Love of Lesbian and 'trikinis' Jan Laporca at Cruïlla

BarcelonaThe third day of Cruïlla at the Parc del Fòrum began this Friday with a typically Barcelona atmosphere. "You should tell the foreigners that the word is sha-fo-gor," Santi Balmes later recalled during the Love of Lesbian concert. Before that, shamanic rituals and the overflowing fanfare energy ofThe Devil and the Witch Africa Express opened the performance, a torrent of Mexican and African rhythms. The former, in keeping with the album's material, Bahidorá (2024). Africans, as the founding thread of the project launched by British Damon Albarn, leader of Blur, in 2007, after seeing the underrepresentation of African musicians at some Western festivals. The proposal is a constant dialogue between musicians of diverse origins, now also from Central America, with Albarn occupying a discreet space on the Western stage behind the keyboards, and with stellar appearances such as Malian Baba Sissoko and Mexican Luisa Almaguer. The impact often depends on the soloist, but as a whole it works as an exultant machine of rhythms and refreshing sounds because they challenge the hegemonic patterns at festivals, and for the emotion of the more reserved moments, such as the forays into Tuareg blues of Imarhan, the bolero duo between Albarn and Alma.Goodbye friends, a collision of Mexican and West African sounds soaked by the violins of the American Joan as in Police Woman and the Mexican Bruja de Texcoco.

Walking between the stages of Cruïlla involves coming across spaces belonging to the sponsors, whom the festival has thanked for their collaboration over its fifteen-year history. There are many extra-musical elements common to other events, but also expressions of popular culture that Cruïlla has always championed, such as the human towers. On Friday, the mid-afternoon spotlight fell on the Colla Jove de Barcelona, from Sant Andreu, who performed a 4 out of 6 with Pilar. There's also a Dibumaton (a man who makes mini-caricatures) and a wide range of food options, including codfish fritters with romesco sauce (9.50 euros), trikinis Rigoberta Trufini and Jan Laporca (9.50 euros) and a vegetarian burger (12 euros). There's even a "quiet space," a little corner with hammocks and pillows designed for "anyone who feels overstimulated, saturated, or overwhelmed" and "specially designed for neurodivergent people, but open to anyone who needs a break." The only noise is the voices of the comedians on the comedy stage and the murmur of concerts at the Vueling, like Ben Harper's.

"Netanyahu, asshole"

After fifteen minutes of playing his usual blues-rock, many people were calmly approaching the main stage at the Estrella Damm, reserved for Love of Lesbian at 8:30 p.m. The band's good rapport with the Cruïlla venue led to two concerts, one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first, a regular one, was part of the album's tour. Salvation Army (2024). The second one, with many collaborations. Friday's began with Santi Balmes performing the ballad in crescendo which gives title to the latest album. "We sing as if the world had to end," he exclaimed before making Reversible nights and after lamenting the homicidal unpredictability of some rulers. He didn't name any, but it wasn't hard to think of Donald Trump. They were only three songs in and the audience was already warning that they would sing every song and every lo-lo-losIn this favorable context it is accepted that they do Contradiction with the recorded voice of Rigoberta Bandini and her image projected on the screen at the back of the stage. However, to make What are you going to know?, who sings with Eva Amaral on the album, asked the audience to take on the role of the Zaragoza singer. In fact, they sang all the parts.

Not all of the concert maintains the same intensity; in fact, many songs begin discreetly, inviting you to discuss trivia over a beer, and suddenly rise to epic chords. It's the mark of the devil tattooed on a group that also thrives on a melodic familiarity that makes Balmes's singular poetic style go beyond words. frontman always generous with the audience, like when he came down from the stage to sing The brotherhood Among the crowd. A bath of the crowd without fear of contact, sweat against sweat in the heat of the Forum.

The performance, peppered with pieces from the latest album, moved towards the most popular repertoire, that of songs like 1999, which Balmes recalled they played at Cruïlla in 2010, and Belize (with the nocturnal breath of the keyboards), after which Balmes snapped: "If you want us to continue, you have to say: 'Netanyahu, bastard.'" And they continued with There where we used to call.

Towards the end, after having words of Condolences to the family and friends of Toni Cruz and before the usual apotheosis of John Boy Fan Club, Balmes noted that in the front rows there were fans of Thirty Seconds to Mars, actor Jared Leto's band that was performing at 11:20 p.m. on the same stage. He then asked: "What does Jared Leto have that I don't?" "Twenty complaints," replied guitarist Julián Saldarriaga, recalling that Some women have accused Leto of sexual abuse..