Rock in Rio: Nação Zumbi plays a very hot set

ROCK CITY, 9:30 p.m. – "How come they’re not playing the main stage? They are so much more contemporary than Ultraje and Ira!". The remark was made by an anonymous fan of Nação Zumbi’s by the end of the band’s gig at the Brazil Tent. The group from Pernambuco showed how its mix of psychedelic rock, hip hop, electronica and folk beats could have made it to the World Stage with explosive songs like Quando a Maré Encher, Macô and Carimbó. By the time they played Da Lama ao Caos and Mangue Town, the audience was in their hands, already. The P.A. was not friendly to Jorge Du Peixe’s voice, but the crowd didn’t seem to care and sang along happily. Nação Zumbi certainly injected a great deal of energy into the third night of the festival.