Over on The One second stage – a gigantic array of screens showing local São Paulo street art between acts – Wet Leg are having their own special moment. Between the patriarchy demolition of ‘Godhead’ (involving “me imagining what my life would be like if I had a dick”) and a final entreaty to the crowd that sounds like a founding ethos for The Town – “don’t be boring, don’t be scared, be courageous and be kind” – Manson instantly earns herself a statue. It’s the sort of night that gets her ruminating on “why we’re one of the survivors”, but also charges the band up, ripping through a sizzling ‘Supervixen’, an intergalactic ‘I Think I’m Paranoid’ and an ‘Only Happy When It Rains’ that opens as a wracked piano torch song. “This is fucking mental,” says Shirley Manson between Garbage’s gorgeously gritty chunks of night-crawling industrial pop, gazing out across the vast, roaring crowd. The fact that Foo Fighters were due to play São Paulo shortly after Taylor Hawkins died last year hangs heavy over their return here, while the rest of the bill is overwhelmed to be along for the ride. ![]() Saturday’s rock day is one drenched in emotion. At least until they don Brazil shirts in time for the encore, Adam Levine crooning ‘She Will Be Loved’ like the most shameless pop rock glory hunter. ‘Moves Like Jagger’, ‘This Love’ and a cover of Gym Class Heroes’ ‘Stereo Hearts’ kick off a set of exuberant soul pop, falsettos that could double as wildlife pest control and plenty of tatt-flashing double denim. And headliners Maroon 5, aware they’ve got a vibe to maintain, show us the musical booty early. In a blitz of flames and fireworks, The Chainsmokers pander to a euphoric pop crowd by mashing ‘Seven Nation Army’ into Justice Vs Simian’s ‘We Are Your Friends’ and hypercharging their Coldplay collaboration ‘Something Just Like This’ to the point it seems to spin clean off the DAT. Wet Leg at The Town festival in Sao Paolo Credit: Press Post Malone, Demi Lovato, Iggy Azalea and Bruno Mars got festivities underway on the first weekend, and as NME arrives for the second, the party is already peaking. After all, where else could you clamber aboard a liquor-sponsored UFO or ride an actual rollercoaster within a hundred yards or so of a Wet Leg gig? For its two weekends in early September, it’s undoubtedly the biggest show on earth. ![]() This is The Town, a brand-new festival from the people behind Rock In Rio touted as Glastonbury meets Disneyland. There’s even a national anthem and a working church with a schedule of official marriages taking place, ordained by an incredibly convincing Freddie Mercury. ![]() An indoor gourmet market draws the foodies, the zip wire over the main stage mosh-pit calls the thrill-seekers, and onto vast stages resembling the city’s towering skyline – topped with radio towers spewing fireworks – troop the biggest names in rock and pop for the entertainment of 100,000 hard-partying residents. In a large dome, a big budget Brazilian Broadway show plays out four times a day on a stage bedecked with a life-sized train. Its ornate town square jumps with samba big bands, complete with full orchestras, taking full advantage of the genetic swivel in Brazil’s national hip. In the southern suburbs of São Paulo, a new city rises.
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