Since the unveiling of the poster for this year’s edition of Vive Latino, Alt-J was outlined to be one of the most anticipated acts of the festival. The last time we saw the band on our land was in 2018 and of course we already missed them. And of course, with ‘The Dream’, their latest record material, we couldn’t wait to see them live.
The Chemical Brothers’ “Hey Girl Hey Boy” began to play as the intro and just as people had just arrived, Joe, Gus and Thom also finished positioning themselves, since Alt-J’s presentation at Vive Latino 2023 was about to begin.
“Bane” was the track (song that is also the first cut from their new album) with which the band decided to open, with shouts and applause the people welcomed the group from Leeds.
We were about to live an intimate moment between the band and their fans, teaming up to live the experience that only Alt-J knows how to give on stage (it’s not for nothing that they have a Mercury Prize up their sleeve).
Cuts that appeared on the first night of Vive Latino were, “Every other freckle”, “In cold blood”, “U&ME”, And till “Deadcrush” with its introduction in Spanish by Gus. But with “Tessellate” was one of the first moments where the band and their audience became one voice to sing the song at the top of their lungs.
With a “Sing with me“Joe, frontman of the band”This is from… this is from Matilda”, all the public made him second to sing the song inspired by the movie of ‘Leon: The Professional‘.
An incredible set of lights and visuals complemented the narrative that created a unique atmosphere, as there were parts where the focus was the audience singingsome where they were the protagonists and others where we only saw the game of lights and visuals.
Gus, vocalist and keyboardist, commented that they had barely passed the 10th anniversary of their first album ‘An Awesome Wave’ (with which they won the Mercury) and that they would play three songs in a row from that album, obviously this became a dedicated moment for the fans who have followed the band since its inception.
“Taro” y “Breezeblocks” were undoubtedly other cuts that people expected, as they demonstrated it by chanting them from start to finish. It was beginning to fall at midnight when Alt-J’s set was ending but the festival was still more alive than anything since there were still a couple of acts to attend.
Alt-J without a doubt gave us one of the most intimate and perfect acts of the first day of Vive Latino with a set that gave a diverse tour of their entire discography, managing to please both the fans who have been following them for more than a decade and the new followers.
By: Raul Ramirez
