Primavera Sound 2022

[janqv16]

Back at work today so naturally having a nostalgic reflection on the weekend. Some thoughts from a first-timer:

- Day 1 was utter chaos from an organisation point of view. Things I’ve taken for granted at other festivals (safety, water, overcrowding), I suddenly became hyper aware of. Nevertheless Tame Impala show was insane, Fred Again was magic and Big Freedia was a surprise I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as i did. Glad to be surrounded by some great people.

- Day 2 there was definitive improvement and felt like i could relax into it. Beach Bunny was a perfect start to the day with King Gizz being my highlight. The National had me in tears (in a good way).

- Day 3. Tyler, the Creator. That is all. (Also thanks to this forum that I made a point of going to Nick Cave, what a show.)
 

I wish I had food recommendations for the W2-ers but I literally lived off the delicious delicious hotdogs 😅

Overall I had a beautiful time and Im jealous that there’s another weekend to come that I don’t get to be a part of (my body couldn’t take it). Of course it doesn’t make me forget the experience of day 1 (and also know of some people who had really rough experiences with on-site security) but I can only speak from my own point of view.

Im already thinking about next year…

[Bram]

1 hour ago, janqv16 said:

Back at work today so naturally having a nostalgic reflection on the weekend. Some thoughts from a first-timer:

- Day 1 was utter chaos from an organisation point of view. Things I’ve taken for granted at other festivals (safety, water, overcrowding), I suddenly became hyper aware of. Nevertheless Tame Impala show was insane, Fred Again was magic and Big Freedia was a surprise I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as i did. Glad to be surrounded by some great people.

- Day 2 there was definitive improvement and felt like i could relax into it. Beach Bunny was a perfect start to the day with King Gizz being my highlight. The National had me in tears (in a good way).

- Day 3. Tyler, the Creator. That is all. (Also thanks to this forum that I made a point of going to Nick Cave, what a show.)
 

I wish I had food recommendations for the W2-ers but I literally lived off the delicious delicious hotdogs 😅

Overall I had a beautiful time and Im jealous that there’s another weekend to come that I don’t get to be a part of (my body couldn’t take it). Of course it doesn’t make me forget the experience of day 1 (and also know of some people who had really rough experiences with on-site security) but I can only speak from my own point of view.

Im already thinking about next year…

The Falafel and Meatball booth and La  Porca burger in the big food court area are superb

[BenG92]

Highlights for me...

Godlike: King Gizzard. What a phenomenal show, absolutely blew the roof off, played a 13 minute Dripping Tap, that alone set it apart from everything that weekend.

A+: DJ Shadow, Dinosaur Jr, what we caught of Nick Cave

Great: Rina, Weyes Blood, The National, Mogwai, Gorillaz, Tyler

Good: Wet Leg, Teto Preto, Faye Webster, Shellac

Meh: Tame Impala, I still enjoyed the show but I now see why a lot of people are a bit ehh on his live performances. Not a good sign when a cover is the highlight. Also Charli but I don't blame her, she was clearly still a bit sick.

Nice surprises: Fred Again, Pond, Tropical Fuck Storm

Bit gutted I missed Pavement but the water situation was totally fucked and I just didn't fancy walking back to catch part of a set after queueing an hour for water. Saw Fred Again instead who looked like he was having so much fun, real good vibes.

[Zoo Music Girl]

2 hours ago, janqv16 said:

Back at work today so naturally having a nostalgic reflection on the weekend. Some thoughts from a first-timer:

- Day 1 was utter chaos from an organisation point of view. Things I’ve taken for granted at other festivals (safety, water, overcrowding), I suddenly became hyper aware of. Nevertheless Tame Impala show was insane, Fred Again was magic and Big Freedia was a surprise I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as i did. Glad to be surrounded by some great people.

- Day 2 there was definitive improvement and felt like i could relax into it. Beach Bunny was a perfect start to the day with King Gizz being my highlight. The National had me in tears (in a good way).

- Day 3. Tyler, the Creator. That is all. (Also thanks to this forum that I made a point of going to Nick Cave, what a show.)
 

I wish I had food recommendations for the W2-ers but I literally lived off the delicious delicious hotdogs 😅

Overall I had a beautiful time and Im jealous that there’s another weekend to come that I don’t get to be a part of (my body couldn’t take it). Of course it doesn’t make me forget the experience of day 1 (and also know of some people who had really rough experiences with on-site security) but I can only speak from my own point of view.

