Garbage – 09 July 2024 (Sala Razzmatazz – Barcelona)

Like many of the so-called “grunge-indie” generation, there are bands from the early to mid-90s that have stolen a place in your heart. In the case of the Americans Garbage, for the writer of these lines the arrival of two cassettes, one pink and the other orange, corresponded to the entry of the Institute in the first year and the exit on the last year respectively, together with all the experiences of this important period.… So to be able to see the whole band in a place like Razzmatazz, including Butch Vig who, for example, did not tour with the band at their concert at Cruïlla 2019, and the fact that they are presenting their compilation album Anthology (2022), presented itself as a unique opportunity, marked in red on our calendar..

Photo of Shirley Manson of Garbage by Christian Bertrand courtesy of Live Nation España

Playing to a sold-out crowd weeks in advance, the Wisconsin band kicked off their set by making it clear that the night would be for the band’s timeless fans by giving away ‘#1 Crush‘, the B-side of a 1996 single made famous as part of the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. After performing one of the best songs of their recent discography, ‘Godhead‘, the first madness of the night came with the concatenation of ‘I Think I’m Paranoid‘, ‘Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)‘ and ‘Special‘.

Photo of Garbage by Christian Bertrand courtesy of Live Nation España

From here, the concert entered an intermediate block where the setlist, with visits to the different albums in their discography, allowed the band members to gradually come to the fore. First of all, a radiant and happy Shirley Manson, who never stopped smiling and confirmed in every speech that the concert was incredible, even dedicating it to her boyfriend who was in the audience. And then Duke Erikson and Steve Marker, whose guitars shine in ‘Metal Heart‘, ‘Hammering in My Head‘ or an accelerated ‘The Creeps‘.

Photo of Shirley Manson of Garbage by Christian Bertrand courtesy of Live Nation España

With ‘Stupid Girl‘ the band would kick it up a gear and not let go until the end of the set. “Wolves” and “No Gods No Masters” would be their last visit to the seventh album in their discography, while Shirley would be thrilled to perform a cover of her favourite band of her youth, Siouxsie and the Banshees‘ “Cities in Dust“. With the audience already in raptures, the final bang came with an almost continuous visit to more than two decades ago, starting with “Vow“, followed by “When I Grow Up“, with a small exception of the majestic “Why Do You Love Me” which sounded wonderful and ended with an incredible “Push It” between jumps and screams to close the concert before the encores.

Photo of Shirley Manson of Garbage by Christian Bertrand courtesy of Live Nation España

In the encores, after a short speech by Butch Vig confirming the release of their eagerly awaited eighth studio album in the coming months and a new visit to Barcelona as part of the 2025 tour, the band’s heart rate dropped with the dramatic ‘Milk‘, although the massive karaoke returned in the final minutes with ‘Only Happy When It Rains‘, a perfect end to a memorable concert.

Photo of Shirley Manson of Garbage by Christian Bertrand courtesy of Live Nation España

If there was any doubt in the minds of Spanish spectators at the entrance between the concert and the Eurocup football match that was being played at the same time, we believe that the great concert that the Americans gave yesterday put all doubts to rest. To sum up, Dominating all the tempos of the show, guitars and power from the drums everywhere, all perfectly put together by a simply incredible Shirley Manson, both in her role as frontwoman and with a quality in her voice that we had missed at recent festival shows.