The Libertines – 1st March of 2016 (Paradiso- Amsterdam)

British band The Libertines return this Monday to the Paradiso room in Amsterdam as part of the tour to promote their album Anthems for Doomed Youth after having played two years ago in the Heineken Music Hall and last summer at the Best Kept Secret Festival, where we could enjoy a more than adequate show. Thus a mythical room, a world-renowned band, hordes of fans waiting for the band, sold out two consecutive days, a spectacular repertoire with which to fill about two-hour concert.. And with all these initial conditions, what we lived wss probably the worst concert of our lives.

Responsible for opening the night were Reverend and The Makers, that with their blend of brit and ska delight the hundreds of young English with some beers drunk that already occupied more than half of the room. A chaotic show in which we could enjoy good times, as the songs "Open Your Window" or "Heavyweight Champion of the World", but most of which was dispensable due to the excessive volume of the drums or the desire for protagonism of its singer Jon McClure. It's a shame the rest of the show was not like the song that closed it after about 35 minutes of concert, "Silence Is Talking", in which highlights a trumpet reminiscent of the best Madness that was the responisible of making the crowd go mad.

At 20:45, scheduled time for the organization, The Libertines were jumping on stage as real stars of masses cheered by dozens of hooligans who threw their beers up in the air as they were excited Neanderthals. Initial themes already showed what would be their nearly two hour concert: chaos, improvisation, no understanding, no sync voices and the encouragement and continuous applause from fans who didn't take care if the band members change their roles or they sang some songs inside out, they were there to see their living myths and chanting those choruses that they know by rote.. So, were going on songs from their latest album and some of the least known themes of Up the Bracket, with Pete Doherty trying to manage the times before a Carl Barat totally erratic, as we noted in a disastrous performance of "What Katie Did" or desynchronization in "Anthem for Doomed Youth".

The show would improve slightly with the two best songs from their latest album, "You're My Waterloo" with Doherty as unique voice and Barat on the piano, and the moved "Gunga Din", where the good deeds of bassist John Hassall saved some lapses of the leaders of the band. From here on, the album disappears completely from the setlist and the oldest songs take 100% of the limelight, playing hits like "Can not Stand Me Now", "Time for Heroes" or "The Good Old Days", being this last one the only performed with a minimum of quality, despite the problems that Doherty had on vocals forgetting some parts of the lyrics. There would still be time for some encores who were the best of the show in terms of rapport and musical level, starting with the calm "Music When the Lights Go Out", where Doherty offered his best vocal version and indemnified the fiasco commented previously, and always great "Up the Bracket" which was the theme that came closest to the sound of the disc. After the small break of "What a Waster", which surprisingly was a bucket of cold water for the public, madness was unleashed with "Do not Look Back Into the Sun" , last song of the show in which the rhythms at Gary Powell's drums highlighted above their peers and where Doherty just throwing his mic stand to the public, which destroyed it in a few seconds to desolation of the band's crew..

So, disastrous concert by the London band, which although slightly improve concerts of the past decade where one did not know if the show would be held or how many members would end up on stage, still demonstrate a lack of professionalism improper of a band of their prestige. It's a shame, because with the amount of songs they have in their discography and the hopes that we harbored after seeing them this summer with a more focused Pete Doherty, we thought the tour in rooms could be a musical success. Anyway, it couldn't give a monkey's to the band, and what is more worrying, some young fans with low expectations that only enjoy the show due to the presence in the form of myth of their idols, forgetting that music it is more than poser and photos on Instagram..