Im already thinking about next year…

I liked the vegan mafe (African food stall) and the pakora burger. It was all pretty small portions and overpriced though.

[Tolis]

Coming down from W1 of my first Primavera since 2014. 
 

The Pros: Parc del Forum is an amazing venue, the lineup is always stellar and most bands give a great performance at Primavera. Loved Idles, Little Simz, Pavement, The Armed, Gustaf. Was a bit underwhelmed by the new version of Black Country New Road. 
 

The Cons: It was way overcrowded, and this didn’t only cause problems with queuing at the bar. Days 2-3 were a lot better than Day 1 in that matter, but I found that you can no longer move freely from stage to stage. The new main stages layout means that you either camp there for the day, or make the trek from the small stages for one set. Also you can no longer catch half a set and go and see another band at the smaller stages, if you want a good spot you need to be at the stage a good 10 minutes earlier. I couldn’t get anywhere near Parquet Courts or Pond for example. 
 

Ciutat: When they announced this, I thought that it would be gigs in various venues and the park all day. Turns out that you have to pick a venue and stick to that and you need a ticket to guarantee entry. Not a good deal, but I got a ticket for Razz 2 on Sunday and it was some of the best sets of the weekend. 

[Glenn Coco]

In terms of veggie burgers

The burger from the Indian food stall > seitan burger > eco veggie burger (the only one I hated)

[Zoo Music Girl]

7 minutes ago, Glenn Coco said:

In terms of veggie burgers

The burger from the Indian food stall > seitan burger > eco veggie burger (the only one I hated)

Yeah the Indian one (pakora burger) was lush. 

We also tried the noodles down by the seafront, some cheesy gubbins down there and the pizza but none of them particularly wowed me. Useful fuel though.

[xxialac]

The Ciutat gigs I’ve seen so far have been superb.

Yes, agree it’s hard to get into them without priority access. But both the quality and choice is extraordinary and they haven’t raised the price of the festival ticket from back when they didnt have this full programme so can consider them a free bonus. 

[Fnmentaluk]

In terms of the overcrowding , according to. Primavera 66k on Thu , 74k on Friday and 80k on Saturday.

[xxialac]

4 minutes ago, Fnmentaluk said:

In terms of the overcrowding , according to. Primavera 66k on Thu , 74k on Friday and 80k on Saturday.

Felt like 66k too many on Thursday. 

[jannybruck]

The capacity increase has essentially taken the festival site (and many punters' experience) to breaking point, and I'm not sure there's any way back from that unless there's either a brave reconsideration of how many tickets they sell (unlikely given the extra profits they'll have seen across the weekend) or much smarter timetabling and site management.

The Thursday was one of my least favourite days of any music event I've been to, and the sometimes extremely dangerous over-crowding at places like Binance and Cupro across the weekend was a great example of just packing too many people into a site that can't handle it anymore.

[rzwodezwo]

3 minutes ago, jannybruck said:

The capacity increase has essentially taken the festival site (and many punters' experience) to breaking point, and I'm not sure there's any way back from that unless there's either a brave reconsideration of how many tickets they sell (unlikely given the extra profits they'll have seen across the weekend) or much smarter timetabling and site management.

The Thursday was one of my least favourite days of any music event I've been to, and the sometimes extremely dangerous over-crowding at places like Binance and Cupro across the weekend was a great example of just packing too many people into a site that can't handle it anymore.

Has it really? It didn’t feel much busier than at other festivals I have been to.

[FloorFiller]

Ended up having to bale on the Razz 2 gig last night after Aksak Maboul as my back was fucked and I could see my girlfriend flagging and thought there was no way we were both gonna make it another few hours. Gutted to have missed Spellling, Beak and King Gizz but it was always the weekday gig I was least bothered about/originally going to skip so thought it best we get a good nights sleep and recover for tonight’s King Gizz/Slowdive gig. Gonna be popping a lot of ibuprofen in preparation and have an extremely chilled day before heading to the venue. 

[xxialac]

3 minutes ago, rzwodezwo said:

Has it really? It didn’t feel much busier than at other festivals I have been to.

I’ve been to over 10 primaveras.

This was the busiest…by far.

