Leiva can now explain that he filled the Palau Sant Jordi with rock music.

Barcelona"You're at your best," Leiva sings in the first verse of Under pressureThe song with which he opened the concert at the Palau Sant Jordi on Saturday, for which all 17,000 tickets had been sold out for months. The Madrid-born musician is also at his peak and has been able to... an album like Giant (2025)a kind ofBrutal honesty Without the toxic catastrophes of Andrés Calamaro, but certainly with doubts, losses, and emotional and professional insecurities that fuel a multitude of songs. Even so, despite years on the road, he was nervous before his first show at the Palau Sant Jordi. "What a privilege to be here, what a crazy thing to do. It's amazing. I haven't slept, I have diarrhea because of what's going to happen today, and I'm so excited," he said after 25 minutes of the concert.

Just before the performance, it plays Rocks, by Primal Scream, which places the audience where Leiva wants: in the rock of melodic choruses, guitars of riffs Family members and a well-muscled instrumental display. The band appears. Except for the screens, there are no stage distractions. The pact was signed a thousand years ago: songs are enough. And that's how it ends. Under pressure, Rain cone in shoes, Giant, Wolves, Terribly cruel and SuperpowersWith barely a pause and the audience in perfect harmony, applauding the harmonica, joining in like a heart, and celebrating with a standing ovation that expectations were met so quickly thanks to songs from different albums. At times, the sound quality, which could be improved, is a bit of a nuisance, but it doesn't spoil the connection established from the beginning, a connection that is further strengthened when the band takes a breath after... Superpowers"Good evening, Barcelona. How are you? I love you all very much," he says in Catalan.

Leiva doesn't nominally belong to a group, but he is a frontman He needs to know the musicians are close by. He looks for them, watches them, applauds them. It's the antithesis of what we've seen at concerts by other bands like Imagine DragonsThe Sant Jordi audience will surely approve. In fact, they'll celebrate towards the end of the performance, when Leiva finishes. Lady Madrid playing in a circle with the musicians in a remarkable gesture of communion.

Lou Reed, Sabina and Chuck Berry

With the initial tension eased somewhat, Leiva takes the concert into the territory of anthems of Giant as The people of strange daysWith saxophone, trumpet, and keyboard expanding the sonic battlefield, the audience responding enthusiastically. The Sabina-esque Angelo deadOr it confirms that the latest album has resonated strongly with fans of the Madrid-born musician. And Shock and adrenaline, with the riff of Sweet Jane Lou Reed's music makes it clear that these aren't times to hide influences but to openly display them because, ultimately, you are also the songs you've lived. That's why what follows is You can never tell, by Chuck Berry, in the Spanish adaptation by Santiago Auserón.

Then, the harsher electric noise of Cut along the dotted line contrasts with the acoustic tone of Vis a visBefore playing, he asks everyone to listen in silence with their phones in their pockets. And that's exactly what happens, as if everyone agreed to relive an ancient ritual for at least four and a half minutes. "Thank you for the respect," he says. From then on, the concert unfolds on the backs of 17,000 voices singing its verses and choruses: the voices of The call, with Leiva pinching the acoustic guitar and showing his best version as a singer; those of Don't worry about me, the Dylan-esque song about a character who is always at his worst; and, of course, the songs of Pereza, the band Leiva had with Rubén Pozo: Like you have it, Pole Star and Lady MadridHe always places them in the final stretch, before the encore. They sound like a nostalgic culmination, and the power they retain is undeniable, but in Leiva's favor it must be said that his solo career does not detract from those youthful achievements.

In fact, he can defend Pereza with pride because he knows that they have later songs like the exuberant and primal creamera As if you were going to die tomorrowIt places her in the center of bis after Free fallLeiva, who performs live by taking on the parts sung by Robe Iniesta on the album, expresses his gratitude for the Barcelona audience's response. "After home, it's the place where I'm loved the most, without a doubt," he says. And with the Sant Jordi arena overflowing with the enthusiasm of those who know they'll leave comforted and satisfied after two hours, Leiva puts his best foot forward. Princesses, by Pereza, to close the encore, the concert and the tour Giant Leiva before traveling to America.

The opening act was Sidonie, and Marc Ros, the singer of the Barcelona-based group, had previously stated that the Sant Jordi show was "a very important gig for Leiva." He left with the audience's enthusiastic support.