In 1993, a rather small but very active bunch of music fans and artists managed to pull out the perfect treat for Portuguese Punk lovers: a concert in Campo Pequeno arena, right at the heart of Lisbon, headlined by Sonic Youth, the band that had, all through the previous decade, pretty much defined the sound of indie rock on both sides of the Atlantic.

Due to the close relationship between the underground label that was organizing the gig (João Paulo Feliciano’s Moneyland Records) and the production team behind Pop-Off (a cult Portuguese underground music television program me), José F. Pinheiro quickly set up a small but passionate operation in order to cover this historical event. The original idea was to tape the two local indie rock opening acts, a scheduled meeting between these Portuguese musicians and their post-punk art-rock idols from New York and, who knows?, maybe one or two songs from the headliners set. As José F. Pinheiro recalls, things went pretty smoothly before the concert, as Sonic Youth staff allowed him to set up his camera and tripod near the sound table: “I took my chances and asked the sound technician if I could plug a stereo input to my camera from the mixing table and, to my surprise, he was up to it. After I taped the opening acts, I remember screaming at him HOW MANY SONGS CAN I RECORD?, to which he mimed TAPE… WHATEVER… YOU WANT. And so I did”.

After editing the TV concert coverage piece for Pop-Off, José F. Pinheiro accepted to borrow the tapes to João Paulo Feliciano for his own private recreational pleasure. What he didn’t know was that João Paul Feliciano and Rafael Toral would manage to extract the audio from the tapes and to release two years later on Moneyland Records a semi-official CD of the concert authorized by the band itself – the deal was that Sonic Death fan club would get 25% (375 of 1250 copies) of the production run. And so was born Blastic Scene, one of the most rare and cherished Sonic Youth bootlegs. “I have to say that it took João Paulo Feliciano seven years to give me back those tapes”, complains José F. Pinheiro, “but, meanwhile, he also told me that the film was really appreciated in the band’s inner circle and that it was even supposedly screened once in New York. The truth is that even before the release of Blastic Scene, I’ve heard rumors of some obscure VHS bootlegs being sold on local flea markets, but I’ve never managed to get my hands on one”.

Luckily enough, KISMIF managed to get its trembling dirty hands on one copy (especially rendered by José F. Pinheiro himself) of his mythical film. And, believe me, there are many reasons to be grateful to him for giving us the opportunity to watch Sonic Youth live at Campo Pequeno.

First of all, because Sonic Youth circa 1993 were pretty much at the top of their game: they had not only elevated underground rock to a self-conscious and hypnotic avant art (1986’s Evol, 1987’s Sister and 1988’s Daydream Nation), but also proved that no major label nor slick production could ever tame their furiously dynamic and emotively hypnotic delivery (1990’s Goo and 1992’s Dirty). Therefore it comes as no surprise that the band delivers one hell of a show, fueled by a riveting set list that not only skips some obvious hits and anthems in favor of a handful of deep cuts from their catalogue, but also manages to include half a dozen songs that would only be officially released the following year (on the highly divisive – but personal favorite – 1994’s Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star).

Secondly, Sonic Youth live at Campo Pequeno is one truly DIY production, whose vernacular visual aesthetic fits perfectly the songs crafted by a band known for its punk ethos. Being that José F. Pinheiro is a skilled and trained cameraman, it is fascinating to observe his tremendous intuition in action: even through a few hesitations and missteps, one can genuinely feel the sheer energy and stage dynamics of one of the most fabulous rock live acts in the planet.

João Pedro da Costa
Research Blog

Cotton Crown ***
Bull in the Heather ******
In The Mind Of The Bourgeois Reader ******
Pacific Coast Highway ***
100% *****
Skink ******
Starfield Road ******
Candle ****
Stereo Sanctity ***
Self-Obsessed & Sexxee ******
Secret Girls **
Flower *
Drunken Butterfly *****
Theresa’s Sound-World *****
Sugar Kane *****
Tokyo Eye ******

* from Bad Moon Rising (1985)
** from Evol (1986)
*** from Sister (1987)
**** from Daydream Nation (1988)
***** from Dirty (1992)
****** to be released on Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star (1994)

SONIC YOUTH features
Thruston Moore: voice, guitars & hums
Lee Ronaldo: guitars, screwdrivers & spiritual drive
Steve Shelley: drums, simles & general percussion
Kim Gordon: bass, voice & breath

José F. Pinheiro’s work as a director has always been related to music. In the last 25 years, he created, produced and directed more than two hundred music videos for dozens of Portuguese artists and bands, several music TV shows, music documentaries (Madredeus, O Paraíso, 1997; Brava Dança, 2007), video-concerts, web videos, electronic press kits and video scenography for rock concerts.

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Sonic Youth live at Campo Pequeno will be screened during KISMIF Conference on Wednesday, 9th July 2014, around 21h30, at the Noble Lecture Hall of the Faculty of Arts of Porto University.

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