Madrid.-He waves his black hat and smiles as “The Song of the (Good) Drunks” and “He Who Comes Home at Dawn” plays over the loudspeakers. He takes another bow and walks to the side of the stage. The party is over. last Joaquin Sabina And in the city where he lives, Madrid. Someone says that they discovered tears on the face of the eternal scoundrel. It’s hard to see it from the stands. Some may claim to share that moment of shock, as they had to wipe their eyes with their fingers to contain the ravages of emotion.
A stroke, a dramatic fall from the same stage last night (Movistar Arena), and after a thousand concerts and dozens of immortal songs, Joaquín Sabina (Ubeda, 76 years old) last night said goodbye to the “mass theatres”. This is what he said in the first part of the ceremony: “This concert in Madrid is the last of my life and the most important because it is the concert I will remember the most.”
The Master reserves “the ace of reappearance at will, either because the Muses whisper to me poems or songs worth sharing, or because I have the desire to stand on any platform to bestow upon me, upon us, tribute.” The quotes belong to the protagonist and he said them when announcing this concert series. What seems certain is that the big tours are over, so last night felt like something very similar to Requiem, the end of a remarkable career, with its missteps, yes, but not falling into the trajectory that has already lasted five decades. It had to be Sunday, the day of the week the protagonist disliked, as he later sang in “Contigo” (“I don’t want a Sunday afternoon”), but it was celebrated at night, when bouts of depression became more bearable.
The 71st concert of the tour, hello bye, Which started in January and the 10th (10th!) Movistar Arena of the year was a delight for the emotional taste of the audience, as Sabina made efforts not to collapse, which her loyal audience was actually there for, filling the venue with its 12,000 seats, all seated, including the floor part, although on several occasions the audience left their seats to cheer the champion and dance.
Because Sabina gave a highly emotional show despite that strange beginning with the song The last waltz Playing to a recording in the studio, with the musicians still taking their positions and the boss waiting in his dressing room. Can’t they perform it live? It turned out to be a delicate moderation, because after a few minutes the heroine of the novel appeared and was overwhelmed by applause: “Aww” and “Sabina, don’t go.” This concert could not have been more heart-wrenching were it not for the dedicated preparation of the audience, who viewed this night as a complete farewell, a farewell to someone who had given them music and poetry with a popular approval only surpassed by a popular approval. Joan Manuel Serrat able to overcome.
He began with a salute to the city he had lived in often, Madrid, where he contributed the phrase “I land in Atocha,” A song that describes a city that has missed seeing the drift that the capital has been witnessing recently. Sabina played the role of matron of the Last Supper in the center of the stage, where she sat on a high chair. Next to him is a small table with a cup of water. How things have changed. In front, a screen contained what were supposed to be the lyrics, because he regularly looked in that direction. It’s okay: there are many poems written and we already know that memory has a bad habit of rusting over time.
His impressive band of seven musicians stood behind him on a platform. Each one had a turn in delving into the boss terrain to perform instrumental solos. Images indicating the song being played were displayed on large screens. The effect produced a simple but beautiful partnership between image and music.
The man from Jaén chose a piece of music with a calm and sometimes slow tempo (you can’t play “Calle melancolía” any slower).), Little rock and roll presence And the combinations are such that his audience, who have already arrived with a hot throat, cheer without harshness, gently shaking their heads, moving their arms from side to side (“And they gave us ten and eleven, and twelve and one, and two and three…”), many times with shock knots tied around their necks. Soon he delivers the final Twilight songs in which he mocks the clichés attributed to him (some true, some exaggerated) and evaluates them from the exit ramp: “I deny everything, even the truth.” “Pious lies” It sounded great, stripped of those ceremonial arrangements of the original recording.
Sabina’s careless voice was always threatening to break sometimes, but that big, staccato voice remained hanging on the wire. In the decline of his career and after 70 concerts in ten months, it seems like a pact with the devil on one of his party nights to endure this last date at a decent level. But yes, he had air left in his lungs to stay on stage for two and a quarter hours, escaping every now and then to search for oxygen.
In those breaks from his boss, Jaime Asia performed the song “Agreement Between Gentlemen”, That gorgeous earring he has Mara Barros They attacked the “empty bed” forcefully and Antonio Garcia de DiegoThe man for everything, he delivered a delicious version of “The Most Beautiful Song in the World.”
With a sandy tone lately imbued with a warmth that is only achieved when seniority is more than a degree, Sabina showed that she was no longer a diva; He interprets, narrates, and revives his beautiful verses, diving into them, tearing the words from his mouth, and releasing them. This makes him believable because he (or pretends to be very good) sticks to the words. It’s called communication pure and simple. His words came out sharp and insightful. Last night, he only needed a smoking cigarette at the corner of his mouth to complete that look he wore so proudly. I’m sure he would have been killed by that dose of nicotine.
He picked up a guitar for some songs, like “19 Days and 500 Nights.” And “Of the purest and gold, That sounded great. For slower pieces (still), like the beautiful “Song for Magdalena” or “In the Street of Broken Dreams”, He changed the stool to a low chair. He gave vocal polish to the two Mara Barros. Most music fans probably missed some change in the repertoire which was very strict throughout the tour; Perhaps those who enjoyed Sabina’s combative 1980s would have gone home more satisfied if the protagonist had delivered some insightful speeches, given how vague the outlook was. Any important guests? Well too.
The party ended in spades “princess“, With the musicians placed on the same level as the president and the people, and they had already forgotten the composure of the seats, and were already dancing on the verge of contracting laryngitis from too much singing. If there was a measure of cold, last night would have reached its highest point on several occasions.
After the ceremony, Sabina received her friends in a room in the same place to continue the farewell party, which was now in an intimate format. This Monday he will wake up at his home in Tirso de Molina, and we assume he has a bit of a hangover. There are no more concerts. He will read, write and draw. When inspired people visit him, we will hear from him.