First concert of return of La Oreja de Van Gogh: between euphoria and suffering

BarcelonaBilbao has experienced the first comeback concert of La Oreja de Van Gogh with its founding singer, Amaia Montero, and without its guitarist, Pablo Benegas. At the Bizkaia Arena, 15,000 people accompanied the quintet, made up of the historic Xabi San Martín (keyboards), Álvaro Fuentes (bass) and Haritz Garde (drums) and Benegas' replacement, Imanol Goikoetxea. "I thought I would never set foot on a stage again. I was lost, completely lost, to the point of not recognizing myself. There were many dark days, when I thought it was all over. I have been to hell but, with my scars, after fighting a lot, I am here," Amaia Montero admitted this Saturday: "This is much more than a concert," she assured.

Expectation was high and the concert was basically a giant karaoke. The band played 25 songs from their repertoire, only one new track and two songs from Leire Martínez's era. The audience celebrated the most well-known anthems, such as the song that opened the concert, 20 de enero, and Dulce locura, París, Pop, La playa, El 28, Rosas, Cuídate and Puedes contar conmigo. But it was evident that Amaia Montero's voice no longer retains its power or the same tone. Social media was filled with comments from fans celebrating the singer's return and others criticizing her performance.

Precisely the new song, Todos estamos bailando la misma canción, released for New Year's Eve, was one of the most complicated moments of the night. Even the singer admitted that she had "done it terribly, I'm aware of it", and apologized. But in fact, in most of the songs, the singer doesn't reach her iconic high notes and needs the backing vocals, harmonies, and the audience to sing the songs. She also did a version of an unrecognizable Nothing compares 2 U, by Sinéad O'Connor.

The Tantas cosas que contar tour commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the band from Donostia and the reunion with the original vocalist, after the controversial break-up with Leire Martínez in October 2024, who was the voice of the group for 17 years, and the announcement of Montero's return a year later.After a second concert in Bilbao, the band's tour will continue. It will pass through Barcelona in the autumn (it will fill four Sant Jordi venues on November 6, 7, 26, and 27) and will end on December 30 after 35 concerts, for which they have already sold 400,000 tickets.