7. Future Islands
Future Islands are legends and they are used to it. They know how to put on a show. They put heart, body and soul to it. We danced along to the beat, danced along to the feeling – but never really getting to Samuel’s level. His feet moved frantically but his vocals remained effortless. We got drenched in sweat, the band got drenched in sweat and everyone had a blast. And do you know the beautiful (best!) part of it? Future Islands don’t let all this fame and glory get to their heads. The proof is the emotional ending to Waiting on You. After pouring his heart out, Samuel T. Herring took a moment to appreciate every single person standing there, listening to him. And he cried – he did not drop a tear, he full on cried. And we cried. It’s a beautiful thing to see: a man, a band, so committed to their music and to their fans. This is nothing short to pure dedication. One of the best shows of Vodafone Paredes de Coura, for sure.
6. Young Fathers
Representing hip-hop and spoken word genre in the third day, Young Fathers filled the stage, the hills and our hearts with powerful beats and lyrics. Between political stances, vibrant tribal sonority and a whole lot of attitude, Young Fathers seemed to have taken notes while touring with Massive Attack later last year. And not that we are complaining, much on the contrary. Sun-kissed by the late afternoon, the band played massive hits from their latest record White Men Are Black Men Too, a title that is pretty powerful just for itself. But when you add the faces, the voices and the drums – everything gets a different magnitude.
5. BADBADNOTGOOD
4. Foals
Foals closed Vodafone Paredes de Coura 2017. And what a show to close it! Among criticism to faulty world leaders with Knife in the Ocean, they gave one hell of a concert (featuring balloons and a disco ball that lit up the whole green auditorium for the 25th anniversary of Vodafone Paredes de Coura and everything). Yannis Philippakis soon showed no signs of wanting to stay inside the stage perimeters, running towards the crowd and up the speakers (a true nightmare to any security guard, but exactly what every eager fan expect). They opened the night in full power with Mountain At My Gates and swept everyone with My Number. The mosh pit was busier than ever and there was even one fan who got to step on the stage right before getting kicked out of there – what an eventful night. Perhaps one of the most energetic moments was during Electric Bloom when Yannis worked a drum with every ounce of strength inside of him while running around among the crowd. The encore couldn’t help to feature What Went Down and Two Steps, Twice that officially closed the main stage in all its glory.
