For its 2023 edition, the festival (or concert series, depending on how you look at it) ‘Big Music’ held in the Cantabrian town of Torrelavega, distributed days by style with hardly any dissimulation. If in the previous nights the spotlights had fallen on Stool, Alejandro Fernandez o melendi, on Saturday a clear indie mood was imposed, far from the aforementioned names. A selection that, in addition and based on the protagonists of the poster, set its sights on two well-differentiated types of target audience. On the one hand were those more festival-goers, destined to enjoy it with national groups of almost global accessibility and suitable for indiscriminate celebration. That’s what some veterans in these fights like Lori Meyersbut also younger formations such as Bogota burns (whose triumph in terms of popularity is already a fact) and Shinova. In the opposite corner the old guard appeared, a stratum that far exceeds forty and that went exclusively and without hesitation, attracted by the presence in the sarao of some eternal classics of the British scene such as Suede. To all of them we had to add the presence of We Are Not DJ’sexercising behind the dishes at the beginning and end of the day.
Somewhat in the middle of nowhere was found Natalia Lacuna, who inaugurated the evening with his poetic pop, as a welcome to the then still clueless attendees from both sides. In this way, the Navarrese was commissioned to put that pleasant soundtrack that accompanied the public while they positioned themselves for what would come next.
Bogota burns They quickened their pulse and increased their intensity exponentially, from the moment they stepped onto the imposing stage built by the organization. Those from Cartagena demonstrated (more than) why they are destined to be the next great group that will surely move a general public behind them, in addition to turning audiences who are regulars at festivals of a certain profile upside down. The combo was tremendously solid in forms and manners, with an overwhelming sound that can be reminiscent of Arctic Monkeys or Queens Of The Stone Age, but at the same time it is understood as an invitation that is difficult to reject for anyone who wants to sing their choruses out loud and vertical letters (“Honey”, “The dogs”, “Anti-aircraft”). They may like them more or less, but their passage through Cantabria was triumphant, guided by a vocalist with a hook like Antonio García… and the umpteenth evidence that they are immersed in the race for the throne.
Bogota burns
After them came the turn of some Suede who are enjoying an excellent moment, both in their studio version and live, a specialty in the latter in which they have always excelled to the point of pointing to religious devotion. Above all, thanks to the overwhelming figure of a Brett Anderson who exudes such magnetism that he almost eclipses the rest of the band. The vocalist returned to being the center of attention, with his stratospheric charisma and pulling dedication and closeness with the public, in addition to relying on an overwhelming record catalog (which, incidentally, adds four splendid albums in their second season as a group). In fact, Londoners came with the magnificent “Autofiction” (BMG, 22) still recent under his arm, from which they recovered the dark “Turn Off Your Brain And Yell” to start their performance and the priceless “She Still Leads Me On”, before releasing with hardly any interruption nothing less than a total of fourteen singles. Their concert was the umpteenth euphoric celebration in which fans and the musicians themselves came together, the former accustomed to the fact that the quintet never fails live and, even so, once again dragged behind the tactics of an Anderson at the service of hymns like “The Drowners”, “New Generation”, “She’s In Fashion”, “Beautiful Ones”, “Lazy”, “So Young”, “Animal Nitrate” or the only (and precious) encore “Saturday Night”. Orgasmic.
Others that are usually a sure value, at least when it comes to having a good time under the shelter of a festival night, are Lori Meyers. Their portfolio of “coreable” songs is at this point incomprehensible, and they can boast of a most appropriate repertoire for this type of appointment. Although they did not have their best night (at least not the vocalist Antonio López “Noni”), the mission was certified based on the aforementioned repertoire and also on some very elaborate visuals and lighting effects. Undoubtedly, the Andalusians have developed better concerts than the one they signed in Torrelavega, but the truth is that it doesn’t matter too much when the objective is none other than to enjoy the ephemeral happiness produced by pieces such as “Luces de neón”, “Emborracharme ”, “Fireflies and butterflies”, “My reality” or a “High fidelity” that served as a closure.
Shinova They completed the lineup, with the vitola of being another of those groups of increasing acceptance based on parameters that are well known and exploited in recent years. With the forms of Izal, Miss Cafeina and company in the retina, the truth is that the combo is somewhat excessive in pose, but (at least to this day) the maneuver seems to continue working, with themes such as “Niña Kamikaze” or “Twelve months (The year of the wonderful disaster)” fulfilling file. The fact is that, one and the other, those who had gone for this and those who were motivated by the other, ended up satisfied with what was seen in a festival dedicated to offering live music for all tastes.