2023-07-08 09:37:51
“Freedom, love and fun” was the trident that Sam Smith warned would lead his concert on the second day of Mad Cool; and he could have perfectly added sexuality and humility. The Briton –headliner of the day despite playing at a still very hot and sunny 8:00 p.m.–, was a gift of quality and vocal nuances, he kept the smile of those who contagious mouths and glances from start to finish; and he landed with a proposal that would have annoyed, for sure, the leaders of PP and Vox who have dedicated themselves to canceling cultural shows in Spain during the last two weeks.
The artist burst the norm from the moment he entered the scene dressed in a white shirt, suit pants and a gold bustier; until he finished his show in high boots, fishnet stockings, bare chest, helmet with red horns and a trident. In between, she also wore a white veil on which she placed a crown of thorns to stop time with the ballad that gives the title to her latest album, Gloria. All this in a second day of Mad Cool that brought together more than 67,000 attendees.
In her performance there was a vindication of sexuality with a lesbian kiss included and a moment of uncovering in which Smith, surrounded by her dance group, took off her shirt at the climax of a proposal that would have looked even better if it had happened under the spell of the moon and not of the sun that still left its mark in the form of sweat and many slanted eyes. It is appreciated that, minutes before, from 7:00 p.m., the Puscifer group spent half a show black long-sleeved pantsuit dresses; without lowering decibels or energy interpreting songs like Bread and Circus, Personal Prometheus y Horizons.
“Is incredible! It’s too hot! I’m going to burn! I’m going to get very tanned… Or very burnt!” Shared the British laughing, taking the circumstances with humor. By then he had already intoned hits as Stay With Me, I’m Not The Only One y Like I Can and, being the spirit that he maintained during the hour and a half that his wonderful recital lasted, he was as happy as or even happier than the public to be there, sharing his music and ode to self-love, to shared love, to freedom.
The singer did not leave classic in the pipeline, conquering with Too Good At Goodbyesbefore giving way to more recent titles such as the I’m Not Perfect which he sings with Jessie Reyez. Here she sang accompanied by her trio of choristers whom she praised during the show, asking to stop the concert on more than one occasion just so they could get the applause of the caliber they really deserved.
“When I was making the album two years ago and dreamed of being back on stage, I promised myself that if I did it again, I would make sure to celebrate and sing with my friends, because I missed them so much,” he explained before asking. a lot of noise” to the army of dedicated fans gathered at Mad Cool this Friday. He also confessed that How Do You Sleep? It is one of his favorite songs and that Dancing With A Stranger one of the most helpful.
Although with the incipient and shy sunset the temperature began to drop, the dynamics of the concert meant that, from the track, everything felt hotter and hotter. More dancers entered the scene and songs like Gimme They caused that, regardless of the light that there was, the sensation was to be inside a disco at those hours in which everyone is more uninhibited and possessed by the power of the night. I’m Not Here to Make Friendswho started singing with the huge pink she wore in her video clip, hosted a dance break that finished marking the before and after.
After the song, Smith changed back into a pair of heart-patched jeans, a white T-shirt, and a pink jacket. In the staging, sexuality continued to prevail, in a celebration of the body –of all bodies–, which culminated in the British taking off his shirt –yes, the same thing that the singer Rocío Saiz did in Murcia, only without a policeman to decided on his own to force him to cover himself. The euphoria was already unleashed.
After this liberating, orgasmic and beautiful point, Smith took a few seconds to return in style with the white veil and crown. Two garments that he also ended up taking off to make way for what he defined as his “gay cabaret” to which he invited the entire public, without exception, without filter, without judging, without patriarchal demands, breaking canons, allowing himself and allowing himself in an environment of , as promised, freedom, love and fun. “We hope to see you again”, he pronounced before putting the finishing touch with Unholy. Awesome.
