Leiva elevates rock at Sant Jordi
Is it still possible to fill a large arena with guitars, rock, and a swagger? It is, and last night Leiva proved it by filling the Palau Sant Jordi to capacity for the first time in his already extensive career, which includes six albums with Pereza and just as many under his stage name, behind which hides the more mundane name of José Miguel Conejo.
The album he presented last night is titled Gigante , and after seven months of recording, it proved its perfect fit, blending tracks like "Terriblemente cruel" with the persona that has allowed Leiva to create a unique sound, somewhere between the languid, nocturnal star and the sensitive songwriter who collaborates so often with Sabina and Robe. It was no surprise, then, that the 17,000 fans gathered last night on Montjuïc mountain—who had snapped up all the tickets last June—sang "Bajo presión" in unison at the start of the evening, as if the newly written song had been shaking stages for a decade.
Sidonie, the superb opening act they had been before the Rolling Stones, had warmed up the crowd and presented "Sé ," one of the tracks from their new album, sung entirely in Catalan. "Leiva, we love you!" shouted Marc Ros, leaving behind a sense of home, of a gathering of lifelong friends around sounds that don't require Byzantine interpretations to be understood (Leiva himself returned the greeting when it was his turn). As difficult as that, and as the performance offered by the Leiband, a septet dressed in white last night to support the lanky frontman who, with a wide-brimmed hat, unbuttoned black shirt, and white boots, demonstrated good vocal form after the operation that left him mute for months.
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Who would have guessed he struggled to sing when "La lluvia en los zapatos" and "Terriblemente cruel" filled the opening bars of the concert, as predictable and effective as his fans had hoped and expected, as simple as the music demanded, with a two-tiered stage where the music and instruments were both form and substance. This was the case with "Gigante ," a heavy guitar rhythm that transformed the Sant Jordi into a massive choir. "It seems my voice has its days numbered," sang Leiva, amplifying the irony of the line before adding a bluesy harmonica flourish.
“I never dreamed of stepping onto this stage,” admitted Leiva, who claimed to have not slept and to have suffered from diarrhea because of this concert, which did not prevent him from tackling Superpowers with the support of his brother Juancho in the choirs, as he did in the wild west howl of Sincericidio to continue with the massive karaoke, which did not stop despite slowing down in Breaking bad , cushioned by some winds (trumpet and saxophone) that added a pop touch to a good part of the songs, including some express remembrance of the Beatles.
An expert at crafting magnetic choruses, Leiva proved he's hit the mark again with "El polvo de los días raros" (The Dust of Strange Days) when he sings "suddenly the city smells too much like you," the new anthem from this giant of a band that speaks of the emotional heights the musician from Alameda de Osuna has reached, as recounted in the predictable ballad "Ángulo muerto" (Dead Angle ). Shock y adrenalina (Shock and Adrenaline ), a recent addition to the setlist, brought a bit more of a surprise, as did ¿Quién lo iba a decir? (Who Would Have Thought?), Santiago Auserón's version of Chuck Berry's legendary " You Never Can Tell," making it clear that this was all about rock 'n' roll, even when the rhythm deviates from the norm, as in "Flecha" (Arrow ), where Juancho paid homage to Eric Clapton with his guitar contribution.
Vis a vis opened the final part of the concert with Leiva alone on stage with his guitar, the Sant Jordi arena in complicit silence, at the request of the artist himself, who played with the audience as much as he pleased, ready for anything. The reward came in the form of No te preocupes por mí (Don't Worry About Me), followed by Como lo tienes tú (The Way You Have It), Estrella polar (Polar Star) with a slip of the tongue by Leiva, and Lady Madrid , with the surprise appearance of Sidonie in the middle of yet another Pereza revival that officially concluded the concert before returning with Caída libre (Free Fall), the collaboration with Robe from the new album, and saying a final goodbye with the inevitable Princesas (Princesses) , a closing number with an unavoidable touch of nostalgia for an evening that renewed the communion of the masses with guitars and music without labels.
lavanguardia
