Grupo Firme

Roig Arena had barely recovered from the week's musical traffic when Grupo Firme arrived on Saturday night and promptly decided that Valencia needed three hours of Mexican regional music, thousands of sombreros and enough collective singing to probably register somewhere on the Richter scale. More than 11,000 people packed the arena for the opening night of the group's European tour, and from the moment the first notes landed, this was less a concert than a gigantic family gathering with a very loud soundtrack.

Led by Eduin Caz, Grupo Firme have built their reputation on making regional Mexican music feel enormous, communal and gloriously unrestrained, and Valencia got the full treatment. The evening opened with “Alégale al Umpire”, quickly followed by “Pídeme”, “Felicidades” and “Juro Por Dios”, establishing the mood immediately: this was going to be a long night, and nobody in the building appeared remotely interested in leaving early.

The visual spectacle was almost as important as the music. Across the arena, fans arrived dressed in black, with cowboy hats, boots and the unmistakable swagger associated with regional Mexican culture. What might have looked like a fashion convention from the outside became something much more meaningful once the music started. Thousands of people were singing together, waving, dancing and answering Caz from the stands, creating the sort of atmosphere that makes an arena feel considerably smaller than its actual dimensions.

Grupo Firme understand that connection is everything. Their songs are built around heartbreak, drinking, love, regret, pride and the complicated business of trying to keep moving when life has other ideas. There is plenty of emotional ammunition, but the band never allows the evening to become weighed down by it. A song about getting your heart smashed can quite happily be followed by another that sounds like an invitation to order another round.

“El Amor de Su Vida”, originally recorded with Grupo Frontera, was one of the early crowd magnets, while “El Tóxico” and “Yo Ya No Vuelvo Contigo” sent another wave of voices around the arena. By now, Roig Arena wasn't really a venue anymore. It was a sea of people who knew every word.

Then came “Ya Supérame”, one of the night's biggest singalongs, followed by “Al Final Del Día” and “En Tu Perra Vida”. These were the moments when the distance between performer and audience simply disappeared. Caz could throw a line towards the crowd and receive thousands of voices back almost instantly.

And for a band beginning a European tour, there was something particularly significant about that reaction. This wasn't an audience being introduced to Grupo Firme. This was an audience that had been waiting for them.

The night also made room for something considerably more reflective with “Así Fue”, the Juan Gabriel classic receiving a heartfelt airing as a tribute to one of the defining figures in Mexican popular music. In a set fuelled by celebration, drinking and big choruses, the moment provided a reminder of the enormous musical heritage sitting behind the contemporary regional Mexican explosion.

But Grupo Firme weren't about to let the mood stay solemn for long. After three hours of music, shouting, dancing and what looked like enough singing to leave several thousand people without functioning vocal cords by breakfast, the band finally reached the finish line with “Gracias”. Its message of carrying on regardless of criticism or outside opinion made for a fitting conclusion to a show built around identity, belonging and refusing to apologise for who you are.

And that may have been the defining feature of the whole night. Grupo Firme didn't simply bring their songs to Valencia. They brought a piece of Mexican culture with them, and more than 11,000 people turned Roig Arena into a huge, noisy, occasionally emotional and relentlessly celebratory meeting place for it.

Three hours later, the hats were still bobbing, the voices were still going and the party was still refusing to die.

For the opening night of “La Primera Europeda”, Grupo Firme didn't ease themselves into Europe. They arrived at full volume.