Love of Lesbian gathered nearly 2000 people on Saturday night at the Coronet Theatre in Elephant & Castle. The audience enjoyed a concert that was from low to a cataclysmic final stretch in which the Catalan band played their most famous songs.
Last Saturday, London’s Coronet Theatre played host to Love of Lesbian for the second time, as part of a concert which they themselves described as “fantastic” and which went from strength to strength and pleased fans as much as non-fans, all of whom had decided to get together for an event eagerly anticipated by the army of Spaniards living in London.
For one night, the Elephant & Castle became a little corner of overseas Spanish territory, just like Gibraltar. Almost 2000 people came flooding in from all over London and its surroundings, overwhelming local businesses, swapping tapas and cañas for fish and chips and pints. But it didn’t matter: the night was a promising one.
A couple of hours before the concert, the place was swarming with Spaniards desperate for the perfect cocktail: two hours of live music followed by another six from Mega Spanish Party. Even the weather played its part, providing a warm evening for those queuing up outside.
Photography © Alberto Cribeiro
Inside, the Coronet welcomed Love of Lesbian with the smell of squid sandwiches and a big red curtain that looked like something out of a cabaret. Various members of the band waltzed across the stage, instantly recognisable from the hats, masks, glasses and other paraphernalia that all comes together to make the show what it is.
The Catalan group didn’t waste a second and put the two hours given to them by Rock Sin Subtítulos to good use. They kicked off with “La noche eternal” (“The Never-ending Night”) and the first hour showcased tracks from the band’s latest album, rounding off with a rendition of “Allí donde solíamos gritar” (“There Where We Used to Shout”) to a euphoric reaction from the crowd. From then on the intensity only increased, and the crowd sang along en-masse to hits like “Las malas lenguas” (“Evil Tongues”), “Pizzigatos” and “Si tu me dices Ben, yo digo Affleck” (“You Say Ben, I Say Affleck”), whilst the band downed shot after shot of tequila.
There was also time for a little “throwback” as Santi Balmes himself put it as he introduced Rafael’s “Como yo te amo” (“How I Love You”), evoking a swaying of the crowd’s hips and shoulders to the rock and roll rhythm of “Me amo”.
But without a shadow of a doubt, the best was yet to come. For finale, their three most publically acclaimed songs played back to back: “Club de fans de John Boy” (“John Boy’s Fans’ Club”), “Los toros en la Wii” (“Bulls on the Wii”) and “Algunas plantas” (“Some Plants”). A spectacular ending, cumulating in a second encore of “Oniria e insomnia”, just as the clock struck twelve.
Photography © Alberto Cribeiro
Santi Balmes and company left the stage promising to return with a little bit of Spain, to ease the homesickness of all the Spanish emigrants living in the British capital. The current state of the economy back home was a recurrent theme throughout the concert, with various songs dedicated to the Spanish workers and students taking refuge on English soil.
Love of Lesbian left to tumultuous applause, ceding the stage once again to Mega Spanish Party who, as ever, didn’t disappoint. A winning combination of pop and rock hits playing in Spanish time: from midnight through to six in the morning.
[su_note note_color=”#eaeae9″]Translated by Ben Ffrancon Davies[/su_note]