Once again, reality is proving to be stubborn in its efforts to deny all those doomsayers who hope that this year, yes, this year will be the year of the bursting of the famous festival bubble. Well, maybe not. Spain is doing well and the figures for job creation, hotel occupancy and per capita spending during Holy Week prove it. Something has to be done more than adequately from many areas for it to be so, and the SanSan Festival is a good example of this.
The festival celebrated a decade of life, as always, looking to the sky. This is what it takes to organize an event of these characteristics at the beginning of a Mediterranean spring, as unstable as it is conducive to celebrating the end of winter. Luckily, this time the weather was good and the little rain that fell was more an anecdote than a malicious guest at the event. So once the weather scare was over, everything was conducive for the Castellón event to be a real success in terms of attendance. The best in history, in fact, with almost 66 thousand attendees over three days, in an unbeatable and very transversal atmosphere. It is surprising to see very young people side by side with new parents, introducing the little ones to music, and taller people with a few festival notches on their belts. A very diverse audience attracted by an equally heterogeneous poster.
So far from boring the reader with a breaking latest news broken down into time slots and groups, it is better to make a general summary of the most notable and let the reader’s imagination do the rest. Let us begin, therefore, with the highlights of what happened for which he writes, which, obviously, does not have to coincide with the opinion of the rest of us. And if I had to keep the moments of most personal enjoyment of the SanSan this year, I would do it first with Bogotá burns. The people of Cartagena went out to kill from the first minute with a “Clávame tus ojos” starting from the chorus, that is, straight to the jugular and taking no prisoners. From there, the show was put on by Antonio García who was as unleashed as he was freed from his guitar, who did not stop jumping without losing any of his strength to sing, with that voice as charismatic as it was deep, the verses of rock hymns (yes, I have said rock and I stand by it) that are already the emblem and brand of the house. Songs like “What a Hard Life”, “Cowboys of the A3” and “Los Perros” with which they finished in fifth place and without brakes. A complete outburst that only confirms that his meteoric rise to the top has not been the result of chance.
DePedro – Photo by Javier Bragado
Continuing with the best moments of the festival, I’m going to jump to the chapter of the veteran who deserves more attention than we generally give him. And Jairo Zavala and his From Pedro They gave us, far from the spotlight of the first lines of the poster, an authentic lesson in what a live band should sound like: with packaging and that serenity that experience grants. A performance that was to a certain extent the antithesis of the Arde Bogotá gale, but which worked at the same level. The performance was also along the same lines. Mr. Kilombo. A guarantee of that ‘good vibe’ that has been unfairly maligned on occasions, but when interpreted with the solvency and self-confidence of Miki Ramírez, it turns heads. Something similar happens with Sexy Zebras. At first you don’t take them into account, but then they make a live performance so forceful and effective that it doesn’t give rise to any buts. Finally, highlight the good moment they are in. Shinova with a brand new record to defend under his arm. The Basques came out all out and I will only blame them for not sharpening their guitars a little more. With more festival filming new songs like “I wouldn’t change anything” are going to blow our minds.
If we jump to the chapter of “expectations met, they gave just what I expected” we would start with the concert of Long live Sweden. It hadn’t been even two months since I had seen them at the Sant Jordi Club in Barcelona and I must say that I enjoyed them with the same enthusiasm. And the people of Murcia have one of those well-rounded and effective shows that one never gets tired of seeing and listening to. Well tilted, good visuals and a version of Nino Bravo included (“A kiss and a flower”) for being in Valencian lands. They also gave us just what we expected Old Morla. Although in their case they gave us something more, because the people from Madrid had no qualms about defending their three new compositions live. In fact, they began the concert with a “Bridges” destined to become a classic in their repertoire, to also include “The sheets of my ghosts” and a delicate “Cathedral” that was accompanied by a striking visual effect in the form of stained glass, which helped to endorse its silky crescendo. Others who lived up to their seniority were Amaral. And there is little to add to the live performance of the mañicos who are supported by the choirs of the respectable who, obviously, knows all those songs that are part of the national pop-rock imaginary. And what to say about the show Ginebras that has not already been written. Well, they turned the Benicássim venue into a large amusement park, and they remembered that in that same festival, right after the pandemic, they starred in what is for them their best show. So they went out with all the desire in the world to repeat it.
Gins – Photo by Ainhoa Laucirica
If we move on to less pleasant chapters, that is, those that did not convince as they should, there is a name that hurts me a lot to admit. And personally I really wanted to see Travis Birds defending the songs of his magnificent “Dog wish”, but there were only moments of flash and in general their concert did not sound like the packaging of the big bands. Something similar happened with Fuel Fandango. The break forced by Nita’s motherhood may have rusty her filming, but the truth is that I have seen them sound in better circumstances. I wasn’t entirely convinced by the sets either. Panamera Collective, Emlan, Morochos, SUU, Natalia Lacunza y Dove. His performances were by no means a disaster, but they were not more than correct either. And if we talk about performances that have a long way to go to offer something more worthy, I cannot ignore those of Darling y Judeline. The first is because it is a novice and the second because one has the feeling that this urban-pop loaded with auto-tune has less trajectory than a BB gun.
Amaral – Photo by Javier Bragado
I don’t want to end the breaking latest news without mentioning other concerts that I couldn’t see in their entirety, but that gave me the impression that, at the very least, they lived up to their name and career. I mean bowling like Two Door Cinema Club, who seem to be getting back on track thanks to new songs like “Happy Customers”, or some The blue House that they have little left to prove and they seem to know the lesson by heart. Also Angel Stanich He was up to the task in a performance that went from less to more, supported by a more than solvent band. For your part Morreo They were as effective as they were friendly, putting the audience in their pockets with their cañí pop with that naïf touch so unapologetic. I can’t say the same about Van Gogh’s Ear because, no matter how much they explain the whitening phenomenon to which they have been subjected, I just can’t find it funny. A question of prejudice, some will think, and I’m not going to discuss it either.
Definitely, SanSan Festival has become an event to mark with a red marker on the festival calendar, thanks to the combination of fusing the best of the state scene, with a festive atmosphere in which everyone seems to be wearing that carefree smile that they give you Easter holidays.