- Palau Sant Jordi. November 6, 2026
“Everywhere we go we are welcomed in an incredible way, but truly you have something that is completely different, I swear it”. That is how Amaia Montero opened up at this Friday’s concert in front of a sold-out Palau Sant Jordi. It is clear that the vocalist is no longer the same as she was eighteen years ago, when she decided to leave the group, but she does not pretend to be either. “The energy here cannot be compared,” proclaimed the singer, who since the start of the tour has been analyzed and questioned on social media. The criticisms –especially harsh at the beginning of the tour– have gradually dissipated and the feeling is that La Oreja de Van Gogh is starting to feel a little more comfortable on stage. Montero, mainly in the second half, passed the test of leading one of the most listened-to bands in Spanish pop after the controversial split with Leire Martínez in October 2024.
Beyond the controversy, the group stepped onto the stage a quarter of an hour after the scheduled time with the certainty of knowing that their nostalgic return to the 2000s would be a triumph. “Amaia, Amaia, Amaia…”, the fans of the band from San Sebastian chanted right from the start. With the chords of 20 de enero, the group kicked off an hour and three-quarters long concert. Amaia Montero appeared in the center of the stage on a circular platform that rose from the ground. Her mere presence drove an enthusiastic audience wild, whom the singer wanted to thank for their support at every moment with a few “thank yous” in Catalan. The first track was followed by an irregular Deseos de cosas imposibles and El último vals, the first of only two songs from the Leire Martínez era that the band played.
The stage design, conceived entirely in white, reinforced the historic stage modesty of Xabi San Martín on keyboards, Álvaro Fuentes on bass, and Haritz Garde on drums. The absence of Pablo Benegas on guitar, following his departure from the group, is supplemented during the tour by Imanol Goikoetxea.
A nostalgic journey
The secret to the Basque band’s success lies in their ability to turn a train ride or a rainy day into an anthem. Their lyrics have been etched into the collective memory of several generations, and this was evident on Friday night when the Sant Jordi became a massive karaoke from the very first chord. The group knew how to exploit their most classic repertoire, which corresponds to the four albums that featured Amaia Montero on the microphone.
After a more static track like Nadie como tú, Montero let loose with La chica del gorro azul and Dulce locura. Despite the nostalgia, there was also room for the song that has brought them back together: Todos estamos bailando la misma canción, the first single of this new era they released last Christmas, which had some pitch issues. The show lost rhythm due to some pauses between songs, although the atmosphere became especially intimate with the block formed by a polished Mariposa and Vestido azul.Following these came Tan guapa, a decaffeinated duet by Montero with Xabi San Martín on the piano that ended with a hug and an awkward conversation between the singer and the keyboardist, in which she forced him to admit that he had dedicated the song to her when he composed it.
The euphoria of the live performance and a dedicated audience gradually dispelled the ghosts of insecurity, and the most celebrated part arrived, where París, Cuéntame al oído and Pop could not be missing. The most unexpected moment of the concert arrived when the first chords of Boig per tu rang out. La Oreja de Van Gogh surprised everyone by performing it for the first time with the respect of those who know they are covering a song that is an emotional heritage of Catalonia, despite some hesitations in parts of the lyrics. “Thank you!”, said a somewhat disoriented Amaia after continuing and merging it with a memorable La playa, El 28, Soledad and the infallible Rosas. The perfect prelude to close the night, linking Cuídate, Muñeca de trapo and a Puedes contar conmigo chanted as if the world were about to end.
This Friday’s has been the first of four dates at the Palau Sant Jordi, one of the venues that hosts the most recitals of this comeback, with another concert this Saturday and two more concerts at the end of the month, Thursday the 26th and Friday the 27th. At the end of the year, La Oreja de Van Gogh will say goodbye for a season in Madrid and in the month of March it will make the jump to Latin America, where it has scheduled several concerts in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Mexico.
