Primavera Sound Festival: Introduction
By Morelli
The Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain is off to a great start, with multiple bands performing simultaneously on six different stages. The turnout exceeds all expectations, and each act has been heavily populated. I imagined that the festival would be spread out, but the stages are very close to each other, and it’s been possible to jump from show to show quickly.
So far, I’ve seen Marnie Stern at the Ray-Ban Vice stage, Lightning Bolt at the ATP arena and Yo La Tengo at the Estrella Damm stage. At the same time, La Bien Querida, Magik Markers, The Vaselines and The Bats have made their appearances on other stages. If you’re looking to rock out while also fitting in a good dose of dancing to electronica, then Primavera Sound has you covered. Check out the video coverage for day one, day two and day three.
Coincidently, upon arrival in Barcelona, I was pleased and surprised to discover that the city was already in chaos, celebrating wildly in the streets their soccer team’s victory in the European Champions League Final. So the festive spirit commenced as soon as I got to the center of Barcelona.
The festival is situated next to the sea, not too far from the city center, near the El Meresme Forum. Navigating to the first show was easy, given the closeness of the concerts and unconfusing indications. I was somewhat disappointed to see that Marnie Stern wasn’t being supported by legendary drummer Zach Hill, but her act was definitely amusing, with a few “penises” and “vaginas” thrown into her mid-song conversations. The music is quite unconventional, but the public was ready for it.
Lightning Bolt have their own special type of showmanship, with drummer Brian Chippendale donning a weird clown mask, and grunting into a microphone inside while manipulating his voice with a number of effect pedals. His kick drum was also being distorted by effects. Brian Gibson, on the bass, also contributed to the noise-rock, with equally aggressive approach to his instrument, also complemented by effect pedals.
Yo La Tengo started by pointing out a fan with the band’s T-shirt, and posing specifically for him to take a picture. They actually asked everyone else to turn off their cameras. Lead singer Ira Kaplan touched on both piano and guitar, and the band played for almost two hours, which is impressive because Kaplan mentioned that the band had been on travelling for sixteen hours before their performance.
The amount of bands is insane, and I have decided on Andrew Bird, The Bug, Jay Reatard, Aphex Twin and Squarepusher for the rest of this first day of the festival. Oh, and someone is selling cabbage at one of the merchandise stands in the festival grounds. Awesome smell.
Stay tuned to Beatcrave for more coverage of the Primavera Sound Festival!
Friday, May 29, 2009 8:46AM
wish I was there!
Friday, May 29, 2009 12:36PM
me, too! Wow.
Friday, May 29, 2009 2:07PM
2 tix for Sat. available. sms 607261801
Friday, May 29, 2009 3:48PM
Nice work if you can get it, fellas. Rock the verb. I won't go to Primavera until Synead is on a stage. But you guys have a good time.
Friday, May 29, 2009 4:06PM
good job, I am to far away to come to say hello, but will wish you a good time together – bonne chance à Tiago and Miguel
Friday, May 29, 2009 4:28PM
Good work guys, and Greetings from Ketchikan and the Hoviks…I like getting the Gestalt of the fest through your report – sights, sounds, smells…..Keep it up!!
Friday, May 29, 2009 4:37PM
Have fun and enjoy the ambiance (even though Jay is a big Man U fan!)
Friday, May 29, 2009 5:08PM
this is the next best thing to being there! great coverage!
Friday, May 29, 2009 5:56PM
sounds great.
Friday, May 29, 2009 8:37PM
Hey, ich wünschte ich wär da… genialer text, macht weiter so! gute arbeit und viele grüße!!!!
Friday, May 29, 2009 11:10PM
Wow, what a full plate you have. Looks like a pretty wild lissening event. Wish I could be there with you. Our latest concert was a Jazz gig and was a hit to the audience. Will bring it with us when we visit. Keep up the journalistic prowess. Unca Pete
Saturday, May 30, 2009 2:30PM
What a fun event! You guys make a great team! Way to go.
Saturday, May 30, 2009 2:54PM
This sounds like so much fun, really wish I was there to see and hear all the music! Great job Miguel and Tiago.
Monday, June 1, 2009 4:22PM
Wonderful article, clean and vivid. Well done! sounds great fun!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 10:45AM
Good and atmospheric article. Too many BUT in the first part. Good coverage though. Well done. Nathalie from Lagoa
Thursday, June 4, 2009 4:58PM
Way to travel and be in your element – good commentary too! What an event!
Good on ya!
Thursday, June 4, 2009 7:09PM
The post-game citywide party in Barcelona was absolutely crazy. Tiago has footage, which will probably be posted on his YoutTube channel.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 7:11PM
Thanks! I hope we get to cover your Jazz band in the near future
Thursday, June 4, 2009 7:17PM
Tiago is an excellent director and video editor, I was lucky to have him along. Thanks!
Thursday, June 4, 2009 7:19PM
Synead is on hiatus, but Tiago and I have other projects, which include:
http://www.myspace.com/oultimocombate
http://www.myspace.com/fingerboi
Thanks!
Thursday, June 4, 2009 7:25PM
It turned out much to be more than I anticipated! We did video coverage too, you can find the videos among the "related posts" to this article, or via links at the end of the second paragraph.