Primavera Sound Review: Pulp, May 27th, San Miguel Stage

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Ricky in Primavera | 3 Comments

Barcelona – Where to even begin? This journey to see one of my favorite bands started on November 8th, 2010 when Pulp announced they were reforming to play a few select shows starting with Primavera Sound. A few frantic emails and a quick check on Expedia later, I had booked my trip to Barcelona to see them. Then there was the long six month wait which really wasn’t that long since I went to London to see my other favorite band – Suede as well as SXSW, which I consider to be the greatest music journey a music fan can make. But there I was on May 27th, listening to the National singing their baritone hearts out to pretty much everyone in Barcelona and I just kept on staring at my Iphone thinking “is it time yet?”

The anticipation for the Pulp reunion show was high throughout the festival, only elevated by the fact that Jarvis Cocker himself had taken the time to check out the festival, walking around from stage to stage just like any other common person, eliciting gasps everywhere “JAAAAAA VIS! COCK KA” the Spaniards would say as he casually strolled by. By the time Belle and Sebastian took the stage, it was pretty clear the countdown had started for everyone. How clear, you ask? Halfway through the track Legal Man, Steve from Belle and Sebastian broke into the chorus of Common People and Stuart Murdoch asked the crowd “Are you excited about who is on next? I sure am”

So there we were, at 1:45 am. Me and many diehards had just waited at the stage after Belle and Sebastian played their last song at 12:15 am. That’s an hour and a half wait. I could have gone and seen Explosions in the Sky, but just like many others, the thought of losing my close to the stage spot was unbearable so I waited it out amongst the others. People were here from all over the world. There were Brazillians there, Japanese, various European types and an army of English people. Didn’t they have a billion festivals on England to go to, I asked. Their reply was that Primavera was the best one, which warmed my heart.

At 1:45 am, the green lasers that had been hyping us up with phrases like “are you ready?” and “can you believe this is happening?” finally projected the words “Lets do this” ( or something similar ). The stage went dark and the words PULP was then spelled out on the lights in a dramatic fashion. The opening notes of Do you remember the first time was played and it was utterly one of the best moments ever. The lights slowly lit the stage to reveal Jarvis Cocker standing on two platforms looking larger than life behind a mesh curtain. He sang the opening verse before the curtain was lifted and the lights became blinding for the track’s inevitable sing-a-long explosion of a chorus. To say the energy level was high would be one of the greatest understatements of all time, it was insane. People were singing along, jumping as high as they possibly could, some people didn’t even know how to react. I was about 15-20 feet from the stage and it was just nuts. I had to take my earplugs off just so they would not accidentally get rammed into my head by the crowd. It might have been a different experience from someone who was standing a mile away, but they weren’t really here for the band anyway. This video does a pretty good job summing up the introduction:

Thus began our ninety minute of audio and visual bliss. Playing a set primarily from the two Britpop albums – His N Hers and Different Class, Pulp sounded as tight as ever and seemed well determine to re-establish themselves as one of the greatest bands from the Britpop generation. The wine sipping, glasses wearing Jarvis seemed as game as ever, still slim as a twig, still dancing only the way Jarvis can and still inspiring the crowd with carefully chosen words between sets. I’m just going to go through some of my personal highlights from the show

“Would you like to dance with me?” Jarvis asked, before the Gloria-riff of Disco 2000 sent the crowd into a dancing frenzy. There’s something to be said about singing along to one of your favorite songs of all time and being joined in by oh, twenty thousand people. One of my life goals was realized at this moment.

The green laser light show that was all too fitting for the rave inspired track Sorted For E’s and Wizz. While the rave/Madchester culture of the late 80s early 90s seemed soooooooo long ago, much of the song still resonates today and it felt very appropriate when the lyrics “is this the way the future’s meant to feel? or is this 20,000 people standing in a field?” were spoken by the man himself.

FEELINGCALLEDLOVE was a hundred thousand times better live than on album, while the track just seemed like a stopgap point on Different Class (sandwiched between Common People and Disco 2000), the quiet/slow to loud/fast tempo change of this song sounded tremendously epic live.

Hearing the entire crowd sing out the entire lyrics for the track This is Hardcore was something else.

COMMON PEOPLE.
What can you say about experiencing Common People live? In a week where protesters in Barcelona were hospitalized at the hands of the police, the stage was set for the track Common People to once again, rise above the festival. Dedicating the track to those said protesters, Common People was just an eight minute block of music that will be forever frozen in my mind as the top eight minutes of live concert music that I will ever encounter. The jubilation in the crowd was mind blowing and it was one of those moments where you will always remember what it felt like. The crowd sang and dance along to the entire track. Common People is a song about us and for us. It’s a track that speaks to your heart and makes you look at strangers around you as friends and compatriots rather then someone you should step on to elevate your own career and status. This is why the song has a place in everyone’s heart and it’s why the people lose their minds for it. An amazing experience that will never be replicated, even if I saw Pulp again.

