Boasting a line-up featuring everyone from Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins to Bring Me The Horizon and Måneskin, Mad Cool Festival know how to put on a serious rock show.
We head off to Madrid and the scorching Mad Cool Festival for four days of the biggest and brightest bands in rock and alternative.
From returning grunge legends to pop-punk farewells to brawling Irish hip-hop, and much more besides, the Spanish megafest is one of the hottest tickets around. Literally. So we've donned our summer moshwear, slapped on the factor 50 and are heading into the pit with 40,000 more music lovers from across the globe.
DAY 1 - July 10, 2024
Mad Cool is back for another spectacular year, and the first day of this year’s edition was a proper scorcher – and we don’t just mean the eye-watering temperatures, either.
Garbage
“If I’m acting a wee bit weird it’s because I’m a goth. I was a goth when I was 13 and I’m a goth now,” joked Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson, balancing an ice pack on her head. “Weird” or not, the alt-rock icons pulled a huge crowd, and were eager to remind themselves that it hasn’t been an easy journey, having first performed in Spain three decades ago to a considerably smaller audience. From ‘Cherry Lips’, which the band proudly dedicated to their LGBTQ+ supporters, to riotous closer track ‘Push It’, it was a set that no Garbage fan will forget anytime soon.
Janelle Monáe
“To the lives we lead, the dreams we chase, and to the fucked up shit we can’t erase,” Janelle Monáe says at the end of a triumphant ‘Float’, toasting the crowd of Mad Cool. Moments later, she’s throwing the contents of her glass over her shoulder as she kicks into a rowdy ‘Champagne Shit’. It’s the perfect introduction to a gig that bounces between grand theatrical ambition and raucous, party-starting abandon.
Despite the short, 50-minute set, Janelle Monáe doesn’t water down a moment of this gig. Split into three acts and with a variety of costume changes and dance breaks, it’s very much A Show. The first section is joyful and pretty, the second is far more swaggering and determined while the third is a spiky, playful parade.
Sexyy Red
If it was even possible to turn up the heat here in scorching Madrid, Sexyy Red kicked things up a few degrees when a flaming backdrop reflected back onto an already sweaty crowd in the middle of her blazing set.
Bathed in a fiery red shade, the Missouri-born rapper swaggered through tracks like ‘Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Dad)’, ‘Shake Yo Dreads’ and ‘Sexy Baby Daddy’, supported by a hype-man MC and four slick backing dancers whose limber moves were punctuated by rapid smoke cannon plumes. That’s how you kick off the Mad Cool night shift.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Despite sending fans into a slight frenzy earlier this year by saying that Smashing Pumpkins have no interest in playing their biggest tracks, at Mad Cool, frontman Billy Corgan poked fun at all the commotion he’d previously caused – delivering a career-spanning set.
Breaking out fan favourites including ‘1979’, ‘Cherub Rock’ and ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ in quick succession – as well as giving new guitarist Kiki Wong the freedom to add some manic shred into the mix – there was no doubt that this set proved the ‘90s icons have still got it.
Dua Lipa
The first headliner was Dua Lipa, who was still basking in heaped praise from her Glastonbury set. Although the set at Mad Cool was near identical to her Glasto one, we absolutely loved it. Her ‘Radical Optimism’ set was showstopping! And it was a great opportunity for fans to see her live. Dua promised the Mad Cool crowd a “party” and she delivered! It was an unmissable show.
It is no secret that Dua Lipa was criticised for giving lacklustre performances (particularly her dance moves) earlier in her career, but with this show, she had those naysayers eating their words. Every dance move, every sultry twirl in her sequinned t-shirt and hot pants were a metaphorical ‘f*ck you’ in the face of former negativity about her. Her performance was so good and it is clear she has taken on board any previous criticism and used it to really perfect her show.
DAY 2 - July 11, 2024
Nia Archives
On the Orange stage, Nia Archives really represented the UK and even the first track she played referenced London. Nia played remixes of well-known tracks such as ‘You’ve Got The Love’ and ‘Off With Ya Headz’. Real crowd pleasers. Nia Archives was easily the highlight of our day and definitely one of the best acts we saw at the festival. As the sun was going down, Nia Archives sang tracks such as ‘So Tell Me’. “If you’re a junglist, make some noise!,” she shouted, as she danced to the tracks.
