If one overlooked the white face masks dotting the tightly packed crowd of music lovers, it was almost like pre-pandemic times in Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi concert hall Saturday night.

Five thousand rock fans enjoyed a real-as-can-be concert after passing a same-day coronavirus screening to test its effectiveness in preventing outbreaks of the virus at large cultural events.

The only rule inside the show was the strict use of the high-quality face masks provided by the concert organisers.

“We were able to evade reality for a while,” said Jose Parejo, 40. “We were inside our small concert bubble. And we were even able to remember back in time when things like this one were normal. Things that nowadays aren’t that normal, sadly.”

The show by the Spanish rock group Love of Lesbian had the special permission of Spanish health authorities to perform. While the rest of the country was limited to gatherings of no more than four people in closed spaces, the concertgoers were able to mix freely.