In conclusion, for me, it was a show for the ages. To have waited sixteen years to see one of your favorite bands and then having that band exceed all expectations is rare feat. The band was tight, the set list was great, Jarvis was an amazing front man and to experience the show among thousands of die hards completely made the experience unforgettable. Best show I’ve ever seen.

Do You Remember the First Time?
Pink Glove
Pencil Skirt
Something Changed
Disco 2000
Babies
Sorted For E’s & Wizz
F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E
I Spy
Underwear
This Is Hardcore
Sunrise
Bar Italia
Common People

Encore:
Razzmatazz

What’s next? I don’t even know.

Primavera Sound: Of Montreal, Big Boi, Grinderman, Interpol, Girl Talk

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Ricky in Primavera | Leave a comment

Barcelona – The official first day of Primavera Sound was Thursday, it was the first day we would see the official Primavera Grounds and also featured a host of stellar acts from all genres of music including Of Momtreal, Public Image Limited (PiL), Grinderman, Big Boi and Girl Talk. The headliner of the night was the always amazing Flaming Lips. Let’s take a look at the acts.

Of Montreal
Given the headliners propensity for props, costumes and gimmicks alike, Georgia’s Of Montreal was an extremely fitting opener as they too were known for their theatrics. Dressed in a beret, purple blazer and red pants, Kevin Barnes and his band took the stage just after eight and delivered a spectacular performance that features as much theatrics as quality songs. Featuring some of the stronger tracks from recent releases such as Coquet Coquette, She’s a Rejector and Suffer for Fashion Of Montreal played an all killer, no filler set that highlighted what Of Montreal is about when they are at their best – quirky, but extremely catchy pop. Two costumed performers that dressed in all kinds of costumes from Mexican wrestlers to odd pig headed dancers were brought in to add additional visuals to the show. I’m not sure what the theatrics, which included a luchadore wrestling match and interpretive dancing were about, but It was visual galore. The set ended with my favorite Of Montreal song – A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger . A great way to start off the night.

of Montreal – Coquet Coquette by Polyvinyl Records

Big Boi
At first, you would think that Big Boi would be an odd choice for Primavera given the other bands on stage, but you haven’t seen Europeans dance to hip hop. Atlanta’s Big Boi delivered an energetic show that brought some southern funk to the shores of Spain. The set consisted of both Outkast tracks and his solo material much to the delight of the crowd. Everyone was dancing as Big Boi and his group of MCs delivered energy track after track, all in tune with video projections. I don’t think anyone was crunking, but there was a definite sense of enthusiasm for the guy. For the encore, Big Boi brought on a bunch of ladies to dance to his hit single Tangerine. If getting some bodies moving was Big Boi’s goal for the night, then it was easily accomplished.

Big Boi- Tangerine by Big Boi

Grinderman
The next show on my plate was Grinderman and they were awesome. I don’t think Nick Cave is capable of anything but awesome. Perhaps the only hard rock headliner of the festival – Nick Cave, Warren Ellis and company Just hit it hard. Between Nick Cave’s sermon like deliveries and Warren Ellis’s intense one man string section, the group just brought an intensity that just permeated through the crowd. Definitely one of the highlights of the festival.

The Walkmen
The next two acts were two indie rock bands from the early 2000s era that I had throughly enjoyed. Playing to almost two thousand people at the Pitchfork stage, the Walkmen absolutely had the crowd in a frenzy – people were dancing and singing along. I was only there for one song though, and that song was The Rat which for my money is one of the top songs to come from that era. If that song was any indication of the crowds enthusiasm for the Walkmen, then I imagine it would have been a heck of a performance.

Taking the long 15 minute walk to the Llevant stage, I reacquainted myself with Interpol, the New York post punk band that exploded onto the scene with their incredible debut Turn On The Bright Lights and has since failed to recapture that momentum with each album producing diminishing returns. This was the first time I’ve seen the band since the departure of the infamous Carlos D but I was still excited to see them. The excitement soon disappeared as the band sounded flat and uninterested on stage. The newer material just felt like a retread on the older ones and even though Lights seemed to register as a high point with the crowd, it just doesn’t compare to their older material for me. Tracks from the first two albums were placed sporadically in the set list and while they were pleasant to hear again, the show just didn’t register well with me and I left early to grab a spot for the Flaming Lips show, which was already reviewed.

Interpol – Barricade by artsandcraftsmx

A post Flaming Lips crowd was already all riled up by the time Girl Talk made it to the Llevant stage at 4:30 am. Taking the stage with a gaggle of dancers, Girl Talk finished off the first night of Primavera with his staple of classic rock/indie rock music mashed up with hip hop sound bites. Those with the energy danced their tales off and those who didn’t have that energy just watched with envy. The set ended sharply at 5:30 am and then everyone made the mad dash to find a taxi and get back home before the sun went up.

All in all a fantastic way to start off Primavera, even if I didn’t get back to the apartment until 7:30 am.

