MAD COOL 2022 – THURSDAY’S REVIEW
The second day in Mad Cool 2022, brought great moments of joy to us. Acts such as Imagine Dragons, The Killers, Deftones, Foals, Nothing But Thieves, La Femme, Modest Mouse, St. Vincent, Amyl & The Sniffers, Mother Mother, and Noisy, among others.
The indie rock band Mother Mother from Quadra Island, British Columbia (Canada) warmed up the engines of the main stage 2 (Madrid Is Life). They started very convincing from the very beginning with their O My Heart, which has a great work of composition behind its catchy sound. Ryan Guldemond (Misfits T-shirt on) – lead vocals and guitar – , had two Nord keyboards next to him, one at each side, Molly Guldemond – vocals, keyboards, Jasmin Parkin – vocals, keyboards, Ali Siadat – drums, Mike Young – bass have been rocking around since 2005, but it has been the first time we have had the chance to see. Great show, guys!!!
One of our favourites of the day landed on stage 3 – Region de Madrid – from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. Alternative rock band, Nothing But Thieves, gathered a huge crowd of fans who were eager to sing along to their hits. Although they had some serious trouble with Spanish hot weather and Sun, they made it clear they have been active for a decade now and it is plain to see by their attitude and results. Conor Mason’s boys jumped on stage with Futureproof and Is Everybody Going Crazy?, from their last album and last EP, respectively, Moral Panic and Moral Panic II. He even tried speaking some Spanish and casted a very positive attitude over the audience. I Was Just a Kid, Real Love Song, If I Get High, Trip Switch, Sorry, Forever and Ever More, Amsterdam, and Impossible, show closer from their last album, too. We didn’t see the kiddos we saw years ago. After the pandemics, they look way more consolidated and they drag thousands people with them now. Next time, very possibly, we will see them on the – Mad Cool stage – main stage 1.
The referred stage was started up today by La Femme. From Biarritz, France, the new wave, krautrock, psychedelic surf, and yéyé act made an already crowded Mad Cool have lots of fun, bounce up and down and dance non-stop. Established by guitarist Sacha Got and keyboard player Marlon Magnée, together with the rest of the band, delighted us with Nouvelle-Orléans (show opener), Cool Colorado (from their last album, Paradigmes), Où va le monde and Sur la planche, a song many of the attendants will not be able to take out of the minds in weeks!!!
One of the biggest surprises of the evening was Noisy. They deserve their name (always look on the bright side of life). They are direct, powerful, deliciously raw. They got a crowded stage 5 – Vibra Mahou – and everyone there was under the magic spell of the band. A fabulous D&B demonstration by Cody -singer/rapper-, Connor -guitarist-, and Spencer, producer-guitarist.
Back to main stage 2, Amyl and The Sniffers were in charge of turning the sound up loud. From Melbourne, Australia, the punk rock band took us back to the 90s, and even to the 70s every other song. Vocalist Amy Taylor, is some kind of twenty-first century post-grunge goddess in a hot day -as it was-.
The biggest classics of the evening next at the main stage 1. Deftones, alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, U.S. formed in 1988 by Chino Moreno – lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Stephen Carpenter – lead guitar, and Abe Cunningham – drums. Frank Delgado – keyboards, turntables, samples- joined them in 1999 after having been a touring musician for two years. Genesis, Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away), My Own Summer (Shove It), Tempest, Digital Bath (with rapper Jason Aalon Butler), Headup and EyesChange (In the House of Flies) were some of the most acclaimed songs. Almost all the second half of the performance Moreno had his guitar on. The backdrop video was extremely well designed to make the experience a complete must.
Imagine Dragons, from Las Vegas, Nevada, were next to the main stage 2. Of course, at the beginning of the show we were so packed it was impossible to scratch one’s own knee. The arena rock, led by Dan Reynolds offered a great act with two greatest moments which were both the beginning and the end. Guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman gave their frontman the best conditions to show why they are one of the most notorious bands in the world. It’s Time (show opener), Believer, Polaroid merge with Hopeless Opus, Thunder, Amsterdam, Demons, Enemy, Bones, Walking the Wire, (cut short to help someone who had just passed out) and the show closer, Radioactive, with a precious piano intro). Reynolds tried to raise awareness during the show, by telling the audience we need each other, we need help, there is a war in progress, and he explained himself because <<music is his life, his religion, his politics…>>
Last walk to the main stage 1 for today, we witnessed Brandon Flowers’ band, The Killers. Minutes before, a human avalanche looked weird having the performance by the heartland rock band from Las Vegas, literally a few seconds later!!! The Man, Spaceman, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, Smile Like You Mean It, Run for Cover, Human, Somebody Told Me, Runaways, Read My Mind, and All These Things That I’ve Done, gave us some of the best memories we will have of last night but show closers When You Were Young (Dave Keuning changed keys for frets this time), and Mr. Brightside made it simply unforgettable. Flowers, sometimes distant, last night cared much, spoke Spanish, referred to the pandemics and the <<couple of years of isolation>>. At the end he explained they needed to go because tomorrow they were playing again and some boos sounder amongst the public.
The ones to close the venue until tomorrow were Foals. The band from Oxford, England gave the public the perfect excuse to spend more than an hour burning their dancing shoes. Yannis Philippakis’ math rock band, formed in 2005, pluck up hits from their last album (Life Is Yours, 2022), such as the show opener, Wake Me Up, and from the rest of their discography , Mountain at My Gates, My Number, Spanish Sahara, Providence, Inhaler, Black BullWhat Went Down Two Steps, Twice, show closer, from their first album (Antidotes, 2008).
No doubt about it, we will remember last night forever (and evermore), but have in mind this is not over and today we will have the chance to enjoy Muse, Incubus, Alt-J, The War On Drugs, Haim, MO, Jamie Cullum, Parcels, Black Pumas, and many more!!! See you in #MADCOOL2022