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Primavera Sound 2022


daveje

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2 minutes ago, pipan said:

 

3. Covid - not even single day without some cancellation or two (some for the acts I couldn't wait to see for two and a half years). I know this is noone's fault, it's just the new reality we have to adjust to. At one moment I even started to sympathise with the organizers. It really must be fucking hard to react to so many last minute drop outs, and they really tried to fill every single new hole, so when after PinkPantheress was out and they just only moved the start of the programme on that stage to later hour, without adding any new artist, I just felt for them, no hard feelings. So, while covid is here, I really don't expect these numerous secret shows anymore like in the past - every surprise name will be probably used as a replacement.

 

I know of a Belgian band that are doing pretty well internationally and got a call on Wednesday or even Thursday to be flown in for both bcn and Porto but couldn’t make it work with the rest of their tour schedule and commitments. So yeah they were definitely even then still trying. I guess the band might be on next year

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4 minutes ago, Rhak said:

I know of a Belgian band that are doing pretty well internationally and got a call on Wednesday or even Thursday to be flown in for both bcn and Porto but couldn’t make it work with the rest of their tour schedule and commitments. So yeah they were definitely even then still trying. I guess the band might be on next year

Out of curiosity, any hints on the name ? (Balthazar ?)

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Been lurking for about 7 years, but thought I'd give my two cents now I've finally made it home on comedown Sunday. 

This is my fifth time attending and did the double weekend (non-VIP) - concur with a lot of the chat re: 1st Thursday, shitty comms, no surprises, expensive beer etc. so won't repeat that.

Overall, had an amazing time and still my favourite festival (yesterday confirmed that when I was able to bounce from spiritual jazz to neo-sufi classical to nostalgic rock and finish off with big, exuberant euro-pop (and still find time for Shellac!)), but it's been my weakest probably. A lot of that was to do with being fucking knackered by WE2, which may be my own fault, but poor organisation played its part, too.

My favourite day was the first Saturday in large part because I got to spend some time in the Auditori and The Caretaker, Jenny Hval and Mavis Staples were all fantastic (Caretaker might be set of the week for pure absurdity). So I was still feeling fresh and ready for Nick Cave, Beach House etc, something that you lost on WE2 as you baked watching Dry Cleaning. Not being able to get in for Kim Gordon and Low was frustrating and the "well turn up earlier" response is valid, but as someone who's basically never queued in 4 previous editions and still been able to see The Zombies or Kamasi Washington it was a little annoying.

I loved the concept of the ciutat shows and my W1+W2 allowed me to breeze into Iceage/Les Savy Fav and Magnetic Fields, which was awesome, but that giant priority queue for Ride+ really showed me how much they'd underestimated, as well as the horror stories here. 

The Boiler Room next to Pitchfork was completely moronic as it drowned out anything that wasn't heavy guitars (The Weather Station was a total bust), though people clearly had fun there and I'm a little sad I missed out on Equiknoxx (wanted a decent spot for Beck).

We'd always assumed the free shuttle buses were a write-off so generally walked or found another way, but I thought they were great! The mask thing on Friday night was weirdly sudden (one friend was hastily kettled onto the plague bus but still arrived seconds after us), but on the 4 nights I used them we never had to queue more than 10-15 mins (usually leaving around 3am). It was only the first Saturday that both metro and buses were busy, but we just walked back a stop and it was fine.

Anyway, plenty more I could say but don't want to bore everyone to death on my first post. I'll probably come back unless the lineup became unprecedented garbage, but also may depend on friends/life etc.

Feeling surprisingly good given the last 11 days, but not thrilled about work tomorrow. Thank you for the entertainment and tips over the years - you've (almost) all been a delight! Bring on the wild speculation for next time...

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26 minutes ago, polnico said:

Out of curiosity, any hints on the name ? (Balthazar ?)

I don’t want to bring them in any trouble so I won’t go any further than saying it’s not Balthazar (whom I could see fit in as well and is a band worth checking out)

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5 minutes ago, Rhak said:

Yeah but same weekend as Madrid then? Probably feasible but still quite a logistical undertaking for some bands

Think easier in a way as Primavera can book a neat package of up to 3 gigs.

Play Barcelona W1 and Madrid W2 (or Madrid and Porto W2 if you can).

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The positive stuff: 

It took me years to finally decide to go with my festivals internationally and only after som diligent investigating. Primavera was the absolute winner, at least on paper: Spanish setting + no camping + always perfect line-up.

