The call for The bunkers It just wasn’t in doubt. The first date of their two shows at the National Stadiumwas completely sold out, so a back-to-back performance was expected. And the second, scheduled for this Sunday, only has tickets available for the court sector.
That is why no one could argue – neither yesterday, nor today, nor tomorrow – that the Penquista band lacks enough drag to stand on the historical stage of so many sporting battles, emblematic social moments and tears that persist to this day.
But even with the expected massive attendance, a doubt could still arise, especially for someone like me who has never considered myself one of his fans: Would the staging and display be up to the level of such expectations? Could they justify holding their concerts in the colossus that is usually reserved for world-class artists and bands?
Well, without fear of falling into exaggerations, it can already be said that A single song was enough to clear up the doubts. With the giant screens, the play of lights and the musical rapport, marked by spectacular sound, one can only say that all the cards were immediately put on the table.
In fact, in its three hours of rock and great emotions, from the explosive and eloquent “Come here” until that absolute anthem called “It rains on the city“, Los Bunkers unleashed all their talent and power to unleash a solid, international-level show that can easily be placed alongside and in front of any concert held in the musical history of this long and narrow strip of land.
Furthermore, although only a couple of hours have passed at the time of writing these words, it can already be said that it was a historic recital that elevated Chilean musicwhich does not always have the opportunity to have the Nacional as a stage.
And the conjugation of Los Bunkers, together with the extraordinary collaboration of the prodigious drummer Cancamusa, complemented each other to create a gigantic musical outpouring that took full advantage of the gigantic stage with tons of implements, its striking catwalks – to which They made the most of it to give time to each musician – and, without forgetting, to the stadium itself.
In short, there is no exaggeration in stating that This concert deserves to be elevated as high as the most remembered national presentation in the same Ñuñoino venue: that legendary return of Los Prisioneros, on two dates, at the beginning of this century. So clear, so eloquent and so masked.
Preceded by a good presentation by Pedropiedra, and a brief stand-up by Fabricio Copano that included a notable uncensored joke about his metamorphosis into Kike Morandé, Los Bunkers broadly concretized a long, exciting and brilliant journey through its entire musical historyincluding thirty songs from his discography started, look at you, at the beginning of this century.
There were obviously original songs such as “Animated Fantasies of Yesterday and Today”, “Between my arms” and “I sowed my sorrows of love in your garden”, as well as songs from his most recent album, Noviembre, including the work of the same name.
Obviously there were also his biggest hits, including the songs already mentioned at the beginning, along with songs like “My no” and also a notable version of “Now that you are not here”. Everything that could be expected was there, and nothing felt left over, despite the long length of the show.
But Los Bunkers also took the time to touch the emotional key, making history in the stadium.
A town without memory is a town without a future
After a cover of “El necio”, the Grecia Avenue venue went black to allow for the deployment of a drone. And there, after the screens showed the images of a National packed from top to bottom, absolute surprise arose, jaws dropped and Conce’s group appeared out of nowhere at the memorial for the disappeared detainees.
It was there that, with the motto “A town without memory is a town without a future” in the background, the Penquista group sent a tremendous cover of “The exile from the south” by Violeta Parra to excite and unleash uncontrollable applause. Personally, out of sheer shock, I screamed: “Oh, he screwed up.”
Of course, that was not the only song from that sector, since that acoustic section also included “Calles de Talcahuano”, “Entre mis Armas” and “El Detenido”, the first song from their first album, which they noted having carried out as if this occasion had been destined.
Throughout the concert there were obviously more covers than Violeta’s, including the always required “Angel for a finale” by Silvio Rodríguez, along with a couple more.
There it is necessary to highlight that another great moment occurred once, in full encore, the musicians recovered their cover of “The right to live in peace”, which they included in their first album, to give way to the on-screen appearance of Victor Jara and the deployment of his voice to perform a performance that merged yesterday and today with tomorrow.
Along the way there were also more surprises, from an appearance by Guaripolo and the characters of 31 Minutos to the inclusion of Pedropiedra to accompany on keyboards in a couple of songs, which made clear the ambition that each moment and segment of the recital was thought out down to the smallest detail.
But, as expected, the emotion still gave rise to moments that did not feel planned at all.
The best moment involved a Mauricio Durán on the verge of tears, who made a heartfelt reflection on the state of violence, both in Chile and in the world. “On days like these, when one gathers here, one always wonders: why does one sing? Why did we come to a concert to sing? I guess we have nothing left but to cling to a somewhat innocent idea of feeling a little more accompanied in days that are turbulent,” he remarked before the performance of “El Detenido.”
“This place is very special because it was built to receive and multiply the joy of a country, this stadium, but history has also shown us that a place as beautiful as this, in the wrong hands, can quickly become a vessel of much pain.” and very scary,” he added. And there he stressed that it has also been shown that time can transform fear into reflection and memory, which in his view always brings “a glimmer of hope” and, with luck, can be transformed into joy.
That message framed the concert from start to finish, as Los Bunkers sought to give meaning to their presentation at the National, which went beyond the mere replication of hits, one after another, as they successfully recovered their own history within the framework of the legacy that involves the most important venue in the country. And that was definitely more than enough to immortalize this first great presentation.
