The Silence 4 are returning to the stage with a series of three consecutive performances at the José Lúcio da Silva Theater in Leiria, where the approximately 700 seats have been sold out for June 12, 13, and 14.
Later this year, the band will perform in Porto at the Pavilhão Rosa Mota on November 13, 14, 15, and 16 — with the first three dates already sold out — and in Lisbon at the MEO Arena on December 12 and 13, with the last date also sold out.
Since January, the quartet has been rehearsing in Leiria, preparing for a tour that includes two additional performances: at the Monte Verde Festival in the Azores held in Ribeira Grande from August 7 to 9, and in Albufeira, Faro district, at the Albufeira Carpe Nox on December 31.
“Things have been going very well. It’s been a long process because we’ve been gradually rediscovering our sound. Now, we’re very ready for these concerts. I’d even go further: I think we’ve never played as well as we’re playing now,” said David Fonseca.
Thirty years since the band’s inception and 11 since their last reunion, today there is “greater responsibility, greater experience, and a desire to do the best possible,” according to Fonseca.
In rehearsals, David Fonseca (vocals and guitar), Tozé Pedrosa (drums), Sofia Lisboa (vocals), and Rui Costa (guitar and bass) aimed to “understand the energy” that united them three decades ago and to see “if everything was still there.”
“The only difference between the Silence 4 of 98 [1998, when their first album ‘Silence Becomes It’ was released] and now is that we’re much more beautiful [laughs],” joked the musician, emphasizing that the “chemistry” remains, enhanced by accumulated experience.
Initially, “we were practically teenage kids,” while now “we’re all adults” with “more tools to better achieve what we want to do in these concerts.”
“We function better technically now,” reiterated Fonseca, noting that maturity makes everything “even simpler than it was back then.”
Rehearsals also confirmed that the spirit among the quartet remains: “We seem a bit like teenagers again [laughs]. It’s like old friends: when we get together, we all say the same usual nonsense.”
Artistically, the Silence 4 remains concerned “especially with the meaning and musical strength” of what they do, as “the more that’s boiling inside, the more it comes out.”
Days before their live return, the band admits to “some nerves”: on one hand, they haven’t played together since 2014; on the other, they’re amazed by the audience’s reaction, which sold out seven of the nine main dates announced.
“It’s hard to believe that [the band] still means so much to people. We have a sold-out MEO Arena, a second date at the MEO Arena, and a fourth date at Super Bock [Pavilhão Rosa Mota, in Porto]… It’s almost like a giant gift that, after all these years, we’re here playing these songs and people want to hear them.”
Additionally, the tour setlist will focus on the songs that most impacted the fans: those from the album ‘Silence Becomes It,’ which with tracks like ‘Borrow,’ ‘A Little Respect’ (an acoustic cover of an Erasure original), and ‘My Friends,’ became one of the most successful in Portugal, surpassing 240,000 copies sold.
“There will be some surprises in between, some different things, but that first album will shine very brightly in this concert,” concluded Fonseca, anticipating “extremely emotional reunions” for both the band and the audience.
