The big news at the start of Rosalía’s concert was not that she came out of a box dressed in a tutu and pointe shoes; nor that he remained like a statue to interpret with an exultant voice Sex, violence and tires; not even that the twenty members of the British Heritage Orchestra took positions on the floor in a cross pattern while it played Angelby Jimi Hendrix (suck that one: Hendrix at a Rosalía recital!); nor the symbolic nature of singing these verses on Holy Monday: “First I will love the world and then I will love God.” No: what gave the impression that Movistar Arena was going to be the safest and most welcoming place on the planet last night was seen in her relaxed face, visible on the side screens, with bright, half-closed eyes and the relaxed gesture that announced her recovery from her health problems that forced her to cancel the Milan concert last Wednesday. We saw a natural and confident expression, and we could almost decipher his thoughts: “I’m in shape, something good is coming here.” And it came, boy did it come.
We cannot define what happened last night in front of the 17,000 people who filled the Madrid venue as a pop concert. The Catalan singer (33 years old) offered a multifaceted staging where disciplines such as dance, opera, flamenco, theater, sacred music, reggaeton, rumba, techno and pop come together, and which turned out to be rabidly contemporary. Rosalía inhabited a conviction for theatricality somewhere between the paintings of Goya or Degas, which she pays tribute to, and the metallic, feverish and nervous dynamics of a club. hard-tecno. Rosalía offered a lot and it was not always easy for the viewer accustomed to massive pop recitals. The audience danced and sang, because there were also moments for that, but it was necessary to open the spotlight, enjoy the panoramic view, listen to the protagonist, remain silent, bury the blessed cell phone in one’s pocket. Savor without haste, in short, an unusual recital that opens communicating vessels between genres. It was a proposal from an artist proudly exiled from the conventional music scene who not only feels like she has arrived where she should be, but once there the discoveries can be limitless.
The clothing of many of the public matched the iconography of Lux with white clothes, some lace, tunics, halos of saints and a party boy who came directly dressed as a priest. In few concerts by Spanish artists you can see the most militant modern artists alongside parents who left their children in the care of their grandparents. What Rosalía has lost is the children’s audience, which was recurring on her previous tour. On Wednesday it repeats in this same venue, like the 3rd and 4th, then stops in Lisbon on April 8th and 9th and ends its peninsular journey in Barcelona on the 13th, 15th, 17th and 18th.
Rosalía developed each song as a world apart, with different designs, either of scenery or choreography, a table made up of 12 dancers. He actually drew pictures all night. There was a lot going on on stage, but nothing felt forced or cluttered; On the contrary, elegant, measured, subtle. He did not need pyrotechnics or flying above the audience or other paraphernalia common at pop star concerts. He opted for his vocal qualities and for an original and often brilliant plasticity in the decoration and dances, with nods to art icons here and there. It is worth highlighting the place where we were, a pavilion of medium capacity and good visibility, because this show in a stadium (a venue to which he could have perfectly aspired, like stars of his stature) the scenic proposal would have been blurred.
We witnessed an hour and 45 minutes of brutal demands on her, both physically and vocally; and he was always at the forefront, dancing, singing without blemish, rapping, displaying a wide variety of registers. His vocal contribution looked full of nuances and power. Sometimes what came out of her throat seemed so powerful that she herself had to stop so as not to lose control.
In addition, he displayed a spontaneous charm that he exhibited in dribs and drabs during his stage of Motomaniwhere he gave off a certain image of rigidity. Last night he maintained a disarming ease, chatting with the audience, holding his bun, improvising with his dancers: “I have my hair in place yes or no.” She offered an image of a close and fun goddess that has modulated over time.
Constructed in four acts, each lasting about 25 minutes and differentiated, among other things, by her change of wardrobe, the core of the concert fell on Luxwhich played almost 80%. But not alone. One of the big doubts was to see how the spiritual liturgy of their latest album would come together with the Latin audacity of Motomami. And it came out surprisingly naturally. He dedicated the first part to the mystical aesthetics of Luxwith songs like ‘Reliquia’ and ‘Porcelana’, where the protagonist moved with graceful dance steps transmitting a realistic sensation of mystery and spell. We didn’t come here to assess his classical dance skills, because we weren’t into ballet. His first speech was dedicated to giving the medical report and thanking the capital for its welcome: “Last week I was in poor health, but I am better. Thank you very much Madrid for always welcoming me. One night I sang at Casa Patas (a flamenco venue in the capital) and I felt the duende like nowhere else. And a decade later I am here. This is very strong.” This initial act closed with a My Christ cries diamondswhich worked like when skeptics go to Holy Week in Seville, because believers and atheists were moved there.
The second part began with the drama of Berghain and melted it with Just in case. It was like going from tragedy to golf in a few seconds. Was the person who stood with her back to the audience to shake her butt in red panties the same person as the one who started the concert as if she were an angel on a mission sent by God? The same one, Rosalía.
The third act erupted with percussion that simulated the steps of Holy Week and Rosalía appeared elevated on a platform to perform a chilling Morentiana song. The redeemerfrom his first flamenco album, Los Angeles. What came next. In a very risky somersault he attacked a delicious version of the classic Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, popularized by Frankie Valli, which worked and the entire venue chanted with fun: “I love you, baby, And if it’s quite all right, I need you, baby.” To enter The pearlhis most popular song Luxtook the stage at youtuber Esty Quesada, known as Soy Una Pringada, put her in a confessional and acted as confessor. The ‘gag’ was very endearing and the audience burst out laughing. already involved in The Pearl He devised a visual game with the darkness of his dancers’ bodies that can only be described as genius. In Sauvignon blanc He sat at the white piano of one of his musicians, poured himself a glass of wine, and a tremulous voice came from within that made more than one spectator shudder. A shame about the small mismatch between image and sound. Tiny, but…
After a short rest, he appeared in the pit singing God is a Stalkergreeting the public, taking photos, signing autographs. He finished the song on the track, with the Heritage Orchestra, to undertake ‘La rumba del Perdon’. The pavilion accompanied with clapping, surely with greater skill in finding the beat than the French spectators, where the tour began 15 days ago.
In CUUUUUuuuuute He writhed as much as he could (and it was a lot) while a kind of smoking botafumeiro swayed. He set the song with a techno beat while overhead it sounded Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)by Eurythmics. The dance rhythms would not stop until almost the end: sponge cakewho sang with angel wings, and a Desperate where the entire venue accompanied her.
He ended the concert destroying another of the sacred laws of live performances, which says that the farewell must be high, euphoric. She opted for Magnoliasa slow-paced and dedicated song. She sang it dressed in a white cape over a pink bra and a chiffon miniskirt. Kneeling It was a beautiful picture of someone devastated, immersed in his role when he sang the last verses: “Promise that you will protect me and my name in my absence. / I who come from the stars, today I turn into dust to return to them.” And he left. Wonderful epilogue. On the tour of Motomami Rosalía offered a unique snapshot of a moment. Last night’s one produced a radically different one that will probably disappear when the tour ends. You left the concert wanting to share the experience with someone.