Santiago de Compostela, Jul 8 (EFE) this Saturday with performances by Iván Ferreiro, Hombres G and Martin Garrix.
On this occasion, Monte do Gozo has been the scene of a festival that seeks to program in Galicia great international artists with enormous repercussions together with names of reference in different musical styles in different parts of the Community, boosted by “the Xacobeo effect”.
It was to be expected then that this event would raise the curtain with one of the most important pop artists of the last decades, the British musician Robbie Williams, who has come to the Galician capital for the first time after passing through Madrid last Thursday at the framework of the Mad Cool Festival.
The former member of the band “Take that” arrives with his “XXV” tour, with which he celebrates his 25 years of great success as a soloist. His energy, his charisma and his humor have marked a large part of the concert, which began with the song “Let me entertain you”, from his album “Life thru a lens”.
Dressed entirely in gold, with spiky gray hair, the musician has quickly put the public in his pocket. He has approached people during the show and has engaged in almost a conversation with the attendees, a musical review of his entire career in which he has also mentioned his personal experiences with drugs and sex.
“Can we be friends Santiago? Let me entertain you. Rule number one is to love the public,” Williams said.
With the microphone up, the Briton has made continuous references to his physical attractiveness and specifically to his butt, aware that he is considered a ‘sex symbol’: “I’m fucking Robbie Williams and this is my ass”, he has vociferated.
Throughout his show he has been accompanied by a dance group and musicians who have also given their all with songs like “Monsoon”, “Candy” or “The Flood”.
The artist also wanted to take his audience “back to the 90s” with the video “Do what you like” by Take that -parody included- and a version of “Don’t look back in anger” by Oasis.
“Feel”, “No Regrets”, “Rock DJ” or “Angels”, have put the icing on the cake towards the end of a concert full of sentiment, irony and hooliganism.
However, Williams has not been the only one to perform at Monte do Gozo. In the early afternoon, the person in charge of opening the festival, at around 7:00 p.m., was the singer from Vigo Iván Ferreiro, who performed some of his greatest hits before an audience that chanted most of the refrains of the topics.
The former member of Los Piratas flaunted his latest album, “Trinchera pop”, which he released in March of this year after six years without releasing an album.
With a glass of wine in hand, Ferreiro began by singing “Canciones para no escapar”, which was followed by another handful of songs, which, as he himself said, “are beautiful songs”, because “there will be time to dance”.
The singer was accompanied by his usual band, made up of Ricky Falkner (Love of Lesbian, Egon Soda), Xabi Molero, Pablo Novoa (Golpes Bajos, La Banda de Leit Motiv), Emilio Saiz, Marta Toro and Amaro Ferreiro.
Themes such as “El equilibrio” or “Años 80” were chanted by the public on a cloudy day, which threatened rain, without any drop falling in the end.
After Ferreiro, the band Hombres G appeared on stage, with a festive and frenetic show loaded with their musical hits.
“We’re going to have a fucking good time”, exclaimed their leader and vocalist David Summers, before starting with the 90’s anthem “I’m going to have a good time”.
The mythical band celebrates 40 years on stage, which does not mean that its members have shown great vitality with each of the mythical songs of Spanish pop rock, such as “Marta”, “Lo noto”, “Today you will not escape ” or “Bar”.
Especially memorable has been the ballad “I love you”, which the group has performed in all their concerts to date and which the audience has sung out loud.
The band has given a mass bath towards the end of the show, especially with the song “Temblando”, in which Summers has made a good sample of his vocal skills and with the songs “Venice” and the well-known “Give me back my girl ”.
The festival has been closed by the Dutch DJ Martin Garrix, who has put the electronic note on a night that for many Galicians will remain to be remembered.
Jose Carlos Rodriguez