I have an inkling that you might have to be music mad to truly enjoy Primavera in bad weather. Good thing that my needle runs to the totally insane level of music madness. I loved even the minutes I was sheltering from the Thunder storm! Here's how it went down..
The Music
Best Hair: La Sera
Along with her bubblegum pop sound and rather high pitched American voice, she has the kind of hair that is so annoyingly good, that even after head thrashing along to her heavier songs looks perfect.
Biggest Disappointment: Real Estate
I love listening to their music, but sadly not their awkward stage presence. Hopefully they'll learn.
Biggest Surprise: Haim
Despite only really being taken by two songs, I'm glad I didn't miss this one. Their sound was far from the pop I was expecting having listened to their album. In fact these girls rock! And they certainly know how to work a crowd. From Este's crazy facials (see video), to a Drum beating jam. Este asked "Are you with me on my spiritual journey Spain?". We sure were!
Weirdest Act: Connan Mockasin
Even though Este Haim is insane, I have to give it to Blood Orange's new friend, Connan Mockasin, the prize for this one. Walking out in a blonde wig, head scarf and a white jump suit, along with his keyboardist who looked like the Elvish Queen had stepped right out of Lord of the Rings, was just the start. I wasn't sure how his spacey sound would be live, but the weirdness carried it off. At times it felt like we were in the cult of Connan as he raised his arms, and the crowd willingly followed suit. May not be to everyone's taste but I found him strange but wonderful.
Best Stadium Act: Foals
I like my rock n roll with ego, and ego oozes out of every pore of the Foals' frontman Philippakis. Despite playing at 2 in the morning, the place was buzzing. Their stage act is nothing short of slick, from the drummers standing call to arms, to Philippakis' crowd surfing while still playing guitar, it would be hard to walk away not amped from this gig. Leaving during their last song, as my companion had to get to the airport, was one of my most heart breaking moments of Primavera.
Coolest Dude (and music you can most get down to): Blood Orange
Somehow he made looking like Milli Vanillli has stepped right out of the 90s into the present day cool, and that's no mean feat! I really enjoyed getting my white arse down to this one, and so did the crowd.
Best Mosh Pit: Cloud Nothings
Probably playing at a stage too small for their following, I found myself in the heart of my first mosh pit in years. Not sure my friend, who didn't really know the band, was so impressed by getting pushed around by the 6"4 guy beside her, but jumping around to "Stay Useless", I loved it.
Next Big Thing: Future Islands
I knew it was going to be good before it started, yet still I was blown away. I can't see how a man with this much passion, and crazy dance moves, can possibly stay playing smaller stages. Truly living every moment of every song, with passionate hand movements and wistful glances, he made you feel like he was looking straight at you! I love the lyrics, I love the sound. The mixture of 80s love song with occasional guttural metal vocals, works well with the passion. Another heartbreaking moment is that I missed getting pictures of the crazy antics, stupid iphone!
Music that will stand the test of time: The War on Drugs
So it seems ever since I walked into Brick Lane and looked and Kurt Vile in the eye, we have a thing. So it is no surprise that Adam Granducie's curls and a slight country sound are reminiscent of Vile, as not only does he haunt all my music posts, but he used to be in the band! Despite Granducie taking forever to set up, and being a bit of dick to the audience as we waited, by literally addressing us with "blah blah blah you guys are great", I forgave it all when the music started! Kurt might have taken my eye with his curls and sneaky smile, but this music cuts straight to the heart. I love it when a sound speaks for itself. A little bit country, a little bit rock, a little bit spacey, totally beautiful, I could listen to this all day!
Best Quote: Angel Olsen
"Its hard to play a sad song when you are happy, and its hard to play a happy song when you are sad". Clearly enjoying herself just before she closed Primavera for me with White Fire, which starts, "Everything is broken it all just falls apart.."
The Festival
Best thing to smuggle into primavera: Bottle caps.
For some reason they are insistent on taking the caps off your water bottles, not only the ones you bring in with you, but also the ones you buy on the venue. No worry, after learning this we just brought them in wrapped in our jumpers, and hey presto, we could buy a bottle of water that we didn't have to drink on the spot.
Thing I most wish I had: Hover shoes.
To put a buffer between me and the hard concrete. Standing for 9-10hrs a day my feet fucken hurt. In fact they still hurt now and I'm on the plane on my way back.
Best Advice: Go to the front!
A guy I used to go to gigs with in Amsterdam taught me this, and its changed my whole live music experience. Not only can you see, but the energy is better and you don't feel out of place shaking your arse. You might think it's not possible at the festival, but apart from the stadium headliners, it totally is. For a lot of the earlier acts all you have to do is walk around all those clueless people standing miles back, go in from the side, and voila, you are able to look the artist in the eye. For some of the later smaller stage acts, it means being there 10-20 mins early, but its worth it, trust me!
Best accessory: My vintage 1980s wool jacket.
Not because its so cool and styly, although it is, but just because it was lightweight and warm. It might be Barcelona at the end of spring, but it can still be cold. Nothing worse than having to bail on the festival because you are freezing.
Best stroke of Luck: Finding ourselves 2 mins walk away from possibly the only shelter in the whole venue as a massive thunderstorm hit.
We sat the whole thing out having a picnic of our snacks, stayed dry and warm, and came out it time to watch the rest of Joana Serrat's set, with the back drop of a giant rainbow.
Best thing about it being in Barcelona: The Beach.
Sadly it wasn't the sunniest weather, but Sunday was glorious. When you've come home at 4:30am, spending the day lying on the sand after a meal of sea food tapas, is heaven!
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