It was all about guitars this Friday at Cruïlla, in which there was a noticeable increase in the number of people, with a poster that maintained a Spanish accent during the afternoon, although no longer Latin, like Thursday’s day . A long and intense day ahead where the headliners were reserved for the last minute.
The proximity between the five stages of the festival makes travel easier, but it does not prevent us from having to choose the best option, especially if, in addition to music, we are fond of humorous monologues. This was the dilemma that the Vallformosa stage offered on Friday with the first day of Comèdia, another festival within the Cruïlla festival that demonstrates the success of combining the two proposals in the same program, with the performance of top-level comedians like Charlie Pee or Patricia Espejo.
The dilemma was not easy to solve either, even if we limited ourselves to the musical section. Two different proposals opened the day simultaneously: Menta, with their raw and energetic rock, made the Johnnie Walker stage vibrate with the songs from their first LP, Un momento extraño, ode al nihilisme which they presented at full volume singing Fatal, thank you, with the refrain “no hay futuro, no hay mañana”. Los Peces Raros, an Argentinian duo with an electronic industrial sound based on the sharp and languid voice of Lucio Consolo, who floats on the constant drumbeat that made the audience’s bodies shake, suggest a musical line that Alt-J continued to explode around midnight with Sigur Rós.
The problem of choice continued in the next round, in which it was up to me to choose between two proposals with rock roots. On the Oxfam Intermón stage they played The Guapos, a Mexican formation that revives the rock of the sixties and seventies with the inexcusable presence of Leiva on drums (on Saturday he will perform solo), although he also sang a Spanish version of You never can Chuck Berry’s story. With a jacket and off-white trousers, they offered a performance that prioritized the spirit of having fun without pretending to invent anything, sometimes recalling Tequila, to whom they paid tribute with Me vuelvo loco, or Los Brincos, with Isabel, a spirit that connected with the large audience that at that time was beginning to gather in front of the stages.
At the same time, the Vueling stage hosted the Ciudad Jara concert, a project by ex-La Raíz Pablo Sánchez, with the air of a singer-songwriter without renouncing his indie “roots”. On Friday, the two souls of the artist were seen with songs such as Si perdemos te pierdo, En busca del fuego or Adiós, which were played accompanied by a sign language interpreter.
At 8.30 p.m. almost the entire audience present went to the front of the Estrella Damm stage to be enveloped by the art rock of Alt-J, the trio from Leeds who made their timely appearance in a concert that he gained points as the night took over the space. Without abandoning the hieratism at any time, they started with the leisurely Bane after which Joe Newman greeted with a “good night”. For an hour and a half they performed their pieces, with often cryptic content, such as In cold blood, U
The revolutions increased with the performance of Cala Vento, the Girona power duo that accelerated the Vueling stage while the Oxfam Intermón lacked space for all the people attracted by Viva Suècia, the indie formation from Murcia that exploded with the his latest work, El, as they demonstrated last night by making the whole audience sing songs like No hemos aprendido nadao La voz del presidente, guided by the suggestive voice of Rafa Val.
At the end of this edition, the guitars had to continue playing, even if it was with a cello bow, as Jonsi does, from Icelanders Sigur Rós, who present the album Àtta. Next up were Franz Ferdinand and the Californians Offspring. And as a gift for those who held out until the end, Ladilla Rusa’s show to close the day combining music and humor.