And when we finally arrived there for the first time in 2017 with my partner, we got so much more. Absolutely stunning venue, perfect organization, most pleasant music-enjoying crowds and atmosphere we've ever experienced and I remember, it was after the early Hidden stage magical performance of Lawrence Arabia on Day 2 with quite a small audience, when I finally said (but it was building in me from the first moment there) that we have to be back next year and since then, we always buy early bird tickets.

And each following year it felt better and better, until this edition. I would still recommend to anyone who should ask me to go to Primavera next year, but for the first time, there will be some "buts" I feel I will have to mention.

But the main positives still remain and the insane selection of music is without any real competition worldwide and it is the most important thing for me (I read all of the recommendations here for other festivals, but line-up wise, I just don't think they can be competition to Primavera in my eyes). 

So I'm definitely grabbing early bird tickets for 2023 once they available. I don't even have to wait for the line-up to be announced. In 2019, I was really deeply disappointed by the line-up, even thinking about selling the tickets for a while - the giant genre shift with so many names I didn't know or I thought I wouldn't like, that it really felt like the worst line-up in a decade. But it turned out to be my favourite Primavera that broadened my musical horizons in so many unexpected ways. So, as for the line-up, Primavera has my complete trust that they will amaze me again. They know better than I do, what is best for me.

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1 minute ago, pipan said:

The positive stuff: 

It took me years to finally decide to go with my festivals internationally and only after som diligent investigating. Primavera was the absolute winner, at least on paper: Spanish setting + no camping + always perfect line-up.

And when we finally arrived there for the first time in 2017 with my partner, we got so much more. Absolutely stunning venue, perfect organization, most pleasant music-enjoying crowds and atmosphere we've ever experienced and I remember, it was after the early Hidden stage magical performance of Lawrence Arabia on Day 2 with quite a small audience, when I finally said (but it was building in me from the first moment there) that we have to be back next year and since then, we always buy early bird tickets.

And each following year it felt better and better, until this edition. I would still recommend to anyone who should ask me to go to Primavera next year, but for the first time, there will be some "buts" I feel I will have to mention.

But the main positives still remain and the insane selection of music is without any real competition worldwide and it is the most important thing for me (I read all of the recommendations here for other festivals, but line-up wise, I just don't think they can be competition to Primavera in my eyes). 

So I'm definitely grabbing early bird tickets for 2023 once they available. I don't even have to wait for the line-up to be announced. In 2019, I was really deeply disappointed by the line-up, even thinking about selling the tickets for a while - the giant genre shift with so many names I didn't know or I thought I wouldn't like, that it really felt like the worst line-up in a decade. But it turned out to be my favourite Primavera that broadened my musical horizons in so many unexpected ways. So, as for the line-up, Primavera has my complete trust that they will amaze me again. They know better than I do, what is best for me.

A brilliant write up and captures the mostly positive but now slightly conflicted emotions I feel too (including incidentally about 2019).

It seems likely that they'll iron out many of the problems from this year's edition (in part, which were linked to having been away for three years). They need to do something about size of crowd - less confident here.

But in the end you can guarantee three critical factors - the lineup quality, the setting and the weather will be spectacular as ever. 

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38 minutes ago, xxialac said:

Think easier in a way as Primavera can book a neat package of up to 3 gigs.

Play Barcelona W1 and Madrid W2 (or Madrid and Porto W2 if you can).

That is definitely why they are doing all of this. You get power into touring schedules. It’s something that has been happening for a while now in Europe. 

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And the obligatory top 10/11 (and only from the full sets I saw, so that's why there's no Beach House or Metronomy):

Absolute winner - L'Imperatrice. One of the rare moments when all the pieces, like by magic, click together perfectly. Top-notch performances of each band member, perfect sound and mainly the unique band - audience connection created one of the best concert experiences in my life. Even though it was most probably there where we caught that annoying disease that cost us the  whole Strokes day.

The "regular" top 10 in chronological order:

Les Savy Fav

Charli XCX

Carolina Durante

Rigoberta Bandini

Dreamcatcher (biggest surprise, were there just to kill some time at only undercrowded part of the venue)

Gorillaz (THE headliner of the festival, for me)

Hannah Diamond (a la Ciutat)

Alex Cameron

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Angėle

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Well that was a mad 12 days wasn't it?

