Daring to build two Palau Sant Jordi in just two years may seem a bit daring. And even more so when you announce it for this second date without having yet published a new album – it arrived months later – and you dare with a capacity of 16,000 people, almost double that of the first time. But Nil Moliner is not just another artist and last night he demonstrated it again in Montjuïc.
The one from Sant Feliu de Llobregat stopped again at the Olympic pavilion to present the songs from his latest work, Lugar Paraíso, a CD in which he opened on the channel, spreading his usual good energy but with much more personal themes than such. and as he himself has acknowledged, they have been “a therapy.” And last night, that march but also that emotion and sincerity were very present.
Curiously, Moliner’s voice was not the first to be heard when, after some delay, the lights went out. It was Andreu Buenafuente, present in the room, who was in charge of explaining what a Paradise Place means to the singer, an idea very present throughout the whos. “That place where you go to disconnect, that we have inside and we don’t know what it’s called,” he said. And then, with the six members of an expanded wind section on the catwalk and the rest of the band, very much from Maresme, behind, the recital started with My religion. First song and first helping of fire and pyrotechnics served.
With no time to waste, they began making references to their new work with Dos Primaveras, very celebrated, Nothing to Say, more rocking, and Costa Rica, justifying the reason for an expanded band and demonstrating that despite having only four songs, they had more people hugging than sitting.
Idiots, with more fire, and the always welcome Let me escape, continued with this overwhelming start, until the San Feliu native decided to stop along the way to address those present for the first time with one of the surprises of the night. “Do you feel like dancing,” he asked, and then proposed a challenge: the Dance Cam, in which the audience was the protagonist with their forbidden steps during Me quedo.
The adrenaline was still through the roof when one of the most special moments of the night arrived. Located at the end of the catwalk, the artist wanted to dedicate the song to a boy who, curiously, was called Nil. Was he a bystander, a message to his past self, or both? It was not clear, but his message was: “This song is for all the boys and girls who have come. Never lose hope and strength to fight for a better world. You have chosen this to be your Paradise Place.” And it gave way to Good Day, the song that opens his latest album and even though it was night, the public’s feeling was the same: they were having a good time.
Som ocells, remembering their first song in Catalan, and Mi Bandera, with green pyrotechnics for the occasion, also made an appearance. In fact, they closed the first block of the concert, because, next, the artist along with his six regular musicians stood on the catwalk, right behind a bonfire, to welcome an acoustic section in which he remembered his beginnings with to Ignasi Caballé and Ferran Samper in “seedy joints” and announced great news: at the end of 2025, to close the tour, he will return to the Palau Sant Jordi.
“This is also a Paradise Place, surrounded by friends, with a little wine and cheese,” he acknowledged, and then performed new songs like Better Like That or Wanting Doesn’t Look So Bad to Me, or a successful medley with songs from the beginning: The Awakening , Hijos de la tierra and Cien por hundred, the latter combining Spanish, Catalan and Basque, to later thank people like Manu Guix, Roger Rodés and his managers Carles and Ángel, knowing that, without them, his career would not be the same.
With this second part of the recital closed, a piano appeared on stage and it was the turn of another of the most special moments, that of “living in the present and not regretting anything” to the beat of Ara, with a Nil Moliner that ended up on top of the piano while confetti flew, before receiving two luxury guests: his “brothers” Álvaro de Luna and Dani Fernández who, as in the album, accompanied him in City Lights to remember that “if life turns its back on you, give yourself half turn to conquer her”.
A lively Iron Soldier, one of those songs “that are part of your soundtrack and you make them so big that you take them to infinity”, gave the warning that the recital was facing its final stretch, which was rounded off with a party Enséñame dedicated to those “who live far away” and Waiting, with a Sant Jordi who could not hide his happiness.
But there was still one more surprise. The star of the night appeared with a torch, as if he were coming from Athens towards the Olympic Paris, and he moved to the middle of the track where a tempting drum set awaited him. And already sitting on a platform, he rose several meters and had the pleasure of performing recent songs like the BZRP Music Sessions
Once back in position, the final fireworks began with Quan no seguirs a prop, although without the presence of Lluís Gavaldà on stage, the always welcome Bailando and the exciting Libertad, and closed, bordering on the generous two hours of duration, with the danceable Meneíto, reminding the public that the real party was “today and here”, and Tú, again referring to his latest album and the optimism that, despite saying that it is not his intention, he always exudes.
With all the fish sold, the one from Sant Feliu de Llobregat greeted those present with his band for the last time and thanked them “for making this dream come true.” And, surely, the gratitude was reciprocal, since Sant Jordi had not breathed such pronounced good vibes for a long time and with the certainty that, in less than two years, it will experience it again. That is the great fortune of being a Paradise Place.