Keane
“It’s been 20 years, and we’re always still surprised to see that we have fans outside of the UK,’ Keane frontman Tom Chaplin quipped, looking out at an audience that stretched into the horizon. It may have been two decades since the band first broke onto the scene with ‘Hopes And Fears’, but last night, the energy and conviction with which they delivered their was just as powerful as when they first started.
Classic tracks like ‘Everybody’s Changing’, ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ and ‘Bedshaped’ came in thick and fast, and as each word was sung back to them during Madrid’s golden hour. This moment meant so much to band members and fans alike.
Pearl Jam
While many overseas artists have resorted to the tried and tested method of dropping the odd “muchas gracias” into their set, Eddie Vedder has come prepared with a full-on Spanish script to describe his love and gratitude for the monster crowd gathered for the grunge legends’ headline set. Armed with his trusty bottle of wine for courage, it’s an endearing display of dedication and genuine love for his audience, as he welcomes tens of thousands “a show about friends”. With one eye on their recent 5/5-rated Dark Matter LP, Pearl Jam find room to take us through their almost 35-year history, peppering in Corduroy, Do The Evolution, Unthought Known and the timeless Even Flow, with Mad Cool duly losing its collective shit.
True to his word about the amigos and amigas here, it really does feel like a show about community, camaraderie and a shared experience. The deafening chorus to Black, the euphoric Alive, and even calling on the capacity crowd to sing happy birthday to Eddie’s brothers, the spirit of Seattle truly lives in Madrid tonight. “We’ve been here before but this is the best,” he beams, receiving no disagreement from the faithful tonight who were no doubt here in 2018 too. Shouting out the incredible and inspirational Motxila 21 who opened the festival earlier today, a band comprised of musicians from the Down Syndrome Association of Navarra, Pearl Jam’s undiluted and unwavering love and passion for music, their fans and Spain itself pours off the stage. As we get to the traditional finale of Rockin’ In The Free World and Yellow Ledbetter, that adoration is returned with change, and you know it won’t be another six years before they headline again.
DAY 3 - July 12, 2024
Alvvays
Synonymous with the muted, crisp climate of their native Canada, perhaps you could wonder how Alvvays’ brand of moody dream-pop would translate when played under the sizzling Madrid sun.
Yet, at Mad Cool, the solar power seems to translate into a greater, kinetic energy. Singer Molly Rankin offers an animated take on their biggest hits, including ‘Archie, Marry Me’ and ‘Adult Diversion’, occasionally breaking into screams and yelps. It’s an energy maintained until the final bars of closer ‘Easy On Your Own’, departing on a devastatingly bittersweet note.
Black Pumas
Black Pumas’ Eric Burton could have easily blended in with Mad Cool’s colourful and friendly crowd. Bedecked in yellow dungarees and a funky paisley shirt, the vocalist and his band’s psychedelic soul jams were equally as striking, stretching out to fill the vast field with sweet falsettos and slinky grooves.
‘Ice Cream (Pay Phone)’ unravelled into a lengthy sonic excursion, while Burton indulged in some tightly executed heel-spins and call-and-response moments during a soaring ‘Black Moon Rising’. As the percussive shimmy of ‘Colors’ hit its peak, it was clear that Black Pumas had a singular goal: to deliver good vibes, all the time.
Sum 41
An onslaught of pyrotechnics and crowd repartee only accentuated the excitement surrounding Sum 41’s Mad Cool debut. Playing to the biggest crowd of the weekend so far, the Canadian rockers blitzed through their hefty back catalogue, reframing their older hits (‘Makes No Difference’, ‘Fat Lip’) in front of a comic-book style backdrop that featured each and every album artwork from their career.
The impact of tracks from the band’s recent ‘Heaven:x:Hell’ LP is magnified by how this performance forms part of their last-ever run of shows. Frontman Deryck Whibley encouraged fans to boo at this fact, laughing at their lively response – while endearingly referring to the masses as “sweet ladies and gentleman” over and over again. With songs about misfits and outcasts, it was an uplifting hour of real pop-punk joy.
