and despite some early confusion from some in the crowd, by the end the quartet had the Heineken Tent really moving.
Over on the main NOS Stage, MGMT brought their brand of electro indie to Lisbon. Frontman Andrew Van Wyngarden certainly looked in high spirits as the American collective showcased songs from their three studio albums. Unsurprisingly it was Oracular Spectacular favourites ‘Time to Pretend’ and an extended rendition of ‘Kids’ that saw the vast crowd in best voice.
The most impressive crowd turnout was for Sam Smith who played to a Heineken Tent that was full to bursting, playing a set that included a cover of recent Arctic Monkey’s single 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High'?
As the night turned into early morning an intensely brilliant set from SBTRKT was followed by the set of day two from Caribou. After a successful B2B DJ set with Jamiee xx on the Thursday night, Canadian Daniel Victor Snait’s brought along his band for a truly mesmeric live show.
The hour long set was layered to perfection, and with a closing trio of ‘Odessa’, new single ‘Can’t Do Without You’ and an extended version of ‘Sun,’ there was certainly a feeling that this special ending to a great set was a real highlight of the entire festival.
