At the beginning of the 90’s, a new musical movement was born in the northern Spanish city of Gijón: Xixón Sound. An independent musical wave that was forged inside the walls of diverse locales and bars of the most underground city’s corners. A new musical trend that, although lacking a fixed style (a lot of bands coming from different genres were placed inside it), had a clear aim: to bring a blast of new air from the corrupted one that the Asturians of that epoch were breathing. They took advantage of the austerity and economically depressed times of that industrial zone that was Asturias, put it up on their cocktail shaker and mixed these vibrations with their huge eagerness to play, with their huge eagerness to show there was something more between the rainy and grey Asturian sceneries, with their huge eagerness to bring it to light with their guitars. And that way, bands like Manta Ray, Australian Blonde, Nosoträsh, Undershakers or Doctor Explosion left their little legacy into the Xixon Sound label. And that way, 20 years later, comes this festival to recall the sweet moments of that time and to make you see that, although this wave is almost dead, another one will come up because, yes, music is very present in our lives. Bands like Tuya, Bubblegum, Los Guajes o Doctor Explosion came on stage to make us enjoy a good musical evening. And, although the venue was cold and there was not a festival ambiance on the air, they got it. And they they paved the way for the kings: The Cynics.
Friday night, The Cynics live. “Sex, drugs and rock&roll”. If you are able to complete by yourself the first two issues you will have satisfied the motto letter by letter, because, The Cynics will provide you the best garage-rock&roll of our times and you will live with them a truly rock&roll experience. Pay heed to to what I said: “to live with them”. Yes, because this band touch you with their energy and good vibrations. They make you part of their party, of their music and you will feel like a Cynics member. And I cannot think of another better thing than enjoying what you do and making the rest enjoy. It is nice to see live bands like this one, that beam you up to that 60’s and 70’s time where the rock&roll led the world. No, rock&roll is not dead. Lenny Kravitz was wrong.The Cynics come impregnated of that oldie’s scent that turn their shows into something so genuine and make us forget the longing memories of that time.
There are still bands that remind us that Woodstock is not so far away from now. Maybe it is because they come from the 80’s and were close to that epoch. Maybe it is because the huge talent and experience of two of the original members (Michael Kastelic and Gregg Kostelich) perfectly mix up with the strength and eagerness of two young and awesome Spanish musicians (Ángel Kaplan and Pibli González). Whatever it is, the Cynics closed the festival night with a great helping of energy, tonnes of good rock&roll and they even turned for a moment that weak festival vibe (it was almost 4:00 AM and the venue was not precisely a warm one) into a powerful and inviting one playing their main classic themes and showing us a piece of their last album “Spinning Wheel Motel”. We wait for you again, The Cynics. Come back soon to enlighten our days.
Photos: Nacho Iglesias
