Primavera Sound Festival 2022

Here follows a day-by-day account of the second weekend of Primavera Sound Festival, the biggest music festival in the Mediterranean, between wonderful confirmations and pleasant discoveries.

June 9

Interpol “Evil” 

I decide to kick off the day with Dry Cleaning, 2021's breakout band. Florence Shaw's laconic spoken word, a veritable Ian Curtis in a skirt, and her studied, sculptural poses have caught the attention of even the most distracted onlookers, so much so that during the closing "Scratchcard Lanyard" there wasn't a single person not screaming "Do everything and feel nothing," in a striking and beautiful contrast between the crowd's enthusiasm and the band's elegant detachment.

Definitely cruder and more mocking is the Squid show on the Cupra stage: raw vocals, cranked-up distortion, unripe melodic phrasing. While it's not exactly my cup of tea, I appreciate a long, noisy instrumental improvisation and the claustrophobic rendition of "Paddling".

I head back to the Binance stage for the Ride show, a band I was lucky enough to see a few years back in the gorgeous setting of Piazza Castello in Castelbuono. A small crowd of diehard shoegazers has gathered by the stage: their galvanized eyes reveal a pure, uncontainable passion, radiating a warmth all around that feels familiar to me. The Oxfordians open the show with "Seagull" and it's immediately an explosion of delay, reverb and feedback that sharpens the melodies while dulling the senses. Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence Colbert and Steve Queralt play with the same professionalism and intensity as ever, moving through a setlist that draws heavily from their 1990 masterpiece, "Nowhere". The only exception is "Unfamiliar", taken from the 1991 EP "Today Forever".

Heartbroken over the clash between Slowdive and Interpol, we head to the Pull&Bear stage to catch the latter. Even though the crowd seems a bit random, Paul Banks and co. get everyone singing and dancing for an hour and a half to the tune of their biggest hits, from "Evil" to "Obstacle 1", by way of "Not Even Jail", "Rest My Chemistry" and "Slow Hands". And it's a party.

When the New Yorkers wrap up, there's just enough time to pay a visit to Damon Albarn, who's about to bring his Gorillaz to the Estrella stage, the twin of Pull&Bear, and to Slowdive, who at the Cupra are wrapping up their magical set with the strains of "40 Days" and the Barrett-esque "Golden Hair".

After a quick stop at Binance for Metronomy, it's time to head to the Bits area, about a twenty-minute walk from the main site. Set between beach and trees, the Bits stages generally host electronic pulses and narcotic dance grooves. With one exception: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard at the Tous stage, a psychedelic band known for being extremely prolific and technically flawless, who became the meme and mascot of this edition of Primavera thanks to their numerous shows, each with a different setlist. The same can't be said for Charli XCX, who, on the same stage, puts on a show that's an affront to good taste. The crowd, mostly Anglo and American, seems thrilled regardless.

Late into the night, people finally start dancing for real: at Dice with the abrasive dj-set from Catalan artist John Talabot, who moves effortlessly between techno, balearic and deep house, and at Cupra with Bicep, the British duo made up of DJs Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar, projected into future garage, trance and techno dynamics, injected here and there with airier, more psychedelic textures. The visual setup is also incredibly powerful, radiating an enveloping, primal warmth over a clearly enraptured crowd. Magnetic.

June 10

Lorde “Perfect Places”

The day begins with the powerful, vivid voice of Brittany Howard, singer of Alabama Shakes, here performing solo on the Estrella stage, and continues with Lorde at Pull&Bear.

Since 2013 Lorde has never stopped painting solid, intimate generational portraits: on “Pure Heroine“, embracing post-dubstep echoes, she tells of a playful but understated adolescence, lived in suburban towns far from the spotlight. On the sophomore effort “Melodrama“, with delicacy and irony, she sketches a disenchanted portrait of the first struggles that come with growing up, but also of a generation that has lost its heroes and points of reference and increasingly gives in to small excesses and a romantic recklessness. Less immediate but still interesting is her latest work, “Solar Power”, released in 2021, which moves within a hippy, folk-pop aesthetic. For all these reasons I've always considered the New Zealand artist an outsider in the glossy universe of pop stars, and I was pleasantly struck to find an immense, tight-knit, colourful and respectful crowd filling Pull&Bear, singing and dancing to every single song by Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, who for her part staged a perfect, engaging and fun pop show, even without dancers to shake it up around her.

I was able to enjoy the concert right at the front of the stage in complete calm, my backpack resting on the ground, and when, to the strains of “Green Light”, I decided to head over to Estrella for Strokes, the crowd made room to let me through. Anyone familiar with festivals knows that such acts of kindness in such a crowded setting are more unique than rare.

