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"Spiritualized live up to their reputation as truly great live performers" Thursday (May 30) As with many major international music festivals, decisions were hard to make. The line-up boasted some of today's most indispensable music spread out over ten stages. Highlights of the evening included Lee Ranaldo, the Sonic Youth guitarist's band, the 70s influenced progressive rock hybrids White Denim and the frantically paced punk outfit The Oh Sees.
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"...swarms of fans stuttering with excitement." The highly anticipated first evening of the festival began as people arrived in their thousands for an evening of free concerts. The picturesque surrounds of Arc De Triomf, and the warm temperatures provided an ample platform for a mix of acts that functioned as a teaser of what was to follow; an internationally acclaimed musical line up and swarms of fans stuttering with excitement. Highlights of the first evening included late 80s indie rock band from Leeds, UK, The Wedding Present. The band lent a pleasant soundtrack to the early evening. The Walkmen continued to warm up the crowd before The Black Lips played a storming set to a fully adoring audience.
Whilst The Scots played a jovial, anthemic set of crowd pleasers, it was space rock pioneers Spiritualized who gave the most emphatic performance of the evening. They provided dreamy, experimental, catchy and melodic harmonies, showing why they are considered to have made one of the best indie albums of all time. (clockwise from top: opening night at Arc de Triomf; relaxing at Parc del Forum; Festival Programmes; Spiritualized; White Denim) |
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 (From top: The Cure; Girls; Afrocubism;b Death in Vegas) |
"The Cure raise the bar for a 3-hour and 36 song set." One un-ignorable factor of Primavera this year was the constantly warm sunshine. As the Friday (May 1) of the festival began, the stylish U.S indie rock band Girls played during sunset whose summery and jovial yet melancholic sound was apt. The band powered through a set of their best songs including 'Laura' and 'Lust for Life'. Outstandingly good live, they performed along with three great female gospel singers. One moment, they took the lead away from frontman Christopher Owens, adding a dynamic that was hardly expected of the rockers. This performance was really one of the best I have seen this year.Following Girls, the diversity of the acts booked by the festival organizers became more aluminous. The exceptional 12-piece Afrocubism took to the stage with, as the name suggests, their hybrid mix of Malian and Cuban music. Meanwhile, The War on Drugs pulled a sizeable crowd and greeted them with their Sonic Youth esque guitars and strong vocal ability reminiscent of Tom Petty or Neil Young. Slightly overlapping the end of the War on Drugs set were Goth rock legends, The Cure. The Cure raised the bar for a 36-song and 3 hour-set of classics. This was a momentous occasion and felt like a gig that captured the identity of the festival, guitar music with cleverly effected guitars, catchy melodies and anthemic choruses. They performed played with passion and it was a captivating experience that could turn any doubter into an avid fan.
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"Neutral Milk Hotel singer is testament to the calibre of talent at this year's Primavera Sound"
Saturday saw Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Magnum play his second set of the weekend at the Auditori, a modern indoor theatre. Jeff Magnum was the most prolific of all the acts hosted there this year. Fortunately his presence transformed the formal atmosphere into that a more relaxed and informal one, much more appropriate for a festival as he called out to the audience to come forward and sit on the stage. Inevitably the crowd swarmed. They lapped up every movement that he made and the atmosphere was tense with excitement. Crowd pleasers included his opener 'Two Headed Boy' and 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea'. Following Magnum's set, early Saturday evening saw Forest Swords play a set of dark atmospheric electronic music. The dreamy and glitchy music that could perhaps best be described as post dub-step or a soundscape to a post-apocalyptic scene in a film. More widely known and a focal point of the festival for many this year was dream pop band, Beach House. Their shimmering guitars and glamorous and beautiful vocals of Victoria Legrand drew testament to why they are rocketing up the Billboards in the U.S.
"...music is still ready to challenge norms of society"
In contrast ex-Nirvana and Pixies producer Steve Albini's band Shellac provided something heavier and more powerfully energetic. Shellac are Primavera's house band. Asked back year after year their tight rhythm riff orientated hard rock and outspoken political views reminded that there is still music ready to challenge norms and values of society.
Later in the evening Yo La Tengo, with a sound more akin to Beach House than hard rockers proved their worth as one of Spain's favourite alternative bands. Formed in the 80s, highlights of their set came from 1997s 'I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One'. Their shoegaze, punk rock style is curious considering their earlier folky approach but the soft vocal melodies of singer Ira Kaplan show that relationship still remains embedded.
(From top: Yo La Tengo; Jeff Magnum of Neutral Milk Hotel; Forest Swords; Beach House; Shellac)
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"Electronic showdown" Yo La Tengo were the final alternative rock act of the weekend and the transition to the electronic party music began with Justice. The French electronic duo played a visually stunning and sonically frantic set to a gigantic crowd. The hit 'We Are Just Friends' was catchy and a reminder of their world-class reputation for their storming live performances.
Neon Indian provided the final live set with his psychedelic pop electronica, before Scuba brought the festival to a close with a DJ set that kept the atmosphere ecstatic until the very end.
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"...the atmosphere [was] ecstatic until the very end."
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| "Black Lips play an exhilarating set to draw the curtains on Primavera 2012" With respect to the organizers, even the Sunday after the main event was far from dull. After a day of free performances at Parque Ciutadella, Arc De Triomf was host to the fantastic Black Lips, Yann Tiersen and Richard Hawley. |
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Ecstatic: Cai Trefor reports on Primavera Sound 2012
Article by:
Laoise Quinn
Published in:
Eventos
12
Jun
2012
Cai Trefor reports on an exhausting yet inspiring 5 days at last weekend's Primavera Sound Festival.
Primavera is not dependent on headliners: there is relatively little hierarchy in the equation between stage time and calibre of the band or DJ, although, if pushed, 
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