Top Catalan rock band ‘Els Pets’ plays for the first time in Barcelona’s music temple

‘Els Pets’ played at the Palau de la Música, Barcelona’s symphonic auditorium on Tueday night. The audience was enthusiastic about the band’s performance. ‘Els Pets’ did not play their classics from the last 25 years, but rather singles from their newer albums.

CNA / Elisenda Rosanas

November 17, 2010 11:02 PM

Barcelona (ACN).- Surprisingly, ‘Els Pets’ had never played in the Palau de la Música before last night. ‘Els Pets’ are the oldest Catalan rock band, pioneering a movement from the 1980s to 1990s that captivated a generation of young Catalans close to Catalan independence ideology. The band’s ‘Els Pets fan més teatre’ Tour (‘Els Pets’ do more comedy) brought them to the classic Palau de la Música, a temple for symphonic and chamber music in Barcelona. The Palau de la Música is an Art-Nouveau architectural jewel and occasionally hosts non-classical music, such as for its cycle “BandAutors”. The festive music of ‘Els Pets’, with optimistic and informal lyrics, as well as easy arrangements, captivated the audience. They played singles from their 5 newest albums rather than their hits, accumulated in their 25 years of history.


Lluís Gavaldà, Joan Reig and Falín Cáceres are ‘Els Pets’, that literally means “The Farts”. They played last night together with Joan-Pau Chaves and David Muñoz. They played the music with which they feel more comfortable nowadays, and not their earlier classics that make them popular in Catalonia among younger generations. Despite their enormous experience on stage, just before the concert, the drummer Joan Reig confessed to CNA that they were “a little bit nervous” to play in the Palau de la Música, “the country’s music temple”. “It’s a satisfaction playing here…precisely after a 25 year career”, clarified Reig.

The concert hall was packed. The audience received the band with enthusiasm. ‘Els Pets’ played singles from their last 5 discs, as they feel more comfortable with them, closer to “the pop style we’ve been doing lately”, explains Reig. ‘Els Pets’ played a total of 22 songs. They closed the concert with one of their most famous ballads called ‘Bona nit’ (Good night), the only exception to the self-imposed rule not to include classics in the concert.