A new visit by La Renga to the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium generated a lot of expectation. “The same people as always” took over the venue and came from different parts of the country to witness a recital as powerful as it was devastating.
The group of Gustavo “Chizzo” Nápoli, Gabriel “Tete” Iglesias, Jorge “Tanque” Iglesias and Manuel Varela, returned to the route and arrived in Córdoba after the two concerts last month in La Plata.
With an enormous staging, the band offered a panoramic view from the four sectors of the stadium, also accompanied by a strong and enveloping sound that resonated in the chests of the more than 55 thousand people who attended.
The stage was set up like a monster in the center of the playing field and with the exception of Tank, who played the drums rotating on the axis, the rest of the musicians moved throughout the show on each side of the rectangle.
Right there was where the floor hit: if a La Renga pogo in front of the stage is relentless, this time there were four of them at the same time. For almost 3 hours.
The festive atmosphere took over the night and both Chizzo and his companions were direct and to the point. There was some fun harangue, a tribute moment to the deceased Nacho Smilari and Javier Martínez and songs to poguear, to the palo.
We are the same as always
Although the first long-distance buses began to arrive on Thursday, “The same ones as always” flooded the area around the stadium and its surroundings at noon on Saturday. Of course, the previous one was full of barbecue, wine, fernet and other alcoholic beverages.
The day was sunny and pleasant, so fortunately the weather was good until the end. When the doors opened at 6 p.m., people were still meeting outside; knowing and sharing.
The popular festival continued inside; At 7 p.m., 4 in a row began, the band led by Fran Ronchetti. The people from Cordoba released a pleasant surprise at the end of the presentation: they invited “Semilla” Bucciarelli to play Hee hee hee. The historic bassist of Los Redondos played again in the stadium that witnessed the end of Patricio Rey.
The start of La Renga was scheduled at 9 p.m., however, at that time there were many people outside and the start was delayed.
Pogueing Elephants
With a walkway simulating a highway, at 9:40 p.m. they went on stage aboard the motorcycle commanded by Chizzo. They quickly grabbed their instruments and a deafening scream accompanied the first chords of Good route, brothera song that belongs to the soundtrack of his documentary film.
As planned, the explosion occurred in the center of the playing field, where the extraordinary structure with the 360° installation carried out on this tour was located. Definitely, the sound and visuals could be enjoyed from anywhere.
The band continued its overwhelming presentation with very roady songs: Motoralmaisangre and runaway heart. “Good night, Córdoba!” the singer shouted and they continued with Good pipe, at your side and Charge my rock and roll.
From the Ardiles stalls you could see the way in which the four fronts jumped at the same time. After a brief (and necessary) pause, Chizzo took the opportunity to adjust the strap of his guitar. Meanwhile, he thanked his people and introduced a tribute to “the pioneers.”
“Our friend Nacho Smilari left us. Luckily, we had him playing with us recently. Also, a few days before, Javier Martínez, another immortal legend, had left,” he said, looking in front of his audience.
“It seems that the boys are preparing a great concert up in heaven, together with Pappo and Spinetta. So Nacho: have a good trip and a good reunion with your friends,” he expressed, before dedicating them to them! dream trigger.
The overwhelming hard rock continued with: Future city destination and That nowhere place. The latter, also published on the soundtrack of Totally possessed. The tower of screens showed images of La Renga traveling by motorcycle along the Argentine routes, extracted from the documentary.
Tete Iglesias was the one who ran the most and toured the stage. Hand in hand with his bass and his jumps, people were infected and applauded him every time he approached a sector. Total enjoyment was reflected on his face.
When will they come, High up, The Eye of the Hurricane and The Growing Monster They averaged the hour of the show. As mentioned above, La Renga was direct and thorough.
“Sing, culiados!”
The screens and visuals that decorated the set were very helpful. More than anything to give a clear image of Tank, who was almost hidden in the center.
It is to highlight the images that were shown: from excerpts of the documentary to drawings related to the band, such as the cover of Shattered into a thousand parts or motorcycle helmets on a skull, also dragons and caricatures related to the group.
On the other hand, the layout of the stadium offered convenience for getting around and there was no substantial delay in going to the bathroom or buying a drink at the bars.
Very happy, they presented the “Bronze Cockroaches”; wind musicians to accompany Manu Varela’s sax in another road seguidilla: Life, the same streets, Morock, From the shoulder and The fragile of madness.
“Sing, culiados!” Chizzo joked, McCartney-style. Phrase that he repeated at various times. Just there, halfway through the second hour and after the end of a song that talks about damage and poverty in the towns, the audience of La Renga shouted against the government. “He who does not jump voted for Milei” and “The country is not for sale,” were the slogans that were heard mostly at Gasparini and in the countryside.
For its part, no one from La Renga made any comments with political connotations. Perhaps, Chizzo did it indirectly when before playing Poison, he hinted at the massive poisoning that his staff suffered at the La Plata concerts. “Friends, someone tried to poison us. That is very bad,” she emphasized.
Next, there was no shortage of classics from the early years: The king of sad happiness, The bottle mambo, The Goose Trial and in the wasteland. After two intense versions of dark diamond and The reason that delays youthey got off the stage shouting “thank you, Córdoba!”
I am the lion
In the preview of the recital, “The same as always” denied the song that the president, Javier Milei, appropriated. “It doesn’t go with the spirit of the band”, “It’s good that he likes it, but he sings it and it’s embarrassing” and “La Renga has already expressed himself on the subject and it’s obvious that they don’t like this”, were some of the testimonies collected by The voice when asked about Panic show.
Upon returning for the encore, Chizzó let out a lion’s roar and sang the controversial song. But she didn’t express anything else. Downstairs the audience enjoyed it just as much and took up the song “La patria no se vende” at the end.
At minutes before midnight, he invited the San Marcos Sud school choir and a group of boys and girls sang and played. The revelde. “Thanks to Professor Ramiro Lezcano, he is a boss. A round of applause for him,” the leader thanked and appreciated the artistic work they did against pesticides.
The children ran away and it arrived The end is where I started to finish demolishing what was left standing.
“We’re leaving as always… talking about freedom!” shouted the singer and guitarist before performing the song with which he ends each of his recitals.
Everything went impeccable. The 360° staging was up to par and was the monster that contained the fury of the rock beast. Innovating with this type of scenery and with songs to the stick, the most popular band in the country continues to demonstrate that rock and roll will never die.
