A year-long festival

Luís Salgado is known as the programmer of Maus Hábitos, but ‘Salgado Fest’ was already happening before he took on that role. Born in Tomar, he moved to Porto in 2011 to study for a master's degree in Sound Design. He was already a regular at Maus Hábitos before that, having played there with every project he ever had, from garage bands to the long-running Stereoboy project, which is still active. But it was in 2011 that, challenged by friends, he organised a festival-style birthday party at the venue. The feat was repeated the following year, with a turnout that attracted attention: ‘That second year went very well, and the very next April they called me to Maus for a meeting where they basically asked me if I could do it every day.’

Since then, there hasn't been a Salgado Fest every day at Maus Hábitos, but the nightlife circuit recognises the venue's ability to renew itself and bring together the different dynamics that pulsate in the city. Salgado talks about how they're interested in having ‘various communities there, because they all have interesting things to give and receive’. ‘We're interested in the LGBT community, the immigrant community, the more freakish artistic community, the community of the more experimental scenes, the hip-hop community. All these communities, we bring them together here.’ It doesn't all happen out of sheer romanticism, however: ‘It's the only way a space of this size can be viable, by attracting different audiences. Smaller venues can survive in niches and be more dedicated to a single language.’

And what's it like to programme a space that never closes? To begin with, there's a barrage of proposals: ‘We receive around 300 proposals a month. Two hundred or so bands of all kinds, from metal to country. Even tribute bands send in proposals.’ The selection is careful, but there's no ‘no’ at the outset: ‘I listen to everything and respond to everything. I may not have time to listen to the whole disc, but I listen to what I can.’ And the criteria are quite simple: ‘Quality, but also potential. Sometimes you realise that a band is just starting out, that they're still green, but that in a year or two they'll be on another level. And in those cases, I like them to come here and experiment and grow.’ This ‘open door’ for young talent is also something he's grateful for: ‘There are bands that grow up but continue to come here to play concerts. Bands that play in Coliseums, but continue to come and play here.’

Once again, the variety of the programme is also an operational support: ‘If we only focused on the 40-something crowd, Maus Hábitos would always close at 2am. They've been clubbing, they've been through it, now their backs are aching and they want to go home. So what we do is go and pick up those who are partying around town, even if it's in their friends' garages. As for clubbing, we're curators of curators.’ As for Salgado, back pain doesn't stop him from going out at night: ‘I go to Socorro a lot, which at the moment I use almost as a guinea pig: he [João Pimenta] takes a lot of chances on new bands, on things like Xavalo Fest, which is really funny because they're all high school bands. I go and listen, and if I like something, I call Maus. I also tend to go to the Ferro gigs a lot, they're the two places I go to.’

The party starts at street level

And what about this year's Salgado Fest? ‘The first hour is a bit boring, with everyone saying congratulations and whatnot. But after that nobody remembers the birthday,’ admits the birthday boy - who, in truth, has already had his birthday when the party takes place: he was born more or less in the middle of the month, and the party always takes place on the last Saturday in January. This time of year seems extremely favourable to the birthday boy: ‘I was lucky enough to be born in January, because it's a month when there's not much going on. So the bands are available, the public is also available because the hangover from New Year's Eve is over - you're already in the mood to go out and see things. It ends up being the first festival of the year, the thaw.’

As for this year's thaw, the venues remain the same. The main concert hall will be renamed Palco O Salgado (‘I haven't found a sponsor yet, like MEO Salgado, but I'm open to it!’), and will host solo artists MaZela and Evaya, followed by a live performance by X-Wife from their album ‘Feeding the Machine’, and the performances will end with IDEIA DE MERDA, a surprise act - the DJ set will be by Máquina. On the Super Bock Stage (a conversion of the restaurant area) there will be a prolonged challenge to the eardrums with Trasgo, Gatafunho, OFFTIDES, IdleHand and MONCHMONCH. Along the way, there will be room for DJ sets by The Ema Thomas, Paulo Couto and Luís Oliveira. The Vivarium Stockhausen Stage, in the Saco Azul room, will host the more intimate and serene concerts by Juanma LoDo, Calcutá, @c, Ilusão Gótica, Girls 96 and the surprise guest ‘umgajoóptimoabaterpalminhas’ (bad tongues will tell you that this is Samuel Úria's regular appearance). Completing the invasion of every possible space, the Mupi Gallery will host a performance by Mr Gallini, and the Oficina (literally a tool room) will welcome O Rosas. This year, to entertain the inevitable queue at the entrance to the building, the artist O Mau Olhado will be playing in the middle of Rua Passos Manuel.