As it takes almost a week to recover from this eclectic festival, held in Barcelona’s Parc del Forum, it is clear that Primavera Sound is now considered a feat, even at the young age of thirteen. My mind has been fondly mulling over many moments of this festival, namely the breath-taking line-up, which has been noted by several music journalists. Exhaustion hits, yawning just thinking about the end of May’s activities, and I did not even make it to any of the free pre-festival hype festivities in the centre of the city, namely the likes of Har Mar Superstar, Shellac and Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Cameron Mesirow, aka Glasser, agreed that the artists also hold regard for this year’s line-up, as she mentioned in an interview with GIITTV whilst applying her fake tattoos just prior to her performance, that even though she played in 2011 she was very excited to be asked again as this was one of the best line up’s yet.
Leaving Cameron’s side on the official opening day of the festival, heading back over to the other side of the stage where the audience were patiently anticipating her on stage, the sun lay nicely across the hipster crowd, all seemingly fresh from East London, if not, certainly the UK as we did appear there in force, soaking up the atmosphere. Tranquil for the remnants of sunshine on the Thursday evening, beards and nautical shirts aplenty shone down by the beach on the Parc del Forum.
Similar to Icelandic musicians Samaris, who recently played at the Ja Ja Ja Festival in the heart of London, she is adorned in attire not short of idiosyncratic, peacock colours, teasing the crowd, spreading her wings, brandished with fake tattoos, minimalist haunting vocals over synthetic beats. Her fluid, energetic movements on stage struck me a tad similar to Natasha Kahn, known to most as Bat for Lashes.
Succeeding this, I caught a brief glimpse of Brazilian multi-instrumentalist, Rodrigo Amarante, warming up the crowd for a scorcher of a list venturing further into the night, forfeiting Domino’s indie American kids, Real Estate.
Sam Herring’s hyped and much sought after dance moves (Cameron from Glasser admitted earlier in the evening backstage her excitement at catching this man, and vying to become ‘his friend’) entertained the audience to no end, as Future Islands (clashing badly with two highlights, Neutral Milk Hotel and the wonderfully alluring St. Vincent) hit the Pitchfork Stage.
Queens of the Stone Age of course need no introduction, with a charismatic appeal found close to center-stage. All eyes were on vocalist Josh Homme, as he wooed the crowd with his cheeky wit, dulcet tones, and frighteningly captivating stage presence. With a set list that included those known by the masses, No One Knows and Go With the Flow, as well as some favourites for the fans, If I Had a Tail, and I Sat by the Ocean, it was inanely sacrificial to tear oneself away to catch headliners, Arcade Fire, and despite their two hour set of wonderful noises from Richard and the gang, it was almost painful to be in amidst this overtly high-strung horde of music lovers, being cornered uncomfortably into a fenced area, the claustrophobic’s nightmare.
An artist few had previously been exposed to, Charles Bradley, was a soulful breath of light relief, disco and Motown, surprising Primavera’s crowd, adding a hit of funk to their live Barcelona playlist. Shadowing the mannerisms and style of James Brown, with vocals often compared to Otis Redding, the audience quickly swelled near the staging of Bradley.
Moderat, surprisingly underwhelming, and showmen, Metronomy, finished off the first night at this hipster’s paradise, enthralling us all for two more days of inhaling the early Summer festival Spanish vibe.
Photos from top to bottom: Glasser by Jonathan Turner, Queens of the Stone Age by Dani Canto and Charles Bradley by Eric Pamies