[FloorFiller]

Run the Jewels have cancelled their Birmingham show tonight due to El-P having laryngitis. Might be touch and go whether he’s in any state to perform in time for Saturday.

Edited June 7, 2022 by FloorFiller

[Mouseboy11]

Queued for 3 hours last night to make it in for the last 20 of Sons of Kemet, annoying as a mate waltzed with no queue 20 minutes before. 
 

I think the main problem with overcrowding is because the bits area is so out the way hardly anyone seems to bother to go, I don’t think they should have that bridge as a VIP perk

[WAILS]

Haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere (here or Reddit) but did anyone else manage to win a free ticket to 2023 via the QR codes on the walk to Bits?

[pne094]

Im not planning on seeing The Smile on Friday at Cupra. But with no any real clashes (MIA at main stage), that has to end up as one of the busiest Cupra/Ray Ban concerts in Primavera history right? Or am I overestimating the hype?

Edited June 7, 2022 by pne094

[JedTheHumanoid]

40 minutes ago, Fnmentaluk said:

In terms of the overcrowding , according to. Primavera 66k on Thu , 74k on Friday and 80k on Saturday.

How much is it compared to previous years?

I think they extended the bits area, so the overall capacity increases, and in theory, if it spreads evenly it should all be good. In practice the bits area is almost empty, and most of the added capacity went to the forum.

 

[jannybruck]

2 minutes ago, pne094 said:

Im not planning on seeing The Smile on Friday at Cupra. But with no any real clashes (MIA at main stage), that has to end up as one of the busiest Cupra/Ray Ban concerts in Primavera history right? Or am I overestimating the hype?

Given the crowds for even medium sized acts on Cupra this weekend yes, it'll be insanely busy. They should have been scheduled on the main stage.

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

Are they still planning to let last week's Strokes day ticketers in this Friday? How many extra thousand is that? Gotta be honest, with the comments that it's already been dangerously overcrowded at times, I'm a little concerned about it

[adforperu]

Food recs

 

As @Zoo Music Girlsaid, the vegan mafe was really nice (and I'd say not overpriced for a festival but generally yes!)

The vegan stand with pizzas were really nice. 5E a slice a great price price.

The separate little cookie stall was amazing, those vegan banana cookies ❤️

Sorry to those that haven't enjoyed the festival much. I totally get it, but I had the most amazing time. I've barely spent time with the people I actually came with, either saw stuff alone or with other friends who were at the festival. 

[FloorFiller]

3 minutes ago, Supernintendo Chalmers said:

Are they still planning to let last week's Strokes day ticketers in this Friday? How many extra thousand is that? Gotta be honest, with the comments that it's already been dangerously overcrowded at times, I'm a little concerned about it

Yeah they are. Really unsure on how that’ll go, because you’d assume it’ll just be the locals that can stick around for that long. I get that they’re trying to appease people who are pissed off about them cancelling weekend 1, but I think that crowd is gonna be pretty mental because of it.

And then you’d assume that’s gonna carry on through the other acts, so The Smile not long after The Strokes, with fuck all real competition against them which was already gonna be mega busy, is gonna be a real challenge. Gonna make my way to the back of the Strokes crowd and run right over as they’re finishing up.

[beatkeeper]

33 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Run the Jewels have cancelled their Birmingham show tonight due to El-P having laryngitis. Might be touch and go whether he’s in any state to perform in time for Saturday.

Nooo - they’re my number 1 act to see. Fingers crossed!

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

5 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Yeah they are. Really unsure on how that’ll go, because you’d assume it’ll just be the locals that can stick around for that long. I get that they’re trying to appease people who are pissed off about them cancelling weekend 1, but I think that crowd is gonna be pretty mental because of it.

And then you’d assume that’s gonna carry on through the other acts, so The Smile not long after The Strokes, with fuck all real competition against them which was already gonna be mega busy, is gonna be a real challenge. Gonna make my way to the back of the Strokes crowd and run right over as they’re finishing up.

I'm amazed that their licence allows it. What are we talking in terms of extra bods? 2000? 5000? Either way, it's gonna be noticeable, right? 

I was hoping that they were just trying to soften the blow on the day they cancelled to reduce the noise then a few days later say "sorry, we can't do that after all".

At best it could be very uncomfortable, at worst very dangerous. I can't see any good coming from it whatsoever.

Edited June 7, 2022 by Supernintendo Chalmers