More than 50,000 people went through Mad Cool 2025 in each of their three days. A success, since, despite the sound failures of the first day, the festival celebrated what is its best edition to date in terms of festive experience. A large organization caused the enclosure to be comfortable to see any concert, and causing the return home (or at least, to the city center) not a great odyssey as usual in this type of event.
The great concert of Saturday, was undoubtedly that of Olivia Rodrigo. A huge tide of attendees (especially teenagers, and particularly girls) covered the enclosure on both sides of the stage. Before starting, nervousness was already felt. Several attendees had to be treated by dizziness, while others were given water bottles to avoid faintness. We were before the great fan phenomenon of the festival.
The central screen projected Olivia Rodrigo walking on a rope. After a few seconds, he lost his balance and slowly rushed towards the void. The scenario roared when the members of his band came out completely for women, and when Olivia did, it seemed to fall. The artist begins with ‘Obessed’, a “bonus track” of the Deluxe version of ‘Guts’, which was held as if it were her most popular song. Actually, they all seemed. The live version of ‘Vampire’ consolidated its position in the upper part of its discography. His chorus seems to be designed to break up until he is running out of voice, and there is something very satisfying to scream with thousands of people “BloodSucker, Fame-Fucker, Bleeding Me Dry Like a Goddamn Vampire !!!!”.
Behind her, the singer goes to the public and greets an energetic “What happens, Madrid?” He appreciates the unconditional love of his fans and laughs with the banners that many raise. Their response is none other than a chanted “and beautiful and pretty, and pretty, and queen and queen” … The artist is soaked with all that love while he sits to the piano to interpret ‘Drivers License’, which was his first great success, and who continues to be crowned as a huge anthem about the end of the first teenage love. Consequently, the cameras focused on the first rows, full of young girls crying while singing each word in full lung.
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The artist is not only over voice, but her charisma on stage is overwhelming. Despite his short career, he is already a superstella, with a presence that reminds of great icons of other times. In part it is because in just two albums an arsenal of songs that resonate in all types of audiences has compiled. Their lyrics are very teenagers, but they are really full, with feelings so sincere that no matter how far you are from those first love experiences, they vividly remind you of what you felt in those moments. Dischaded ballads like ‘Traitor’, ‘Enough for you’ or ‘Happier’ (accompanied by tinnights and arms shaking in the air) work better live than in the study recording. And if they do it is precisely because their verses have an ability to connect with the audience that transcends the experiences of the artist herself.
Although Olivia perhaps chained too many ballads, the strength and passion with which he interpreted them (and with which people responded to them) made the show never decline. One of them was ‘All I Want’, a song of his time in High School musical that had not sung so far in his festivals tour.
‘Dej Vu’ was the last one that sounded before leaving the stage. Shortly after, he returned to the final part, which began with the intro of ‘brutal’ and with a projection of the singer surrounded by a circle of fire. For the end of ‘All American Bitch’, he asked the public to think about someone they hate to shout with her. In that same line of Teen-Angst, ‘Good 4 u’ arrived, already turned into a whole hymn and one of the best songs from the contemporary Pop-Popunk revival. As expected, there was not a soul that did not sing it with her alive voice. To finish off, Olivia got on a scaffold, took a megaphone and performed ‘Get Him Back!’, Closing his great show with confetti and golden lights.
Long before, at 19:35, FINDINGS He went to one of the main stages with a leopard shirt and wearing a half mane. Surrounded by a band formed by keyboard, drums and guitar (the same with which he recorded his latest album ‘For Cryin’ Out Loud ‘), offered a concert, often with a certain seventies air, very enjoyable. The sound was impeccable and his voice was always up to par, both in more lively songs and ‘Sweet Cherries’, as in ballads. In this second group, ‘Angel’ sounded especially moving, which the artist interpreted sitting on the keyboard while people raised their arms and shaking them from one place to another.
Another great moment came from the hand of ‘What’s It Gonna Take To Break Your Heart’, where he accompanied the feminine voice of the keyboardist doing the choirs. Finnes took out his mobile to record with the public for ‘2001’, and said he was very happy to be back in Madrid, a city that he did not return from his sister Billie Eillish in 2019.
On the ouigo stage, St. Vincent He appeared moving strangely, playing a mysterious woman role designed for this tour. ‘Broken Men’ made the honors inaugurating the set, where the artist sang twisting her body with each battery blow. At 20: 15h the sun had not yet fallen and dazzled him when singing. «I hate the sun! We should be all vampires! ”He exclaimed. Shortly after someone from his team gave him a cap, which would later change for sunglasses.
The majority of the set was dedicated to his latest album, ‘All Born Screaming’ (we forgot its Spanish version, of which only a loose verse in a song), but did not forget about successes of the era of ‘Masseduction’ as ‘the Ageless’ or ‘New York’. The latter described it as “a song about a song about a city about a love.” It was one of the great moments of the concert. Annie Clark, without leaving her character, went down to interact with the public, speaking with them, calling them “My Love” and similar things while interpreting her.
His show went totally to more, and not because he started badly, but because it ended in style. Clark gave a whole lesson of presence and experience on the stage. His is maximum professionalism without ever forgetting the pure show.
Seeing St. Vincent’s complete set, part of the 30 Seconds to Marsalthough we arrived for the last five songs. The concert, apparently, began about twenty minutes late. The band has to go from Barcelona to Madrid, they canceled three different flights due to strong storms. After that, they went to the station to take a train that also ended up canceling. They returned to the airport and their new flight was delayed, so they arrived with the right time to make an appearance at the festival and not completely disappoint their fans.
When we arrived at the main stage, those of Jared Leto launched black balloons and flares everywhere giving way to ‘This is war’. The band leader let the public sing half of the chorus and seemed quite tired at the vocal level at that point in the show. The oldest themes like that have aged badly, or surely they were never too good, but responded to the emotion of their time. Even so, they are much better than others more recent such as that historical horrade called ‘Stuck’, whose presence in the set is difficult to understand (or rather its mere existence). They closed their show as they always do, inviting their fans to get on stage with them while playing ‘Closer to the Edge’.
On the other hand, the English Glass Animals They looked somewhat harmed by the poor sound of the stage (at the height of the sound tower, where we were, heard under and tangled), but they knew how to contribute lightness to the day with their festive music. They opened with the nice ‘Life Itself’, with which they soon got into the public in their pocket. The band carried two synthesizers, electric guitar and percussion, and its leader moved with grace on stage. Songs like ‘The Other Side of Paradise’ or ‘Space Ghost Coast to Coast’ contributed freshness to an entertaining set that culminated, how could it be otherwise, with the great success of the group: ‘Heat Waves’.
The French duo closed the festival Justicevery regular at the festivals of our country. This time they presented their most recent studio album, ‘Hyperdrama’. As always, the sound of their beats and futuristic synthesizers get into your skin, as if they are possessing. Hidden in their usual darkness, relegated to simple silhouettes, they offered a show of lights and lasers that accompanied satisfactorily to their dance and electro rhythms. Nothing particularly new, but it cannot be denied that Parisians have found an effective formula that never leaves anyone without dancing.
