Primavera Sound 2011 : Day Three Recap

After the 2010 edition, arguably not at the same level as preceding years – despite counting with bands such as Pavement, Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, and Florence & The Machine – that the Primavera Sound Festival (PS) has returned to form in 2011 has been utterly undeniable.  Once again, the festival has achieved the rich and exact mix of big solid names with smaller but also interesting new bands from all styles, letting the Spanish and the ever-increasing foreign audience know about new and exciting movements and sounds.  In addition to this, this year’s PS has had more square meters to build stages and its programme outside the Fòrum of Barcelona has been bigger than ever before with legs in Galicia (north-west of Spain), a string of bars in Barcelona and the recovery of its original venue of 2001-2004, the Pueblo Español of the Montjuic Park, that hosted the gigs of the day prior and after the festival.

Man doesn’t live by gigs alone, so as usual in the Parc del Fòrum, the core of the festival, gathered the traditional and classic music fair of the PS with tents of official merchandise, independent Spanish and foreign labels, art, posters, clothes, and even two radios, the local ScannerFM internet station and the legendary WFMU from New Jersey that, like previous years, recorded many of the gigs to be enjoyed later in streaming.  This is just the point of the iceberg of the festival offers to the people.  But after this intro, let’s talk about its soul: The Music.

FRIDAY 28TH MAY, PARC DEL FÒRUM

We couldn’t get into the Rockdelux Stage, formerly known as what it really is, the Auditorium, to watch Sufjan Stevens, but some contributors who could told us it was, to use a Spanish term, the most Martian (the most eccentric) of them all.  It was not only a gig, it was a performance, a party, a one-man show, all in one with projections, two drummers, dancers, the whole pack.  Songs like “Get Real, Get Right” or the 25-minute epic “Impossible Soul” were just two pieces of an incredible puzzle the artist who was brought up thinking he was an alien displayed onstage.  Whether you liked it or not, it didn’t leave you indifferent.

Back to earth and to the Pitchfork Stage, London’s Male Bonding played a vigorous set reminiscent of the Ramones and No Age (QRO live review) that included a cover, “Radiant Vibes” by Fountains of Wayne (QRO photos).  Wolf People invaded the ATP stage with their ‘70s noisy rock and solid stage presence right before The National took over the Twilight Zone Llevant Stage.  The Americans played a solid set, the usual in them, but they also tried to go beyond that, trying to bond with the audience by letting Matt Berninger jumping offstage or playing more electric versions of their classic songs.  And despite the fact that their success remains a mystery to yours truly, the audience seemed to enjoy the gig, in spite of the evident sound problems and the excess of attendants.

But the night had a lot more to offer.  Classic avant-garde combo Pere Ubu gave the audience one of the very best concerts of the 2011 PS.  They based the gig on their debut record, The Annotated Modern Dance, the guys from Cleveland, fronted by David Thomas and his ironic view on his old self and the world around him, injected new life on all tracks thanks to a very tight and powerful rhythm section.  Pataphysics, a hipflask and the self-conscience that Thomas has aged and the best thing he can do is to be self-critical built a very good alternative to the aforementioned The National, as they coincided in the PS schedule.

“THIS SONG IS ABOUT THE SPANISH REVOLUTION!”  Low dedicated their first song, “Nothing But Heart” to the Spanish movement of the 15th of March that appeared in most Spanish cities demanding the end of the current economic situation and a new politic, social and civil order through peaceful demonstrations and camps that in the case of Barcelona and other cities ended abruptly that Friday morning when the Catalan police entered by force the protestants camp, a maneuver that ended in a very violent clash.  Back to the music, Low, now joined by Retribution Gospel Choir’s drummer Eric Pollard on keyboards, offered a set full of sensibility, tenderness, nostalgia and a sort of optimism that included other tunes as “You See Everything”, “Witches” or “Murderer” that rocked (in the sensible and quiet sense) the 3000 people who gathered around the ATP Stage.  Another bunch of chaps that rocked (now in the vigorous sense) were Explosions In the Sky.  The Texans still walk their oneiric, epic, and sonic path but still know how to move the audience, not letting their songs to get lost in a maze of distortion and noise.  Dense and emotional, the Explosions showed once again that they can both play in a small venue or a big festival and be equally effective in both.

“Can you hear me now?  I got my radio on!”  Shellac are the golden residents of the PS.  Since their first visit to the PS, in 2006, they have played every year except 2007.  And they still play the same sort of set where most of the songs are the same, reproducing some of the same gags, even it seems Steve Albini wears the same clothes year after year… But it still works!!  It amazingly works!!  Their secret formula never fails, it keeps gathering a loyal and big following, and it keeps on entertaining and making people think.  Amazing!  And at the same time, Deerhunter, right there, in the Twilight Zone stage, developed a fantastic set of dream pop, with dense atmospheres, catchy choruses and eternal songs like “Revival” and “Helicopter” that left them in a much better position than their previous visit, in 2009 when they presented Microcastle (QRO review) and it was evident they still needed to develop their melodic side.  Another great gig in the 2011 PS.

Headliners Pulp gave a retrospective concert, with many hits like “Pencil Skirt”, “Disco 2000” or the inevitable “Common People” that ended the show, showing that there was much more to the Britpop movement that two stupid brothers or a mediocre singer and melody maker.  Jarvis Cocker, ever the strange, funny and ironic gentleman still knows how to fill a stage and was precisely that, gentle with the Barcelonan audience he knows so well.  The intensity fluctuated but the band still keep their craft, after all.

And the day ended with a very pleasant surprise.  Veteran Chicago musicians Del Rey were the last band to inhabit the Jäegermeister Stage at 3am.  Skilful like Tortoise (QRO live review), deep like Red Sparowes, blunt like 65 days of static and angry like Mogwai (QRO live review), the sextet were a true and real sonic steamroller, with different instrument changes and a much defined will to destroy the myth that instrumental music is repetitive.  They deserved a bigger stage to play but they earned the right to be remembered more than any other band around.

More photo galleries from Day Three:

Avi Buffalo

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Tennis

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Jason Collett

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M. Ward

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Field Music

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Battles

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