The concerts of the headliners this Friday at Primavera Sound Madrid, Depeche Mode and Kendrick Lamar, did not disappoint the hundreds of fans who waited a few more minutes for their performance, which revived a festival that, in its Madrid version , has been full of setbacks.
The iconic English band, which began its journey back in 1980, delayed its planned show in Madrid for half an hour, starting at dusk, due to traffic jams that originated late in the afternoon on the A-3, on the way to the Rock City of Arganda del Rey.
The large influx of people to see them, taking into account that the Thursday passes were valid for this Friday or Saturday, after the suspension of yesterday’s day due to the rains, caused congestion on said highway. This circumstance greatly affected the buses provided by the organization, which could not return in time to pick up more passengers, which generated anger and moments of tension among the hundreds of attendees stranded next to the Metropolitano stadium.
But when they arrived at the concert, Depeche fascinated the fans and not so fans of many ages and nationalities who received them. Commanded by an energetic Dave Gahan, for whom it seems that the years have not passed, for almost two hours they made the audience vibrate with great songs like Walking in my shoes, Everything Counts, It’s no good, Precious or World in my eyes, a song with a dedication included to the late keyboardist of the band Andrew Fletcher, as he did a week ago in Barcelona, ​​placing a portrait of him on the big screens.
Likewise, the public heard hymns such as Stripped, Enjoy the Silence, I Just can’t get Enough, Never let me down again and Personal Jesus, at which time the attendees hummed the famous verse Reach out, touch faith. Without forgetting Martin Gore, who played the guitar to perfection and started as a soloist on the unforgettable song Home.
From their great new album, Memento Mori, released to great success last March, Depeche Mode played several songs in the City of Rock, including the first two of their setlist and the outstanding Ghosts Again, which includes a message about the death and the infallibility of human beings.
Also under a great staging, after Depeche, it was the turn of Kendrick Lamar, who for eighty minutes strove to offer a full of hip hop, sometimes seasoned with rock, thumping or funk sounds, as well as visual effects starring his imposing group of dancers.
As in Barcelona, ​​where some critics hailed Lamar as the best concert of the festival, the North American artist was mixing pieces from his four albums, shining those of his intimate latest album Mr. Morale.
The Los Angeles rapper also did not forget innovative pieces such as Purple Hearts, Money Tree, Bitch or Bich don’t kill my vibe, Money trees, King Kunta, Love, DNA or Alrigh, much cheered by the public.
The festival has continued the night with other bands such as Christine and the Queens, Bad Religion or Trueno, with the aim that the music tries to alleviate the serious mobility problems experienced or the situation of some areas of the venue, flooded and muddy due to the rains this week. Perhaps for this reason the number of attendees has been less than that of seven days in Barcelona.