As part of Inverfest, Circo Price, one of the best places to listen to live music in Madrid, hosted this Thursday Kiko Veneno, an essential name in Spanish rock of the last half century. With all the tickets sold out and bringing together an audience that clearly had been a loyal follower for decades, it gave infinite reasons why, after all this time, it is still capable of arousing authentic passions.
The lyrics of his songs, as humorous as they are profound, and his vocal mannerisms are engraved in the collective imagination of several generations: those who lived through his boom in the 80s and 90s and those who have passed down to us as an inheritance.
Kiko Veneno is living history of music in Spanish. He demonstrated it, by his impeccable know-how on stage, and the audience demonstrated it, by their devotion and dedication to each of his songs, whether old or new. Accompanied by the Banda del Retumbe, its excellent musicians (electric guitar, Spanish guitar, drums, percussion, choirs…), the Sevillian announced before starting that he would play seven new songs, currently only available on platforms in their live version pending their possible inclusion in a future studio album.
The first part of the concert was dedicated to these songs, opening with the ballad ‘Guitarrita’. They all shine with the same intensity as any of the singer’s songs, as his compositions are very timeless, but among them, the most notable moments were ‘I’m a classic’ – with a trademark chorus that the audience was quick to replicate (“I’ll peel the tangerine for you, I’m a classic”) – and ‘Precisely’, endowed with a contagious energy thanks to its lively rhythms.
Kiko launched his motto “love is the science that makes existence possible,” before being left alone on stage with his guitar. The most difficult moment, according to him. Their acoustic and intimate versions of ‘I sit in the bed’ and ‘La casa cuartel’ were the most emotional point of the evening. His voice sounded powerful, since although he has never been a gifted vocalist, he has impeccable technical control.
His band returned and this is when the arsenal of greatest hits began. The first one that was played was ‘I miss’, which was very popular among the attendees, who were encouraged to sing with it. Some even got up from their seats. ‘Superheroes de barrio’ also achieves that effect, since Kiko and his band performed it with enormous verve. And ‘Respeto’ was very fun, especially because at the moment of establishing a dialogue with the audience in the choruses, there was some confusion and the artist had to intervene: you have to repeat what I say! “I see a lot of creativity, that’s very good,” he said jokingly when finishing it.
‘Joselito’, very popular in the Andalusian rocker’s repertoire, was chosen to close before leaving the stage, before the encore. People got up from their seats and did not sit down again. After enormous applause and shouts of “another, another,” the musicians reappeared. One of his backup singers and percussionists surprised him by singing a short song. Afterwards, Kiko ended his concert with two of his best songs: ‘En un Mercedes Blanco’ and, of course, ‘Volando Voy’, one of the few that he sang standing up. A memorable show culminated at that high point, two hours of magic and experience from which you emerged fall in love with life. Kiko Veneno is a classic.