Primavera Sound: Flaming Lips, San Miguel Stage, May 26

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Ricky in Primavera | Leave a comment

Barcelona – The first night of Primavera Sound was a mixed bag of eclectic music that featured the likes of Big Boi, Of Montreal, Grinderman, Girl Talk and Interpol. With such a wide variety of music, it was no surprise that the most eclectic of them all, The Flaming Lips would be the headliners for the evening. The Flaming Lips live show has been well documented, everyone knows about the space ball walk, the massive confetti guns, the gigantic laser hands and the throng of dancers that are placed on each side of the stage during the show. These things are now expected staples for a Flaming Lips show – everyone knows it’ll happen and everyone expects it to happen. Having said that and having seen them live not even a year ago, I still left the Interpol show early to grab myself a good spot for the Flaming Lips show at Primavera Sound. While those things are no longer a surprise to me, they are still undeniably awesome.

Before the show started, rumors were swirling about what type of show that Oklahoma band would play – they were due to play their album The Soft Bulletin in July so a bunch of us had hypothesize that they would get a preview of that show. We were wrong. Regardless, their was a collective buzz in the air as Wayne Coyne took the stage before the show to announce that the show would feature heavy strobe lights and that if you were uncomfortable, you could simply look away.

The show started shortly after 2 am with the now legendary space ball walk. It’s an old Lips trick that has started off every show for the better part of the decade but remains enthralling every time. To see the look on a fan’s face when they see this for the first time is absolutely priceless. The spirit of the crowd was taken even higher when the opening notes from She Don’t Use Jelly were played, setting everyone at the San Miguel stage into a sing along frenzy. Much of the show played out much like their show in Toronto last year and still, it was great. I could always sing along to an acoustic version of Yoshimi and scream out to the Yeah Yeah Yeah song. Wayne Coyne once again had the crowd in the palm of his hands.

The highlight of the set was the inclusion of Race for the Prize during the encore, a song that had been left off their show last year. It was clearly a highlight for everyone at the show as well, as the crowd went mad at the opening sequence of the track and started singing along to the song well after it was over. The hour and a half set ended as expected with the always emotionally overwhelming Do You Realize, a song and performance that can warm all the cold hearts in the world with it’s sheer magnificence and power. I could see this song in concert a hundred times and still spaz out when the opening beats of the song are played with the massive lights and confetti cannons blasting. It’s truly one of the great concert moments you could ever have, which its only fitting because whether the tricks are new or old, a Flaming Lips show will always be amazing and this Primavera set was no exception.

Set List
The Fear
Worm Mountain
She Don’t Use Jelly
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
See the Leaves
Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung
What Is the Light?

Race for the Prize
Do You Realize??

Do you realize by Flaming Lips by Mr. Goma

Primavera Day 1 – Caribou, Echo and the Bunnymen, Poble Espanol, May 25th

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Paul in Primavera | Leave a comment

Barcelona – While the official Primavera Sound did not start until Thursday, there was a series of concerts on Wednesday night that was located offsite, but still under the Primavera Sound moniker. The two acts that played that night included Liverpool act Echo and the Bunnymen and Canadian band Caribou. We were there for both.

Anyone following the career of Echo and the Bunnymen will have known that the past few years, the group has been doing a variety of tours featuring some of their most popular albums. For Primavera Sound, the group decided to perform tracks off their first two critically acclaimed albums – Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here. Taking the stage shortly after 8:30 at Poble Espanol, the band quickly greeted the crowd, which was around 3000-4000 capacity before launching into a hard rocking set. Ian McCulloch seemed less grouchy than usual, perhaps inspired by the massive crowd in the beautiful venue. Poble Espanol is an outdoor open-air architectural museum, so it felt as if the band was playing in a town square from old century Spain. It was quite a scene.

Most of my knowledge for Echo and the Bunnymen comes from their latter, more poppy albums such as Ocean Rain so I was taken by a bit of at how much harder the first two albums were. Tracks like Rescue and A Promise generated a huge response and McCulloch’s still got that voice and hit most of his high notes. The man was in pretty good spirit Wednesday night and even did some arm movements that could constitute as dance moves. While personally, I would have preferred more of a greatest hits show, I guess I have seen that already and it was nice to see some early Echo and the Bunnymen material and see where the origins of the band were. An encore featuring hit songs such as Bring on the Dancing Horses ended off a solid hundred minute set and was pretty much a great way to start off a music festival.
– Ricky

After a solid set by Echo and the Bunnymen(and after the departure of several of their fans (who care not a whit for that newfangled electro stuff), Caribou took to the stage to end of the night.  And what a show it was.  Dan Snaith and his three bandmates put on such a tight, joyous energetic set that was totally impressive to behold.  Never having seen Caribou before, I didn’t quite know what to expect, but when I heard it would be a full band performance, I figured it would be something worth seeing.  Seeing a solid electronic musician perform solo is one thing, but a full band performance always takes things to the next level.  Snaith and band had great chemistry onstage and sounded pretty tight.  I really enjoyed watching the interplay between the bandmates as they played so close together despite being on a fairly large stage.  It was like watching them jam together in their practice space, that’s how close together they were.  Caribou’s set was the perfect way to end off the night and a great way to start off the festival.
-Paul

Caribou- Odessa by pipppo

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