Nothing can with the festival Ebroclub; or rather, with the Association of Friends of Rafael Izquierdo, organizer of the same and of multiple events that are held in Miranda de Ebro related to music, cinema, gastronomy…
With the same organizational philosophy as always, that is, closeness, friendliness, good treatment and an exquisite demeanor, the Association is pleased to celebrate a “Sixties Weekend” closer to its original musical tastes. We could say that it is their whim, where they can enjoy all the performances a little more without losing sight of any last-minute events that may arise. And seeing how they and they have fun with a job well done, also makes the attendees contagious with their enjoyment. 7 bands, many fantastic DJ’s, a scooter run and a skewer route through various restaurants. That was the proposal this year, but the good atmosphere together with a climate that respected the event, made many attendees add their own activities to the official poster, with which it is easy for you, dear reader, to imagine what was in the air. in Miranda de Ebro this last weekend of April.
To the mess. If we talked about the organization’s ability to solve last-minute problems quickly, the first in the forehead. On Friday they took off the poster The Mocks due to some physical problems and in his place the British appeared Galileo7. But let’s go in order… The Liquorice Experiment they opened Ebroclub 2023 in the mythical Screw Factory. Based between the UK and Spain, they were the perfect band to represent the 60s spirit of the festival. Fantastic melodies, a very appropriate look and wanting to prove many things, they gave us a couple of Yardbirds covers that made the musical orientation they seek clear. In addition, they were among the most “active” of the festival, being able to see them at all the concerts and enjoying the city. Another point for the organization, which manages to get the groups involved as in few places.
The next to take the stage were the veteran Catalan band The Excitements. Old acquaintances of the festival, not in vain they participated in the first edition, they always know what they are up to and in a fantastic set they left the audience breathless. That hurricane that is its vocalist Kissia San did not stop moving, singing and shaking the audience throughout the performance; And woe to you if you didn’t, because she herself was in charge of getting off the stage and forcing the whole room to move to the super-greased rhythm of the band. The Excitements is a combined combo like few others, that sounds fantastically good and never disappoints us.
Galileo7 They arrived at the last minute, never better said, to replace the injured The Mocks. After doing a gig in Bermeo in the afternoon, they landed with just enough to set up the instruments, test the sound in 5 minutes and win over the entire audience from the first chord. You can tell that their ass is bare from hitting the gambling dens of the underground world since the 80s. Allan Crockford and his band tore through those power pop notes that are always welcome, with soul and punk influences that make them very attractive despite being those perfect quasi-unknowns that populate small festivals.
And we don’t forget that perfect pairing that is the DJ’s who, between band and band, do not allow anyone to stop moving with the various pop, northern soul and other similar rhythms throughout the day. As usual, the activities on Saturday began very early, so as not to lose the rhythm set by the festival. The already traditional Scooter Run toured places close to Miranda with lunch and gifts included, to later link up with the round of skewers offered by the various collaborating hoteliers. The music did not stop playing in the streets at any time, creating a festive atmosphere that manages to infect the entire city.
And in those we were still when without a solution of continuity we found ourselves in front of the outdoor stage of Cervezas La Salve – Bar La Pepa to enjoy the concert of paul alone, which already claims the jump to more powerful tables. A magisterial lesson in pop delicacy, to which we are already accustomed, backed by a deluxe band (with members of Los Estanques, or guitarist Moses Rubin). In the end, he gifted us with one of his collaborations with the legendary John Simon, thus tying in a wonderful time for music.
With almost no time to recover from the spectacular concert by the Cantabrian, we headed back to the Tornillos Factory to enjoy the closing day of Ebroclub. The first to appear on stage was a legend that is scarcely valued, due to various circumstances, of the music of our country, El Hombre de Goma, the incombustible Micky. This time accompanied by The Colossi of Rhythm, a band formed by members of Imperial Surfers and Five Canyons, among others. As director Cecil B. Demille said of the movies, “start with an earthquake and build into action,” and that’s what happened that night; From the beginning they showed the skeptics (there were, many sufferers of the “Cachitos” syndrome, the La 2 program) that you are not 79 years old and you continue to go on stage if you have nothing to say. They got the whole room dancing quickly and between memories to colleagues, compliments to the other bands of the night and their own musicians, they reeled off songs from their recent LP and versions of lesser-known songs from the 60s.
The relay was taken by the French Alexis Evans, a true monsieur of the most elegant Soul. With a truly spectacular sound, and some more than competent musicians, he delighted us with songs from his 3 albums, where the compendium of lavish mid-tempos and some more moderately accelerated songs took us back to the great times of the Harlem Apollo.
Ebroclub ended with Passapoga Hammond Quartet, this time quintet. Those from Elche turned the Mirandesa room into a genuinely sixties boîte with their honeyed rhythms where you expected to see Michael Caine or Augusto Algueró appear on the side of the stage at any moment. As a closing of the festival, they were the perfect complement to 2 days that in the end turned out to be a fantastic meeting of friends, on behalf of which we once again thank the Association of Friends of Rafael Izquierdo, keep the faith! See you in the next edition on April 12 and 13, 2024!
