Leiva, in his place, mutating into Andrés, and above the stereotypes, sweeps Madrid

"Giant" is the name of Leiva's 2025 tour. And "Giant" is precisely a title that invites clichés about an artist who would fall short of this definition. Therefore, reviewing a concert by a giant like him always implies an added responsibility in the face of the difficulty—or rather, the illusion—of living up to the spectacle.

When preparing for the event and reading the latest on the genius, one discovers wonderful quotes along the way. You know the best one? Well, after many years, Leiva says he's accepted what he is. "It is what it is," he recently confessed to Mondo Sonoro. Given what we've seen, if this is what it is, then bless him, because what happened this Saturday night in Madrid was yet another demonstration of being before a monumental artist whose ceiling is nowhere in sight. Come on, yes, I'll say it right away, the feeling of being before a true giant.

If his recent tour of Seville was a success, "a madness impossible to grasp," Madrid, the first stop of the two sold-out Movistar Arena shows, was yet another example that with Leiva, the word "disappointment" is not conceived in the dictionary of those who attend his live shows, marked, like this one, by a titanic force, a stellar sound, and an innate talent for infecting the audience with the dynamism that at times turned the venue into a madhouse.

Leiva skipped his usual bullfighting punctuality by just 10 minutes to kick off with "Bajo presión," which begins with the words "you're at your best by far / you can say it out loud . " Nothing could be further from the truth, as this best version of the artist no longer flies by the wind as it did with "Pólvora" more than a decade ago.

It's been a long time since then, and everything about Leiva has gradually acquired a sense of solidity and self-control. The rain, the rain on his shoes, gave continuity to a start that immediately immersed everyone in the live show. Then came the title track of the tour (and the cliché), which continued terribly before reaching the smash hit "Superpoderes," which always, always, always moves.

Leiva paused to make a confession: his two-year retirement from live performances was accompanied by vocal surgery that required several months of recovery . He explained that upon returning to the stage, he felt a kind of dependence on performing in front of an audience: "This is my place," he said.

After 'Breakind Bad' came 'El polvo de los días raros', with profound, broken, and torn lyrics that narrate the kind of grief that comes with the difficult and disoriented journey after a breakup. The one in which "you always smell too much." It's here that Leiva dressed up as Andrés, his admired Andrés. So much so that even the musician himself feels that 'Gigante' is his own personal 'Brutal Honesty', that Calamaro album that shaped a generation to which he belongs.

There was another nod to Calamaro. No, Leiva didn't pull out all the stops . But he did ask the crowd to forget about their cell phones, even for a moment. Just like the Argentinian did at the then WiZink. And he prayed that "Vis a Vis" would remain etched in everyone's memory, without recordings, like concerts of yesteryear, as one of the memories that truly matter. It was wonderful. Brutal. Gigantic, damn it.

That gave way to the final burst, a guarantee of success thanks to the 'Laziness factor': 'Como lo tiene tú', 'Estrella Polar', and 'Lady Madrid' before stopping and picking up speed to finish with 'Princesas' which, as so often, was a superlative and cliché-free closing.