Måneskin
It’s staggering just how at home Måneskin are on these kind of stages now, having only really broken onto the scene three years ago. Perpetually the coolest-looking people within a 100-mile radius, the Italian superstars’ headline set is undoubtedly stylish and slick, but lacking that huge groundswell of catharsis and unadulterated joy that Sum 41 brought. As bassist Victoria De Angelis and Thomas Raggi strut and slay through Gossip, Zitti e Buoni and Honey, vocalist Damiano David holds court in fluent Spanish, yet doesn’t seem perhaps as engaged as his bandmates.
With extended intros, jams and solos scattered throughout, those standing on the sidelines do start to filter toward the exit, but the Kool Kids down front aren’t willing to miss a single second. Swaggering through megahits Beggin’ and Supermodel, it’s a curious choice to play I Wanna Be Your Slave twice just a few songs apart, but not one that fans here are complaining about. Wrapping up earlier than expected, though, it’s not an explosive ending to the Friday night of a festival.
DAY 4 - July 13, 2024
The Warning
Tyla and The Blessed Madonna unfortunately could not make it to the festival due to unforeseen circumstances, but this meant The Warning then had a slot on the Mad Cool stage on the Friday. The three sisters, born in Mexico, rocked that stage! They played songs from their album ‘Keep Me Fed’ which came out not long ago in late June. Naturally, they had great chemistry as a band and were speaking to the audience in Spanish and English, kept the crowd engaged and looked (and sounded!) seriously cool doing it.
Ashnikko
Ashnikko has already cycled through a number of different eras. From snotty punk to bratty pop, via industrial day-glo rave, they’re an artist that isn’t afraid of changing things up. Debut album ‘Weedkiller’ managed to bring all those different styles together under one over-arching dystopian narrative, while still pushing things forward.
She’s never been short of confidence, but there’s a real swagger to this evening’s set at Mad Cool. The songs are fiery, but never rushed. The twisting choreography is deliberate and playful while the moments of fantastical sci-fi escapism are given space to fully enchant the swelling crowd. There’s the industrial purge of ‘You Make Me Sick’, the chirpy rage of ‘Stupid’ and the sing-song flex ‘Working Bitch’, and that’s just for starters. “For those who don’t know, my name is Ashnikko and we’re about to put on A Show,” she grins, opening up the world of ‘Weedkiller’.
Picture Parlour
“This has been one of my favourite fucking gigs ever,” Katherine Parlour shouts into the microphone as Picture Parlour wrap up their set over at the Mahou Cinco Estrellas stage. There was a quiet confidence from the band throughout the performance as they effortlessly broke out renditions of tracks including ‘Norwegian Wood’, ‘Face In The Picture’ and even some unreleased material.
Start to end, they commanded the stage, and made sure to solidify themselves as one to watch out for next time around.
Avril Lavigne
“Here’s to never growing up,” toasted Avril Lavigne before spraying champagne all over the fans parked at the main stage’s barrier. Launching into her defiant track of the same name, there was a palpable feeling of elation from fans that we’re still getting to watch the punk-rock icon do her thing 22 years later.
Wrapping up the last European date of her ‘Greatest Hits’ tour under a perfect blue sky, she performed favourites like ‘Girlfriend’, ‘Complicated’ and ‘I’m With You’ for the sprawling Madrid crowd, before we were showered in a sea of red confetti while rocking out to ‘Sk8er Boy’. A truly joyful Mad Cool highlight.
Bring Me The Horizon
“Sorry if we were late, it was not our fault. Well, it wasn’t the band’s fault,” said Oli Sykes by way of introduction to Bring Me The Horizon’s electrifying appearance on the Region Of Madrid stage. Arriving almost 30 minutes later than scheduled – with no real clarification as to why – the band still put on a blockbuster show, replete with confetti and flamethrowers galore.
But even with all the supersized production, the band remained self-aware, preventing proceedings from ever getting too cartoonish. A triumphant rendition of ‘Drown’ made for a real emotional highlight: wearing a fan’s fluffy Kuromi hat, Sykes exchanged hugs and selfies with the front row, making core memories by the second.
Mad Cool Festival is a great for bringing together lesser-known artists, which are on their way to stardom and the ‘mainstream’ hitmakers. If you love sunshine, great music and excellent, feel-good vibes, this is definitely a festival you will want to seriously consider booking tickets for next year.
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