Spoiler-free review of an extraordinary concert by El Petit de Cal Eril

BarcelonaOne of the advantages of writing concert reviews is that you don't have to worry about spoilers, just record what happens throughout a performance. But the concert that The Little One of Cal Eril performed this Tuesday at the Ideal Arts Center in an inflatable igloo, which confronts us with the age-old dilemma of film criticism: how to analyze the work's surprises and twists without spoiling them for the reader? A particularly legitimate question when it comes to the first of seven special igloo concerts (four consecutive in Barcelona and, later, in Lleida, Girona and Tarragona) with which the band led by Joan Pons reunites with its fans to present its new album. Eril Eril Eril, after two and a half years of unemployment. So the only option to avoid spoiling the party for the audience and the band is to try to explain an extraordinary concert without going into the details of what makes it extraordinary.

It's worth noting that the igloo isn't exactly an igloo, but rather a half-oval balloon of air that covers the musicians and audience. Seeing a concert in this context is exceptional in more than one way: we're advised that if we have to go to the bathroom, we do so before entering and, if possible, we don't light a fire. Of course, there's no bar service, and as the venue fills up, the temperature rises. In the heat, it's advisable to wear light clothing, a bottle of water, and a fan to keep yourself cool, because after a while, the heat becomes somewhat stifling. Even an exultant Pons admitted it: "Holy crap, how hot! As much as how much we missed being with you."

From the gloomy darkness of the globe, broken by projections of faces on the ceiling, El Petit de Cal Eril dedicated the first part of the concert to unraveling his latest album, starting with Dark water. Pons (vocals and guitar), Jordi Matas (bass), Ildefons Alonso (drums) and Dani Comas (guitar) gave an exhaustive review ofEril Eril Eril, which were especially celebrated Now I don't know what to tell you and the energetic All the laws of men. The sound was crystalline, but more stripped down than before the strike: missing were the textures and melodies of Artur Tort, the keyboardist "on leave" who watched everything from the audience, constantly moving, surely overcome by contradictory sensations. "This is the first El Petit de Cal Eril concert I've seen," Pons suddenly realized. "Is that right, Artur?" "It is, Joan," Tort responded, also an accomplice as an ordinary member of the audience.

After reviewing the new album—with the exception of one If it weren't so easy reserved for the encore–, the concert was broken in two with The crying, a play-off of The force (2016) with which the repertoire is emancipated from novelty and, as Pons had announced before, "things happen." Some are worth noting: the joy with which the group reunited with hits as I feel either Lleida rubs Fraga, the excitement of hearing the resurrection mantra of Ashes ("You are what we were / You will be what we are"), the instrumental intensity of We are transparent either God Particles... Other things are better experienced than told. Or as Pons himself summed up: "Holy crap, what a fantastic life."