“Anxiety was the same as Rock in Rio in 85”, says Bi Ribeiro to CNN at the premiere of Paralamas at Lolla

“Now a song that probably predates most of you births.”

This was just one of the series of references to age and memory that vocalist Herbert Vianna made during the Paralamas do Sucesso show, this Sunday (26), at Lollapalooza Brasil, in São Paulo.

With more than four decades of career, the national reference group of Brazilian radio music of the 1980s and 1990s debuted at the São Paulo festival only now, in the tenth edition.

In an interview with CNN backstage at the festival after the show, bassist Bi Ribeiro revealed that the group was surprised by the reception it had from the young audience at the festival.

The presentation took place on the same stage whose main attraction is the Catalan pop star Rosalia, who has an audience mostly from generation Z, that is, people who were born when Paralamas experienced its greatest success.

“We imagined that an audience of many young people might not know much, but we felt an empathy, a very great response, wonderful, everyone singing the songs along. They came with us in the crowd”, celebrated Bi.

“They put the old people to sweat [risos]”, he added.

The last premiere of Paralamas do Sucesso at a national festival of this size was the classic show at the first edition of Rock in Rio, in 1985.

The Paralamas of Success | Glasses (Rock in Rio 1985)

“We were very nervous that day. It was also 4 pm, it was the same sun. Anxiety and anticipation were similar. Arriving and not knowing what to expect, what will happen”, says Bi.

“But I thought it was awesome. The audience was with us and many knew our stuff. I was really surprised. I thought we would be more conquering than celebrating”, he added.

He still jokes about how the experience played in his favor compared to Rock in Rio: “Nowadays we play better, we guarantee more [risos].”

For a presentation of the track from 15:00 to 16:00 at Lollapalooza, the band managed to gather an audience at their height despite the strong sun and maximum of 33ºC in São Paulo.

The one-hour setlist featured mostly the songs that have been played on the “Paralamas Clássicos” tour, which celebrates the band’s history.

From the opening with “Vital e sua moto” to the greatest hits at the end, such as “Uma Brasileira”, “Óculos” and “Meu Erro”, Herbert Vianna, Bi Ribeiro and João Barone kept the public in their pockets.

According to Bi, the plans now are to first finish the tour – which was supposed to start in 2020, but was postponed by the pandemic – and then compose a new album.

“It’s what motivates us artistically. Not just playing the same things”, said Bi, who, despite saying that he already “has a lot of ideas” for the new album, did not give any major spoilers.