It seems this isn’t the first time the majority of the audience have seen Toots and the Maytals, a legendary group whose career spans every development in Jamaican music from ska through rocksteady to reggae. The gold achieving, Grammy winning holders of the record for the most number one hits in Jamaica (31) – to little surprise – sold out their singular stop in Barcelona.

Suspense builds as the audience warms their hearts with a refreshing alcoholic beverage from the busy bar. Loud for a little crowd, rapturous responses greet the band as they take the stage. The group pumps the lyrics from the opening song into the audience and they are whipped straight back. This kind of performer and public give and take only confirms the interactive and fanatical energy that was set to arrive.

The band of eight, led by Toots Hibbert’s potent and powerful heartfelt vocals, charismatically introduce themselves to Barcelona offering that they are the teachers and the audience, their pupils. Following this calm introduction the band shift tempo and what was a warm groovy springtime atmosphere is now a dance till-you-drop marathon.

The set moves swiftly between tracks giving the floor-shaking show an energetic feel. The flawless transition between songs only confirmed why they are considered one of Jamaica’s most consistent and inspired performers. This was only briefly interrupted, much to the dissatisfaction of the security, by the crowds passionate invasion of the stage. With the dance floor bursting at the seams it is no surprise the audience wanted to get closer to the band. Many people took full advantage of this by getting their clothing signed by the reggae hero.

Toots Hibbert, a 63-year-old veteran of the music industry poses this question to himself: “Will I ever get older?” Hibbert accepts that at least he is younger than the mountains. Tonight, if he was any other force of nature, his eruptive energy that spills into the crowd would make him a highly active volcano. Knowing that the show is soon to come to a close it's evident that nothing less than a headlining set would have fed the crowd's appetite tonight. What was nearly a two-hour set felt like just ten minutes. People always say “time fly’s when you’re having fun”, never has it gone so swiftly.

Thanks should go to Barcelona as much as to the band for the extraordinary evening. Their appreciation for reggae’s contemporaries was strong and good fun with everybody in full voice chanting for more. Looking around, the uplifting nature of the show was astounding. This appreciation in full expression and flair on the dance floor will be hard to come by in other cities. Perhaps it is because of the particularly confident, generous and energetic nature of this city’s inhabitants, which helped empower the band to reveal with an air of sincerity, “We love you all”— the love is mutual.