Pumpkins Grow In The Rain

Nuno Vieira believes plenty of rain is what’s needed to help Smashing Pumpkins’ career grow in the Portuguese market.

"They played a festival in the bullring at Cascais 10 years ago and the crowd loved them, despite the fact that it poured down with rain all day," he explained.

"So when they came back to do another open-air in Lisbon you could sense the anticipation in the crowd. They did a brilliant set and the fans went wild but it poured with rain all the time they were onstage."

The Pumpkins were headlining one of the three days of the first Alive! Festival, which kicked off the Portuguese season June 8-10.

It was also the first festival to be promoted by Everything Is New, the company Alvaro Covoes formed with Artur Peixoto and Vieira, after spending 17 years partnered with Luis Montez at Musica No Coracao.

Although Peixoto and Vieira and had also been with Montez at Musica, the split was said to have been amicable and came when they decided to go their separate ways because they differed over where the company should focus.

Musica is Portugal’s main festival promoter and has Super Bock Super Rock (June 28 and July 3-5) and Sudoeste (August 2-5), but Covoes wanted to do more with international touring acts throughout the year.

The biggest acts the new company has promoted so far include Nine Inch Nails, Shakira, Scissor Sisters, Incubus, The Who, Bloc Party, Beyonce, Wolfmother and Dave Matthews Band.

Vieira reported the new festival a huge success, drawing an average of 23,000 people per day to the 40,000-capacity site on Lisbon’s Alges Park, a vast expanse of grassland next to the now-scenic old docklands on the River Tagus.

The acts included The White Stripes, Pearl Jam, Linkin Park, The Rakes, The Sounds, The Go! Team and The (International) Noise Conspiracy.

Following the staff shuffle at Musica, Jwana Godinho, who has years of experience working in the international departments of major London record labels including Virgin and EMI, took over the booking of international acts.

This year’s June 28 lineup for Super Bock Super Rock at Lisbon’s 35,000-capacity Parque Tejo has Metallica, Joe Satriani, Stone Sour, Mastodon, and More Than A Thousand.

The July 3-5 follow-up on the same site has Underworld, Scissor Sisters, Arcade Fire, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bloc Party, Jesus & Mary Chain, Klaxons, The Magic Numbers, LCD Soundsystem, Maximo Park and Interpol.

Sudoeste (August 2-5), on a 30,000-capacity site at Zambujeira, has already confirmed Editors, Cypress Hill, Air Traffic, Mika, The Streets, Camera Obscura, Steel Pulse, Australian Pink Floyd, Noisettes and Yellowman.