La Campa de la Magdalena is once again the ideal venue for any festival. Just a stone’s throw from the beaches of La Magdalena and Bikinis, Santander Music can boast of having the perfect temperature and atmosphere. It is worth mentioning that, as always, there is no camping. However, I had never seen people sleeping in sleeping bags until now, crowded on a pavement at the entrance to the venue. After a change in the organisation, the clearest difference is the disappearance of the DJ between performances, which greatly energised the event.
Even so, the first day of Santander Music has shone thanks to the complementary concerts of PabloPablo and Mikel Izal, who between them have covered everything we can expect from a day focused on guitars. Jara City They began their set by announcing that this was not “one more”, but “one less”. The Valencian group has only four more concerts before an indefinite break. They accompanied the start of the festival perfectly, lifting the audience towards the end of the show thanks to songs like ‘Bailé’.
All for that pablopablo Take all that hype and turn it into pure emotion. Pablo Drexler totally dazzled in the most unique concert of the day. There were guitars, yes, but nothing close to rock. The first sound of the show was already a sign of the concerns of the young man from Madrid, combining saxophone and keyboard to get something similar to a synthesizer that Hans Zimmer could well use in one of his soundtracks.
In ‘Otra Vida’, Drexler’s great voice already shone, modulated with a slight autotune that makes it even sharper and more addictive than it already is on its own. Pablo has many vocal tricks ready to surprise the audience at any moment, whether it be an unpredictable change of pitch or an echo that is impossible to locate. To a certain extent, it is reminiscent of the live performances of Guitarricadelafuente, with whom he made the yearning ‘Sidekick’, in its digital elements, but changing the boleros for the American production.
«My songs are a bit slow for a festival, but I see that you are eager.» Certainly, as he says, it is a slow concert, but tremendously exciting. One that makes you keep your mouth open. Those who did not know him, surely fell in love with songs like ‘Despierta’ or ‘Mi Culpa’, which I wish were longer. That seemed to be the case, because with each song that ended, the audience’s screams became louder.
In addition to presenting the singles from his second album, pablopablo also played many new songs that will surely be included in this next project. Or so it seemed, because he didn’t give any information. “I made this song with a friend,” he says at one point. Those next to him also thought he was going to sing ‘Sidekick’, but no. “I play songs but none of them have worked,” he sings in the beautiful song. Judging by what we’ve heard, ‘Canciones en Mí’ will take pablopablo’s career to another level. Available in September.
Gins They turned the atmosphere around 180 degrees. After the trance of pablopablo, it was time for the first big concert of Santander Music, in terms of audience volume and spectacle. Magüi, Sandra, Raquel and Juls began to doubt the northern audience, but they were quickly convinced otherwise. “Let’s see how we end up,” said Sandra. ‘Con Altura’, ‘Cosas Moradas’ and ‘Bailando Mal’ were enough to put on one of the biggest parties of the day, especially with the latter. Towards the end of the show, Magüi, who performed with plates in her throat, was totally convinced: “I was really surprised by this energy.”
The audience gained spectacular intensity in ‘La Típica Canción’, which ended the show to give way to the teenage pop rock of Malmö 040The Catalan group sounded great, although they exhibited a rather teen discourse. Perhaps, too much. Even so, songs like ‘El Capítulo Final’ or ‘Matar La Pena’ are defended with great fortitude. Although, for endurance, the one from Mikel Izal. The Pamplona native gave the biggest concert of the day, as well as presenting the most elaborate set. “Despite all the doctors, I have decided to continue the tour,” he says, sitting in an office chair after tearing his meniscus. ‘El miedo’, ‘El grito’, ‘La fe’ and ‘El paraíso’ are the four chapters that divide the show, accompanied by a reflection from the singer.
“If you have something that is making your life miserable, I tell you to let it go, to tell your family, colleagues or a professional,” Izal advises when introducing the second episode. If you are a fan of Mikel Izal, I assume you are a fan of Izal, and vice versa. You will enjoy the show like no one else. It has a bit of everything: dance songs, ‘Pausa’ songs, funk and above all a lot of indie rock by his own artist. Also many songs by Izal, which accompany the songs from ‘El miedo y el paraíso’. On the other hand, if you don’t like either of the two proposals, the live show will not convince you otherwise. Not because of poor quality, but because of a lack of novelty.
The last part includes the band’s greatest hits, such as ‘Qué bien’ and ‘La mujer de verde’, which got even the festival workers dancing. This part is the most cheerful and includes the best songs. The audience agreed, because they sang along to the commas.
La La Love You They ended the day with their own “la la baile”. “El Fin del Mundo” has been on the Spanish charts for 104 weeks. That’s almost two years. At certain moments, it was clear that the only thing people wanted to hear was that song, following the band’s orders, but without much emotion. “We are La La Love You and welcome to our prom party”. If Malmö 040 err on the side of being adolescents, it’s normal. If a group does it in which some members are close to 40, it grates on me a bit more…
Musically, you could say they hit the mark, with some riffs that were hardly surprising and a drummer who seemed to get lost at times. On other occasions, this has not happened or was not so obvious. “What is the song of the summer for you? This is our nomination,” asks David Merino before singing, yes, ‘The Song of the Summer’. I wish they had done a version of ‘360’ or ‘Von Dutch’. That would have been interesting.