Maintaining Smith’s bar became inherently a challenge, especially since it was necessary to slow down on a day that featured other names such as Tash Sultana, Delaporte, Kaleo, Rüfüs du Sol, The Blessed Madonna and Jacob Collider. The British musician was precisely the best antidote to his compatriot immediately after, on the Region of Madrid stage.
Collider enjoyed himself in a big way, generating a climate of very good vibes, very calm and with a lot of prominence from the instrumental parts of his songs. His objective was to have a good time, and he achieved it by interpreting his own songs such as Never Gonna Be Alone; and versions of classics mixed with electronics such as Can’t Help Falling in Love of Elvis and Somebody to Love of Queen.
The folk ecstasy of Mumford & Sons
If the day before the organizers seemed to bet on the return to the groups that made up all the soundtracks of the adolescent classics of the late 90s and early 2000s; On the second day, the bet was to bring those who marked the festival preferences of the 21st century, especially since 2010. Only in this way can it be understood that two groups such as Mumford & Sons and The Black Keys coincided as headliners, condemned to face each other and measure themselves in his story.
The fight for who won prime time (the same one that Robbie Williams had on Friday) went to the side of Marcus Mumford and his colleagues, and it is impossible not to think of the Grammys of 2013, when both groups arrived as big favorites of the year. after bursting with the two albums that consecrated them as two of the biggest and most important bands of the moment. Mumford & Sons arrived with their second album, Babel; y The Black Keys con The waywhich thanks to Lonely Boy it had made them, many years after their debut, the success they deserved to be. While those from Ohio won in the specialized rock categories, Mumford took the jackpot of the night, that of Best Album of the Year.
The best thing that can be said about both is that they continue to fulfill what is expected of them: that 10 years later they are still safe bets at festivals and that they make everyone who sees them enjoy themselves. On stage 1 of Mad Cool, ecstasy was experienced with Mumford & Sons, which has a setlist much more grateful thanks to its folk full of energy and emotion. The band was supposed to play at the festival in “the year everything went to shit”, that is, 2020, as its singer, Marcus Mumford, who always appears on stage with his perfect son-in-law aura, recalled.
They have survived the pandemic, a threat of separation with an album (its leader’s failed solo) and the forced departure of one of its members, Winston Marshall, whose support for an author close to the extreme right and his recommendation of a book against anti-fascism made him leave the group, supposedly temporarily, through the back door. They have been able to handle everything and continue to fill like few others and sound like almost none. His banjo solos and the bass solos by Ted Dwayne are so characteristic that just a few chords make his fans tremble.
They are setlist is infallible and goes to the songs that do not fail, starting with Babel y Little Lion Man, two of his most popular songs. There they already had the almost 70,000 souls of Mad Cool in their pocket, and if you add to that a chatter in Spanish and some fireworks, everything is in place.
Their concert had all the festival clichés, including fireworks and confetti, but their sound created a kind of collective ecstasy that exploded with their hits, especially The Cave and that I Will Wait that it is impossible not to turn everything into a good vibes folk party. Now, for the lovers of the group, nothing compared to the moments of beauty that are achieved in much more intimate and small subjects such as Below My Feet y Lovers Of The Light, who strung on stage. Special mention of the cathetism of all those who in 2023 continue to boo when Barcelona is mentioned at a concert in Madrid.
After Mumford’s high, the Black Keys returned to feel shadows of 2012, but as they demonstrated once again The SimpsonNobody cares about a Grammy, and even less the band from Ohio, who once again gave a sample of knowing how to be from their first songs and making one of their best-known songs appear soon at their concert, Gold On The Ceiling.
Of course, Mad Cool gave them the honor of closing with their Lonely Boy, undoubtedly his most sung song and one of the most imitated and listened to in rock of the last two decades. Mad Cool’s commitment to reliable and quality rock was also hours before on the same stage, which was where Queens Of The Stone Age were a couple of hours before, making it clear that they are still an institution, classics that never go out of style. fashion and that continue to sweep no matter what.
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