The Magic Numbers - Rio 07.

For a long time Brazilian fans waited for The Magic Numbers to play live here. The English band composed by two couples of brother and sister played in Rio on the first day of the Indie Rock Festival, going on with the tour of their second album, Those The Brokes. “Cute and funny” are perfect terms to describe the band members: Romeo, Michele, Sean and Angela. Being extremely nice to everyone through where they’ve passed, the band played two concerts in Rio: the first one was a pocket show at Fnac (Brazilian CD Store) on Tuesday July 24^th, and the second was at Circo Voador (venue) as part of the Indie Rock Festival. The pocket show barely had a proper publicity work and when we got there we understood why: there were a few seats in front of a small stage, everything was indeed really pocket. It felt like the performance could have happened at the living-room of your house, quite cozy and intimate. Consequently, the audience had to remain aguishly sitting during the impressive show. Everybody got amazed not only by the vocal quality of Michele and Angela, but also by the interaction between all of them. They played only three songs – “Take A Chance”, “Love Me Like You” and “Love Is A Game” – what made everybody wait anxiously for the “full version” about to happen the day next. In an interview for this blog, Michele talks a bit about the album and their preferences concerning the audience and the concert format:

Michele - Pic By Thais Gallart

Tracks On Stereo: A bit different from other bands, you haven't stopped since the debut album and, according to the press, Those The Brokes has been written mostly on the road. What are the advantages of not breaking the flow as you did?

Michele: “Well to be quite honest, we never needed to stop. Apart from feeling the burn of the road and all it's traveling (that you feel sometimes) we were at our strongest, we had been playing the best ever and were unstoppable, in many ways possible. Romeo had been writing lots of new songs and each of them more and more challenging to play, we were so eager to get them recorded and live the dream again in the studio making a new classic album. There was no need to take months off to try and write, like "other bands" do, we just wanted to continue at the level we were working at, which worked out as a huge advantage to our performances on the record, and to the production also, to get everything sounding the way we heard it.”

Tracks On Stereo: Romeo once declared that Those The Brokes is a "hugely personal" album. Could we assume that everything told in the lyrics is true and that you have really lived all that?

Michele: “Yes. We have always stated that this band is about honest soulful music, and if not in our personalities alone, (the four of us on stage, interviews etc...) but in the music and lyrics also. I sometimes don't know how he does it, (Romeo) wearing his heart on his sleeve for the world to see. It deals with a lot of things we all go through from time to time. So yeah Those The Brokes is personal, and so has everything else we've ever written and said out there.”

Tracks On Stereo: You are used to playing for both small and huge audiences. Which do you think best fits the sort of sound you make? Do you have any preference concerning that?

Michele: “We just love playing live, it's the best part of the day...I've tried many times to put into words that feeling up on stage, that buzz and Adrenalin you get, seeing people singing your songs, from all over the world. So anywhere, be it at a festival or in a small club, we have a great time. If I had to be spoilt in choosing a personal favourite at times, would be when we get to headline. Doing our own shows enables us to show all sides to the band dynamically, and intimately. We like when we can get a crowd to go screaming mad and also so quiet you can hear a pick drop. (heehee!!)”

Angela . Romeo . Michele - Pic By Thais Gallart

Right after the pocket show, there was a signing session and the band could talk to the fans. While we talked, they’ve said they were anxious about the concert at Indie Rock Festival and didn’t know what to expect. On July 25^th, after Lucas Santtana & Seleção Natural and Hurtmold’s, they went on stage making one of the shows that would mark the year definitely. They’ve interacted with the audience all the time. The happiness that came from Romeo and Michele’s smiles as they heard everybody sing their songs was contagious.

The Magic Numbers - Pic By Thais Gallart

The concert had a new song and also some covers, among them the funny “Crazy In Love”, by Beyoncé, showing a sarcastic side of the band. Romeo’s nice sister, Michele, was quite enthusiastic about Beyoncé’s cover and swung just like the hip hop girls type cheering all the audience and asking everybody to do the same. A moment that all Brazilian fans certainly won’t forget was when Romeo promised to come back, he even said when: February. During the pocket show at Fnac, one of the producers of the Festival told a fan about the possibility of a new edition of the Festival in February. Would that be true? Well, at least by now we will have to remain with that doubt in mind.

Angela - Pic By Thais Gallart

Cheers.