Needless to say, the Strokes crowd was rowdier, but still very tight-knit; when the New York band kicks off with “Hard To Explain”, it turns into a human carpet jumping and moving in sync. Julian Casablancas apologises for pulling out of the first weekend because – he explains – he'd caught Covid-19. It's no coincidence that he often lingers in chit-chat to catch his breath between songs, handing out jokes and brief anecdotes, but it's not a problem because the setlist, mostly split between tracks from “Is This It” and “The New Abnormal”, is a blast, and the spirit is right.

After this adrenaline rush, the moment seems perfect to catch our breath with Jesus And Mary Chain, always impeccable, and with the hotly anticipated The Smile, the side project of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, one of the most awaited live shows of the night. Cupra is overflowing with people. It's a collective catharsis.

Before heading over to Bits, we stop at the food area for an African bowl. One of the nicest, most inclusive things I noticed during my first time at Primavera is definitely the culinary variety, which takes into account a wide range of ethnic food, vegan food and gluten-free options, on top of the classic sandwiches and the usual patatas bravas.

The only organisational hiccup I encountered on the second weekend was around 1:30am on the second day, when the gates to Bits were closed for about twenty minutes right as Grimes's dj set was starting, apparently due to overcrowding, only to be reopened around 2:10am, with no real control over the furious crowd. Yet we should have learned by now just how dangerous a crush can be, especially one made up of people boiling with frustration. But in the end, was all that eagerness worth it? I'd say no: Grimes's dj set was flat and self-indulgent, the tracks lasted too little and weren't linked by any real continuity. The “Creep” remix was the last straw. No great loss though, because a little further on, Swedish producer SPFDJ tore down the Dice stage with a sharp, well-honed techno and hardcore dj set. Nicola Cruz also did well at Cupra, one of the leading figures of the so-called “Andes step”, a strand of electronic music inspired by Andean culture.

June 11

Tame Impala “The Less I Know The Better”

The day kicks off with a taste of the great British neo-soul revelation of recent years, Jorjia Smith. Spoiler: live, she's even better. It continues with Sky Ferreira, dark-pop heroine, here however grappling with countless technical issues and flashes of anger. Between one “sorry” and one “this was a mess”, several songs end up getting dropped, including opener “Boys”, “Downhill Lullaby”, “I Will”, “Heavy Metal Heart” and “Hands All Over Me”.

It's easy to bounce back with Mogwai at 10pm. The Scots once again prove themselves masters of the loud-quiet-loud formula, alternating more relaxed, laconic moments with sudden roars, post-rock catharsis, walls of sound and powerful feedback that cut through the air, showcasing shoegaze neuroses and baroque flourishes bordering on metal. The Cupra stage, probably the best in terms of acoustics and musical lineup, proves to be the ideal habitat for the Scottish band, who always give their all live. The setlist focused on the latest album, “As The Love Continues”, released in 2021 after a four-year break.

The most anticipated big name of the night is undoubtedly Kevin Parker with his project Tame Impala. Estrella and the whole area around it fills up with people dancing and singing along, dreamy-eyed, to the artist's best-known tracks, such as “Borderline”, “Elephant”, “Let It Happen”, “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards”, “The Less I Know The Better” and “New Person, Same Old Mistakes”. Never a slip or a mistake: the Australian always sounds clean and perfectly dialled in on his modern electronic psychedelia.

It's left to Viagra Boys, at Plenitude, to bring some rough edges to the stage. Their dance punk is dirty and fun, but unlike other artists with the same punk attitude, I get the impression the Swedish band has a stronger, more genuine personality. I also appreciated the very loud rhythm section. “This is our first time in Barcelona. It's a beautiful city. We liked it so much I got it tattooed on myself last night”, shouts Sebastian Murphy, the singer, tattooed from head to toe, showing off a belly bloated with beer. Filthy, sure, but with style.

Following on the same stage were the immensely talented Molchat Doma, who rose to prominence with the single “Судно (Sudno)”. Live, they sound even bleaker and colder than on record. Perhaps a bit too much so.

Around four in the morning, the survivors of the night pour onto the Cupra stage to try to hold on to the most beautiful and intense memories of these days, dancing and singing until half past six in the morning, courtesy of DJ Coco, amid laughter, impromptu karaoke on “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga and “Losing My Religion” by Rem, and fireworks against a dawn about to break. Walking one last time down the immense entrance avenue of Primavera, I can't help but think how hard it is to let go of a joy that, over those days, had become a kind of background hum of consciousness, something you only notice once it stops. See you next year.

Ride the wave of great music

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