I had a really really good time for both weekends.  Like.. imagine missing Pavement, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, Nick Cave, Beck, Mogwai, MIA, DJ Shadow, Autechre, Disclosure, Megan Thee Stallion, Run the Jewels, Squarepusher, black midi, 100 gecs, DJ Coco, etc and STILL having the best time and not regretting anything I saw!  What a festival.  Here's a list of everyone I watched at least 15 minutes of. 

Verde Prato, Faye Webster, Aiko el Grupo, Kacey Musgraves, Charli XCX, Rina Sawayama, Let's Eat Grandma, Hannah Diamond, Weyes Blood, Tropical Fuck Storm, Wet Leg, Amaia, Little Simz, Warpaint, Caribou, Lorenzo Senni, Les Amazones D'Afrique, Low, Dreamcatcher, Slowthai, Caroline Polachek, Gorillaz, Tyler the Creator, Leon VynhalL Dave P, Dry Cleaning, Giles Peterson, Khruangbin, Slowdive, Big Thief, Metronomy, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Dua Lipa, Tyler the Creator, Bicep, Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Sampa the Great, TOPS, Stella Donnelly, Courtney Barnett,  Lorde, The Strokes, The Smile, Nicola Cruz, Danny L Harle, Genesis Owusu, Renaldo y Clara, Arooj Aftab, Sky Ferreira, Fred Again, Angele, Jesse Ware, DJ Seinfeld.

i tried to write my top 5, then top 10, then even top 20 but it's too difficult.

Rayban/Cupra is my happy place though. I just love how everyone flocks there later on and there's such a good vibe and energy.  The only real disappointment of the whole weekend was Bad Boy Chiller Crew though I didn't think they'd be much cop anyway, and we still had a good time.  The Jesse Ware crowd last night was amazing, I was saying to my pals that I bet even her own gigs don't have that good a crowd.

I'm genuinely sorry to those who had a rough time, whether with the crowds, COVID, lack of water etc. I've been hyping this festival up in my head since the last time I went (2017) and it exceeded all expectations for me. I'd go back in a heartbeat, though my pal has VERY SELFISHLY having a baby so I need to convince some new friends 😛 

 

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6 hours ago, Rhak said:

- Music: less stages so less clashes but also less of the special stuff (you won't get that pavement or les savy fav one off) / lots of overlap in the normal touring bands though because of the timing  / style wise i'd say less hiphop, trap, reggaeton en heavy techno stuff

- audience: mainly Dutch & Belgians, so don't expect wild scenes but as it's pretty early in the season age group is pretty much like primavera (so not loads of really young kids)

- location: pretty awesome location in a sort of sandy forest near 2 big lakes. Beware of the caterpillars indeed. Other than that the forest gives way to little nooks and cranies with beautiful stuff for decoration. Great food stands. Smoothly organised. 

- accomodation: there's loads of camping, even pre pitched stuff but also some trailer/cabins available (though not a lot) as it's actually on the grounds of a drive through Zoo. It's a touristy region so there's also quite a lot of b&b's in the neighbourhood as well as Tilburg which is only 15min away with the shuttle bus or 30mins by bike (and the dutch have really cycling really well organised). 

 

Cheers mate.. seems a good chill festival. Hopefully they have good lineup next year

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19 minutes ago, xxialac said:

The water fury for some, especially on reddit, I could never begin to understand.

On the rare occasions I felt like I needed a water I, er, bought a water which was sold at every bar.

And I even found a couple of places giving cans and bottles out for free.

 

They only started giving out the free water on fri after people complaining on Thursday. Yeah thought they might have dropped a big name for next year . But they have only done it twice , think both were festival exclusive in Pavement and Neutral milk hotel.

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4 hours ago, Zoo Music Girl said:

Nope! I knew it was a risk going in, to be fair. But another reason why I much prefer a UK festival!

Primavera was bloody great for the music, but it's just made me realise that I go to music festivals for a lot more than just the music. But that's because I live in London and am in the privileged position of being able to most see bands whenever I like usually. Appreciate for other people that's really not the case.

Try Fuji Rock festival in Japan…you will love the experience.

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8 minutes ago, Fnmentaluk said:

They only started giving out the free water on fri after people complaining on Thursday. Yeah thought they might have dropped a big name for next year . But they have only done it twice , think both were festival exclusive in Pavement and Neutral milk hotel.

Yeah, you’re quite right. Had thought they’d done that a bit more often.

On another note, Jessie Ware was absolutely spectacular last night, helped by a Rayban crowd that through themselves into the performance.

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