Wow! Well what can I say? That was some kind of day. It started right with a quick breakfast and a workout in the accomodations plush gym- I had the space to myself and was definitely vibing as the glass fronted facade through to the swimming pool gave fellow hostellers view to my sic gym based dance moves- I care not and after a decent stint, I was able walk straight out and plunge into the adjacent swimming pool- this is living 😉.

After a short chill by the pool, I was joined by Phil and our new hostel compadres and after some persuasion, we took to the paddleboard courts to try our hand. It was all of our first times but obviously I was an absolute natural (competitive much?🤣) and I quickly mopped up the competition as this rather over reactive picture below shows... Wimbledon, here I come!

Exercise done for the day....absolute maximum your getting in this heat!, we got on our glad rags and jumped on a bus to our first destination. Moncloa is a vibrant studenty suburb on the outskirts of Madrid and I had read good things about a craft beer place tucked away on one of the many side streets. Rather unimaginatively called 'Taproom Madrid', the plain fronted exterior (you would miss it if you didn't know it was there- thank you Google maps), gives way to a small but cosy seated area and long bar- it needs to be long with 40 lines of international craft beer goodness, we were spoilt for choice. Luckily the friendly (Argentinian...hmmm?... More on this later) and frankly criminally attractive bar staff were only to happy to help. They immediately plugged their home brew (Arktus Brewery- based in the city) and for only 10 Euros for a selection of 4 thirds of their beer, we were only too happy to oblige. We tried a solid range of IPAs, nitro stouts and Belgian triples- all done really nicely but special mention goes to their 'TNT'- a double dry hopped IPA that was 👌....so much so I had to grab a takeaway away can for the taxi ride to the festival😋. We had our fill of beers and even managed to line our bellies as it was conveniently located next to a burrito place- the owners obviously looked after each other and allowed us to eat our newly purchased (absolutely massive!!!) burritos in the taproom 👍

Festival time! We jumped in the taxi (Phils smashed it with the taxi blagging), and after a short but rather beautiful ride (great way to see the city in an air conditioned taxi 😁), we had arrived at ground zero...mad cool 2026... last night.. let's have it. Swiftly into the festival, we went over to catch the end of Matt Beringers set, conveniently as he started doing some of 'The National' s stuff. We could not stay too long tho as Phil was keen to get right to the front for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds!!!

Before that tho, by way of quick interlude. We had bagged another beer and was walking over to the stage when who should we run into?... Only bloody Rod Gilbert!!!....yes the very same....Phil has a weird knack for spotting minor celebrities and it seems they also have a knack for spotting him, as Rod stated he had seen Phil last night and even remembered the hilarious t-shirt Phil was wearing???!!!... How about that!?... Phil clearly shares a comedic brain with these guys. Big shout out to Rod, he was genuinely lovely and after a brief chat we headed over to stage front and centre for what Phil jokingly assured me would be 'the greatest gig I have ever seen'... And if only he had clairvoyance, he would have been right....stay with me 😉

Such was Phils keeness to get to the barrier that we had to squeeze past a few people to get to the front but as previously mentioned the vibe here appears so chilled and kind, with a bit of gentle banter, it didn't seem like much of an intrusion. We were ready and set to be 'taken to church'!. I use that expression because that's exactly what it was like. Right from the off, it was like stepping into a Evangelical black church in the deep south with high tempo rhythm, a frankly manic fiddler and soaring gospel vocals from an amazing backing choir. Nick Cave regularly came out into the crowd and 'put his healing hands on' people and the blessed crowd were clammering just to get sight of their saviour. Now... Earlier in this blog, I commented on how I found Florence and the Machines messianic vibes a little jarring. Well!... That was nothing compared to this...if Florence Welch pretends at being the second coming, then Nick Cave actually is!!!... And actually this is a good point. I really enjoyed this aspect of Nick Caves performance as opposed to Florence and I think this is why....there is a genuineness to it...it feels 'real'. Nick is not playing at the idea of being a prophet with the intention of selling records (although I'm sure that's a happy by product). He really appears to believe he can heal people's souls with his music...and after seeing him up close, I now believe he can. As the pace slowed down, and he began to play the titular track, I wiped more than a few tears away as I reflected on the true meaning of 'Joy'.

So after such a dizzyingly heightened experience, it was going to be a tough act to follow...indeed...as previously prophesised by Phil, it was possibly 'the best gig I have ever been to'....but that didn't last long...enter David Byrne!!!

We made our way to the orange stage just as the music was starting up...snaffled a rum n Coke from the bar adjacent to the stage (these Spaniards know how to do things right) and bedded straight into a perfect vantage point right in front of the stage but with enough room to bust some moves- which was to be a necessity (God I love this festival!!!)

This. Was. Incredible! I can barely convey how amazing this act was but I will try. Picture this....20 or so top musicians playing at the top of their game, wearing matching orange jumpsuits, dancing (at the same time as playing!) to a choreographed intricate dance routine that perfectly aligns with the music...carrying..yes carrying their instruments around their necks (including a full size electric drum kit), playing joyous heartfelt foot tappingly good music straight from the mind of the genius that is David Byrne! Even as I am writing this, I'm struggling to believe what I witnessed! And I won't apologise for being dramatic...you need to see this band! Another lovely thing was that David Byrne didn't put himself at the centre of it all, he was part of the band as much as every other member....yes it was his name on the poster (as much as for marketing purposes more than anything else I feel) and the camera naturally was placed on him for much of the time but seeing them all together, there was a real shared sense of humility and togetherness to the band with David frequently engaging in the dance routines on the fringes and giving way to the musicians/dancers for solo pieces. Sorry ..Nick...as amazing as you were, you've just been pipped into second place for the GOAT...that gong for now at least falls to Mr David Byrne (and band!!!)❤️❤️❤️🤩🤩🤩xxx

Finally, we headed over to the main stage to catch the final few songs by PULP (one minor quibble about this festival has been a few frustrating clashes but then with such quality on offer, it was always going to be difficult to see everything). Jarvis did his thang and as always put on a good show but perhaps it was because the crowd was thinning (last night fatigue?) or maybe because he would of rather been watching David Byrne😋, Jarvis himself didn't seem quite his cheeky jaunty self....in fact he appeared quite sarcastic and annoyed. Nevertheless, we enjoyed dancing and singing our hearts out to the ol' familiar songs but on a night where PULP are sitting in third place for best performance...you know you've seen something special!

So ...it was hometime...or was it?🤣 After, learning that the three lions had overcome Norway to book a place in the semi finals (can this night get any better???) we were keen to find an early morning bar to watch the Argentina game and see who we would be facing....so off to Moncloa we trecked via a bristling metro/bus journey. Unfortunately, we did not quite manage that but a good time was had regardless and without giving too much away, needless to say, I think that's the latest night /morning I've had in a few years🤣🤣🫣