overview

Primavera Sound is not a Festival. To be fair it doesn't really claim to be, but with a 3 day program across 6 stages on the main site, plus numerous warm up events and satellite events across Barcelona, it hardly qualifies as anything else.



However, it's not so much the name or the lack of onsite accommodation that disqualifies Primavera Sound for Festival status, so much as a state of mind. The site - the forum - is striking, situated on the Barcelona sea front with 4 massive outdoor stages, a smaller fifth one under a massive, permanent pavilion and a sixth - the Auditorium - a beautiful, seated, indoor venue. 3 of the stages have banked steps allowing for brilliant sightlines, while walk-ways between arenas easily navigable, while the entire food market is also under a pavilion.

Once you got over the modernist grandeur of the setting, there was nothing else to look at. Aside from sponsors logos - of which there are loads - there was no decoration at all, just concrete and a few rigidly planted green areas, and a plethora of uniform bars and hot dog stands. Speaking of which, not content with denying punters the right to take in their own drinks - the strict bag searchers and heavy handed security denied you even bottles of water - the organisers enforced a bar token system that required you to queue first to exchange money for tokens, then again at the bar, and perhaps again at a separate kiosk the next morning to exchange unused tokens from the night before.



The food stalls, which were excellent, at least operated on a more normal cash economy. Primavera Sound isn't just about the music it seems, it's about the money. The music was the draw - and a big one at that judging by the international crowd it drew - but no expense had been spent on any frills; in between bands there was nothing to do except drink and eat. No theatre, no circus, no healing fields, no decorations, not even a market to browse, excepting official merchandise stalls, although it did have a kids area. At least the sound was good.

If it sounds like we didn't have a good time then we've misled you; apologies. We did have fun, but then the press and the artists were pretty well looked after; it was the ordinary ticket holders, who the organisers didn't seem to care about, that we felt sorry for. The music was enjoyable to, veering between nostalgia peddlers - Portishead, Public Enemy, Bob Mould, De La Soul and Dinosaur Jnr, all of whom were very good - and much-hyped younger types who took themselves far to seriously despite their almost total lack of musical imagination - Prinzhorn Dance School and Scout Niblett being the worst offenders.



The crowd reflected this, with Wire readers (and writers) in abundance alongside numerous fashion victims and 'serious' music fans. There were new discoveries to be made with Why? and Caribou being extremely exciting, while Les Savvy Fav introduced a welcome and rare note of fun into proceedings with their irreverent, inclusive and security-baiting performance.



As half the line up reflected that of recent All Tomorrow's Parties Festival we couldn't help but wonder why so many Brits had made the trip over, especially as they then had to pay for accommodation on top of tickets and flights. Then we remembered that we were in Barcelona, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and it made a lot more sense.

We had a great time, but I'm not sure we'd bother to go again.

Latest Updates