Punctuality was palpable in Apolo. One had to arrive early for Guillem Gisbert's first solo concert, just a year and a half after Manel's last concert and the announcement of the quartet's indefinite hiatus. "Will they ever come back?", "Did they have a falling out?", "Which Manel song will he play?", "He must be nervous", "I hope he starts with En la que el Bernat se't troba, the first song from Manel's first album", "No, better Benvolgut", "Ugh, La serotonina I hope not", "I came for the new one from Les dues torres"...
Old Manel fans, some in their t-shirts, dissolved into a sea of doubts, still in shock over the farewell of a band that had accompanied them since their debut album Els Millors Professors Europeus in 2008. It's hard to accept that the group that taught so many things, like how to sing to the exes of the other, is over, that it will no longer be there, that a new stage is beginning. One is more conservative than anyone wants to admit, one clings to the idea that some things must always be there, as if time would not pass and everything would remain the same, nothing would have been lost, instead of assuming that 16 years have already passed since that Ai, Dolors that stops time and that they also had the right to let it pass.
When Guillem Gisbert appeared with a version of Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle, silence fell, few mobiles among the uniform mass of heads. It was with the key words of the Mapfre Tower and the Hotel Arts from Les dues torres, the first song from Balla la masurca! (Ceràmiques Guzmán), his first solo album, when the audience began to surrender, accepting the entry of his new companions, Jordi Casadesús (bass, guitar and programming), Glòria Maurel (drums and percussion) and Arnau Grabolosa (guitar, bass and keyboards). There was even someone who started a video call to witness what, whether one wanted to or not, was a new chapter.
The singer-songwriter Guillem Gisbert began to perform in order, it is known that he is a traditional and predictable person, the first titles of Balla la masurca!, with a mix of sounds and rhythms that continues the tradition of Manel and maintains the brand of the house, lyrics that create stories in a few phrases. He developed without ups and downs, slowly opening his new path, without leaving behind his timid and not very graceful dances. "Tonight begins the culmination of a work I've been doing for a couple of years. Different tasks and new people have appeared in my life who have helped me a lot, there have also been old people who have helped me a lot in a new way. I have the feeling that what is happening today is a ritual," Gisbert started after letting loose with Balla la masurca! (second song of the eponymous album) and Empatia total.
"When these tickets went on sale more than six months ago, they sold very quickly, and many of the songs we will play today had not even been in the studio, only the singer's name was there," he pointed out, "therefore, I interpret that I have before me the hard core of Manel followers." Knowing who he was talking to, he thanked them for their attendance on behalf of the four, saying that his former bandmates, Roger Padilla, Arnau Vallvé, and Martí Maymó, were there, hidden somewhere in the room. It must be said that some know-it-all had already seen two of them following the concert from the upper floor.
"When the tickets went on sale, many of the songs we will play today had not even been in the studio. Therefore, I interpret that I have before me the hard core of Manel followers""So, they must remain friends," one of Manel's old fans breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that now he could indeed transfer his unwavering support to Guillem Gisbert, who was giving details of his new songs. Like his trips on Ferrocarrils to the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) to study Journalism fromMiracle in Les Planes, focusing on a little-known part of her past, when she worked in the press departments of Edicions 62 and RBA. Or the pasodobleRafael Azconaof Carmelo Bernaola that he had put on before going on stage, with his character appearing inA Realized Man. People always expected him to play a Manel song between songs, but, quickly, they forgot when it played Waltzing Matilda,You should have comeorCantiga de Montse.
Although it was not planned, the encores ended up pleasing that hard line of Manel fans who had sold out tickets in just four hours, among whom there were also other artists such as sisters Greta and Irma Farelo (Mushkaa). With "No haurà estat senzill venir fins aquí, és espantós com la gent parla tot i que, de lluny, sempre m'has semblat prou forta per no amargar-te" (It won't have been easy to get here, it's awful how people talk even though, from afar, you've always seemed strong enough not to get bitter), everyone knew the moment had arrived, with an Ai, Yoko that speaks, precisely, of what is speculated about the end of a band, "Era tan fàcil que et donéssim la culpa de tot... Però avui he entès que us estimàveu com molts no haurem estimat mai" (It was so easy for us to blame you for everything... But today I understood that you loved each other as many of us will never love). For those who missed out on tickets for Apolo and for this Saturday in Girona, the tour will continue these months at summer festivals such as Primavera Sound, Vida, Cap Roig, and Porta Ferrada. He will also perform in Madrid. There is a new but old acquaintance, Guillem Gisbert, for a long time.