Pegasus – Symphony of a Great Band

The Pegasus A line-up was made up of Jeroni Pagan (keyboard), Alex Ojea (drums), Toni Munné (bass) and Rafa Buzón (guitar). On the last song they were joined by Pep Espasa (saxophone) and Koldo Munné (saxophone). Together they took on the following five songs:

• “Ball de Gegants” (1982 – Nuevos Encuentros).
• “Parafernalia” (1983 – Comunicació).
• “El despertar dels carrers” (1986 – Simfonia d’una Gran Ciutat), with Rafael Escoté unfurling those deeply emotive, personal basslines.
• “Tempo de Rock” (1986 – Simfonia d’una Gran Ciutat).
• “Funktàstik” (1990 – El Setè Cercle), with an Kitflus in ecstasy, playing on his feet and radiating energy. Espasa and Munné joined in on sax for this one.

All proceeds from the concert went to Rock pels Xuklis. For that reason, in the break between the first and second sets of the night, the stage was handed over  to Narcís Serrats, manager of AFANOC (the Catalan Association of Families and Friends of Children with Cancer) and promoter of this campaign, which aims to bring together musical initiatives willing to do their bit to help families with a child affected by cancer, while also raising the visibility of young cancer patients in spaces that speak to them. The power of music devoted to truly necessary causes.

That same break was also used to share a few reflections with some of the musicians. Xavier Folch, of Tótum, asked Rafael Escoté about his work as a music teacher, and Kitflus laid out a lovely theory about the kind of music Pegasus have made over the years (read it in the closing paragraph of this report).

The Pegasus B combo was made up of Pau Pomés (keyboard), Gerard Sala (drums), Marfi Gentilini (bass) and Rodrigo Pagavino (guitar). They took on the following four songs:

• “L’Enanito Trist” (1982 – Nuevos Encuentros) with Kitflus.
• “Tam Tam” (1990 – El Setè Cercle).
• “Joc d’Oci” (1986 – Simfonia d’una Gran Ciutat).
• “Conga con Ganas” (1982 – Nuevos Encuentros).

In the interlude between the two sets, the chat with the musicians continued, this time with Santi Arisa and Max Sunyer taking the stage. Arisa took the chance to highlight just how moving it had been for them to hear their music performed by young talents. Asked by Xavier Folch, Arisa also told us about his relationship with frying pans and any other object capable of being percussed. Max Sunyer, who has some difficulty getting around these days but a razor-sharp mind, told us about his relationship with Ramoncín, which led to him taking part in the recording of one of Ramoncín’s live albums.

The Pegasus C line-up was the largest, with as many as three different musicians covering Kitflus’s part: Miquel González (keyboard), Carles Pinós (keyboard) and Pau Pomés (keyboard and piano). With David Sáez (drums), Jose Perciba (bass) and Álex Álvarez (guitar), plus the horn section: Miquel Martínez (flute), Pep Espasa (flute), Koldo Munné (baritone sax). Their setlist was as follows:

• “Rondó De Les Màquines” (1986 – Simfonia d’una Gran Ciutat), performed exclusively by the three horn players, Martínez, Espasa and Munné.
• “Can Poc i Bo” (1990 – El Setè Cercle), with a playful Santi Arisa still carrying that trademark house energy. On this one, Pinós handled the keyboard and Pomés the piano.
• “Obertura” (1986 – Simfonia d’una Gran Ciutat), with Pau Pomés on keyboard.
• “Allegro de Nit” (1986 – Simfonia d’una Gran Ciutat), with Miquel González on keyboard.
• “Innisfree” (1990 – El Setè Cercle), with González on keyboard.
• “Camí de Rupit” (1985 – Searching), with Rafael Escoté once again swaying his whole body to the rhythm of his bass, and Max Sunyer treating us to a memorable, deeply expressive guitar solo. González handled the keyboard.

It was all capped off with the final surprise: the full return of Pegasus to the stage to perform “Transmediterranean Express” (1983 – Comunicació). A one-off reunion, special for the occasion, but deeply moving and beautiful. The crowd was clearly aware of just how significant the moment was, and phones and cameras were working overtime.

In a night full of electric moments, one unmissable image stood out: Pegasus sitting on those front-row sofas, enjoying their own music performed by young musicians. It left us with clear signs of emotion and happiness.

These young musicians, who were Pegasus for one night, were visibly moved themselves at having to share a stage with these titans. Some of them admitted to us they’d been nervous when we spoke with them during soundcheck. Musicians of the 21st century, trained and shaped in their careers surrounded by technology and a musical culture that simply didn’t exist in the 1980s and 90s, when musicians like Pegasus had to sharpen their wits and their capacity for innovation to earn a place in music history.

The event came to a close with a beautiful family photo on stage, immortalising the entire spirit of the night.

“Now here’s a good one. What kind of music do we actually make?” Rafael Escoté asked his bandmate Kitflus, during one of the night’s moments set aside for chatting with the honourees. In Pegasus’s case, the answer is a tricky one, because they’re the very paradigm of musical innovation and have fused together every kind of music imaginable. But good old Escoté already knew the answer perfectly well, because Kitflus has long had a brilliant way of summing it up: “Pegasus have always made an Experience Cocktail. Music built from our own experiences, from everything we’ve listened to, and from our constant need to innovate”. It strikes us as a brilliant summary of Pegasus’s essence, and a beautiful way to sum up what this tribute night, held on 16 May in Barcelona, truly was. We’re certain that this experience cocktail can now also hold every one of the beautiful, moving moments lived through that night — one that will go down as one of the historic moments of Tòtum Revolútum.