Portugal, Spain and Dubai Day 2 Lisbon. FADO

We were picked up at 7:35 for a Fado Restaurant.
Unfortunately our driver was given the name of our Fado Restaurant, but not the location. We just happen to be going to 1 of 2 same name Fado Restaurants in Lisbon. A quick phone to his office caught someone just as they were leaving. It was all sorted inside 15mins and we were on our way Fabo Ao Carmo, in the Alfama district.
Fado is a deeply expressive and melancholic style of Portuguese music that captures the soul of the nation. Lisbon Fado is the oldest form, more traditional style, often performed in taverns and cafés. It’s gritty, passionate, and rooted in working-class neighbourhoods like Alfama. It is traditionally performed by three musicians, 1 twelve string Portuguese guitarist, 1 six string Spanish guitarist and a singer. A Fado Restaurant performance follows a protocol, the lights are dimmed, the audience is meant to become totally silent, a hushed reverence if you like, when they start playing. Once the set is finished, usually around 20 mins, the lights come on and dinner service resumes as does the conversation around the tables. This same etiquette resumes for every set the performers play, usually with an hour between set start times and depending on the audience reaction and the mood of the musicians this could keep going until the small hours of the day.
I really enjoyed the music, granted the Portuguese guitar dominated the Spanish, but I could live with that. The speed of the play was enthralling, I have never seen guitar play like it, and the coverage of the fretboard on the guitars was hand distorting. The singer, in this case female, sang each song with her eyes closed, and throat extended singing to the sky, always deep in the mood of the songs. The songs reminded me of many Leonard Cohen songs.
We left after the second set, it was after 11pm and we had had a big day.