My first time at Primavera, in the beautiful Barcelona.
Primavera Pop
The music starts later, round about 5pm, and continues until about 5am. You avoid the heat a bit more then, and get to sleep/sightsee/swim/whatever takes your fancy in the day. It happens in Parc Del Forum, a short tube stop from Barcelona city centre.
Some of what I did see with my very eyes;
Islet. A whopping way to start the day, Cardiff’s prominent freakout noise makers were on their usual strange form. Their crazy proggy wig out jammz sounded strong, beefed up by constant instrument exchanging and the refreshing dispresect for stages and barriers. It’s hard to beat them in a sweaty, indoor venue, with a sound system that’s sympathetic to them, but the small and awestruck crowd got a taster of something very special which you just know Islet will deliver. Sonny & the Sunsets play rattling rock n roll with such charm and panache it’s hard not to love them. Papas Fritas came back from the 90′s, Odd Future did what they will now have to do at every gig and cause a mini riot, all ironic lyrics and good beats, and the legend that is Money Mark played to a disappointing crowd of not many people, but was taking requests and was bloomin great.
Cults played a tight and neat little set, all sweet ‘Thank you!”‘s and ‘I can’t believe we’re in Spain!’s between their cute, melody drenched retro sounding songs. I’m a sucker for it, and belters like You Know What I Mean, and the irresistable Go Outside were note perfect, a ray of pop sunshine in a world of droning feedback. Seeing Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti was very pleasurable, their Before Today album a thing of beauty and bewilderment. Apparently not always on it live, their Primavera set shone with a band knowing exactly what they were doing (phew!) and their weird grooves and beats came together beautifully.
Ducktails (in session on the show this week) played a good set, one which I wasn’t expecting, On record his vibes are all lo-fi, cut n paste loops and vocals, which have consistently blown my mind over the last year. With a band, like many a one man band, his sound becomes fuller, bringing to mind Wild Nothing’s latest gigs and fitting in nicely to the Primavera weekend. On the same stage, Connan Mockasin continues to compose on a different level. Otherworldly and humble, his tunes are just beautiful, as heard on his recent Forever Dolphin Love album. You just wanna hug him and tell him he’s a genius. Tune Yards looked and sounded magnificent on the Pitchfork stage, a woman totally in control and sounding like no one else on the planet.
Big Boi was a highlight. For some dumb reason I didn’t figure he’d be playing so many of the Outkast hits, which he did of course, and standing in front of the speakers (stage left), the bass rattled my insides until I was grinning like a fool. I fell asleep during the magnificent Caribou, which is no way a representation of their massive, swirling set. A treat to see Gonjasufi live for the first time too, his raw, brutal hip hop a breath of fresh air and standing up to his brilliant album. James Blake took to the decks the day after he played his gig, and played a brilliant selection of bangin electronic musical pieces, with a healthy dose of remixed r’n'b and hip hop tunes that got Primavera bouncing. It has to be said, in a sea of guitars, the dance and hip hop sets were much needed breaks, to save from indie-gestion.
All roads lead to Pulp. I had vague recollections of seeing them before I knew how lucky I was back in the day, but now, some ten years since they last gig, this first comeback performance was anticipated to say the least. And it rocked. Cocker was on fine form, the original line up looking like they were really into it, and all the hits came out to play. I cried during Common People. My favourite heckle was when Jarvis goes ‘Me and Steven have dj’d at club Razzmatazz in Barcelona often’, and a man behind me corrects him, shouting ‘It’s Steven and I!’. Sums up Pulp quite nicely, I thought.
My first time at Primavera, in the beautiful Barcelona.
