Mad Cool is back for another spectacular year, and the first day of this year’s edition was a proper scorcher – and we don’t just mean the eye-watering temperatures, either.
Headliners Dua Lipa and The Smashing Pumpkins wrapped up Day One, proceeded by an array of dazzling sets from the likes of Janelle Monáe, Turkish DJ Carlita and Garbage, among others. Here are the best sets NME saw, compiled by our roving writers on the ground.
Words: Liberty Dunworth, Hollie Geraghty, Laura Molloy
Janelle Monáe (7.00pm, Mad Cool)
Seemingly unfazed by the 30+ degree heat in Madrid, Janelle Monáe’s Mad Cool performance was defined by a string of costume changes – not limited to leg warmers, a floral coat, a sequinned tuxedo and crucially, the famous vagina trousers from the ‘Pynk’ music video. At one point she even donned a Prince baseball cap thrown on stage by a fan, offering a subtle nod towards an icon whose influence lives on in her music.
Throughout a euphoric set (even watched by Will Smith), Monáe’s music pulsed through soul-imbued versions of ‘Lipstick Lover’, ‘Electric Lady’ and ‘Q.U.E.E.N.’ And, though Pride month may have ended last week, Monáe used her set to affirm its importance all year long. “I wanna honour some heroes, some icons,” she told the crowd, before leading cheers for Marsha P. Johnson, “the mother of pride”. (LM)
Garbage (8:05pm, Region Of Madrid)
“If I’m acting a wee bit weird it’s because I’m a goth. I was a goth when I was 13 and I’m a goth now,” joked Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson, balancing an ice pack on her head. “Weird” or not, the alt-rock icons pulled a huge crowd, and were eager to remind themselves that it hasn’t been an easy journey, having first performed in Spain three decades ago to a considerably smaller audience. From ‘Cherry Lips’, which the band proudly dedicated to their LGBTQ+ supporters, to riotous closer track ‘Push It’, it was a set that no Garbage fan will forget anytime soon. (LD)
Carlita (8.25pm, The Loop)
Summer in Madrid may see the city near constantly enveloped in a sweltering heat, but within the vicinity of The Loop stage, Carlita conjured another world – perhaps in part due to the welcomed presence of aircon. In her genre-spanning set, one which referenced an eclectic mix of house, techno, 90s rock and Turkish psychedelia – dancers convened under the darkness, briefly illuminated by the light show. Each mix acted as an extension to a sonic story, all manifesting in a memorable Mad Cool moment. (LM)
Sexyy Red (9:40pm, Orange)
If it was even possible to turn up the heat here in scorching Madrid, Sexyy Red kicked things up a few degrees when a flaming backdrop reflected back onto an already sweaty crowd in the middle of her blazing set.
Bathed in a fiery red shade, the Missouri-born rapper swaggered through tracks like ‘Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Dad)’, ‘Shake Yo Dreads’ and ‘Sexy Baby Daddy’, supported by a hype-man MC and four slick backing dancers whose limber moves were punctuated by rapid smoke cannon plumes. That’s how you kick off the Mad Cool night shift. (HG)
The Smashing Pumpkins (11:15pm, Region Of Madrid)
Despite sending fans into a slight frenzy earlier this year by saying that Smashing Pumpkins have no interest in playing their biggest tracks, at Mad Cool, frontman Billy Corgan poked fun at all the commotion he’d previously caused – delivering a career-spanning set.
Breaking out fan favourites including ‘1979’, ‘Cherub Rock’ and ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ in quick succession – as well as giving new guitarist Kiki Wong the freedom to add some manic shred into the mix – there was no doubt that this set proved the ‘90s icons have still got it. (LD)
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