Primavera Sound Barcelona 2023 + Primavera Sound Madrid 2023

[Quadrophobia]

14 minutes ago, neacaisa said:

personally i never understood the debate of mad cool vs primavera. besides the fact that they are both in spain i don't see that much overlap in target audience. for me, mad cool is more of a competition for rock werchter from the european festivals . if i were to pick a more similar festival inside spain, i would certainly pick bilbao bbk as the (sort of) competition. 

With the new Madrid edition, they are certainly direct competitors, especially since spanish audiences grew in importance  in recent years.

 

9 hours ago, Enkidu said:

lol

I don't really get why that is such a controversial statement. Many of those acts would be highly welcomed at PS

[yosoyyoberdi]

1 hour ago, neacaisa said:

personally i never understood the debate of mad cool vs primavera. besides the fact that they are both in spain i don't see that much overlap in target audience. for me, mad cool is more of a competition for rock werchter from the european festivals . if i were to pick a more similar festival inside spain, i would certainly pick bilbao bbk as the (sort of) competition. 

The Mad Cool vs Primavera debate is pretty clear. They are in direct competition for the same headliners and audience. Now even clearer since they are in the same city. It is true that they do not entirely overlap in genres of some undercard acts. But still take a look at MC lineup smaller artists, half could be (or even have already been) part of PS lineup.

Personally, I went to PS last year. This year I will choose MC by the looks of it. Might buy a single day ticket of PS to cover what I am missing.

Edited December 7, 2022 by yosoyyoberdi

[jannybruck]

I got a full sponsored email from Stereogum's mailing list advertising this yesterday and have seen tube adverts for it on the way to work this morning in London, which indicates sales probably haven't taken off quite as sharply as they'd have liked if they're already having to do international advertising campaigns.

[Quadrophobia]

1 hour ago, jannybruck said:

I got a full sponsored email from Stereogum's mailing list advertising this yesterday and have seen tube adverts for it on the way to work this morning in London, which indicates sales probably haven't taken off quite as sharply as they'd have liked if they're already having to do international advertising campaigns.

No way they have pieced that together in one week. Probably advertisement is necessary to carry the brand to new audiences as well as putting PS Madrid on the Map. I don't think this has any implications for sales

[weirdfishes]

Do you think the day tickets will sell out soon?

[chilirocker]

1 hour ago, weirdfishes said:

Do you think the day tickets will sell out soon?

Maybe Friday will as it's stacked, but not sure about the others.

[Quadrophobia]

Just now, chilirocker said:

Maybe Friday will as it's stacked, but not sure about the others.

Saturday has Rosalia, who attracted what was the biggest crowd I've ever seen at PS in 2019. With her new album being both critically acclaimed and very well received by fans, I'd say it'll sell sell a lot of tickets to locals.

[yosoyyoberdi]

2 hours ago, Quadrophobia said:

Saturday has Rosalia, who attracted what was the biggest crowd I've ever seen at PS in 2019. With her new album being both critically acclaimed and very well received by fans, I'd say it'll sell sell a lot of tickets to locals.

Rosalía has struggled to sell her tour in Spain this year. This was mainly due to the excessive price point. Might do better as part of a festival though. 

[Orens]

7 minutes ago, yosoyyoberdi said:

Rosalía has struggled to sell her tour in Spain this year. This was mainly due to the excessive price point. Might do better as part of a festival though. 

Not just Spain but specifically Barcelona. She's a legit homegrown Primavera headliner. Pretty sure she was speaking Catalan during her set back in 2019, and her set in general has had an insane turnout. IIRC her day was the first one to sell out that year, and she's so much bigger this time around.

[livenstu]

hahahaha, that Mad Cool poster is horrific, I mean each to their own but how is that even in the same ballpark as Primavera - Robbie Williams, Sam Smith & Liam Gallagher?! - I'd rather Calvin & Skrillex, thanks!

It's either Primavera repeats like Lizzo, Angel Olsen, Rina Sawayama & Jamie XX or headliner by numbers QOTSA, RHCP, The Prodigy.

[clasher]

3 hours ago, livenstu said:

Robbie Williams, Sam Smith & Liam Gallagher?! - I'd rather Calvin & Skrillex, thanks!

 

[diogozsz]

6 hours ago, yosoyyoberdi said:

Rosalía has struggled to sell her tour in Spain this year. This was mainly due to the excessive price point. Might do better as part of a festival though. 

Excessive pricing + too many dates in Spain, to be honest. She still managed to sell 130-140k tickets in Spain with those absurd prices. Absolutely insane.

[emmanuel]

6 hours ago, livenstu said:

hahahaha, that Mad Cool poster is horrific, I mean each to their own but how is that even in the same ballpark as Primavera - Robbie Williams, Sam Smith & Liam Gallagher?! - I'd rather Calvin & Skrillex, thanks!

It's either Primavera repeats like Lizzo, Angel Olsen, Rina Sawayama & Jamie XX or headliner by numbers QOTSA, RHCP, The Prodigy.

The headliners are comparably poor at both festivals -- both have some headliners that you could call "cherry on the top" such as Kendrick, Lizzo, Rosalia or Depeche Mode, that I would watch but necessarily pay for. But Primavera has 10 time more great bands in small fonts, from John Cale to Karate, Swans, Arab Strap, Laurie Anderson and Unwound. Mad Cool doesn't even come close so I really don't understand the comparison.

[joaommaia]

I'm selling a full festival ticket for Barcelona (270€). DICE told me they can send it if I provide them the person's name and phone number. I'm willing to give access to my DICE account while you're waiting for DICE to transfer the ticket to your account. And/Or I can even give it, without knowing the new e-mail address, but keep in mind that you have to ask them to change the phone number. DM me if you're interested 🙂

[pryce]

7 hours ago, emmanuel said:

The headliners are comparably poor at both festivals -- both have some headliners that you could call "cherry on the top" such as Kendrick, Lizzo, Rosalia or Depeche Mode, that I would watch but necessarily pay for. But Primavera has 10 time more great bands in small fonts, from John Cale to Karate, Swans, Arab Strap, Laurie Anderson and Unwound. Mad Cool doesn't even come close so I really don't understand the comparison.

because opinions ......people are alllowed to think Mad cool is better if they want

 

anyway i do notice people treat this festival a bit like Glastonbury which isnt a bad thing, but its more like supporting a football team, they will defend it to the hilt and rather aggressively at that, anyone who dares mention that oooo i like mad cool this year a bit more is shut down and laughed at (not by everyone) and not just you, should of really quoted the person you were quoting 

[xxialac]

Was open minded enough to try and give Mad Cool a go this year. If we are going to compare I was surprised to find out that on the Friday for which I booked tickets, Primavera was 1 and half times longer (the last act finished at a very early 3pm and it didn't get going until after 6pm) which helped reduce clashes. And had twice as many stages, which helped increase choice.

[scatteredscreens]

Reflecting on this line up now some other fests have announced more acts...

It's the best of the bunch. But I do think it's a weak bunch to begin with. The undercard is very good despite missing a few names like Sigur Ros that other fests seemed to have booked. Probably just the timing that didn't work though as they seem to be active in July and not early June.

I'm happy to miss international fests in 2023 and look at going away again in 2024 when hopefully there's some more acts that take my fancy.

 

[xxialac]

I'm late to the party but Soul Glo are absolutely brilliant (and apparently live too).

Who else in the tiniest font are worth checking out?

[ConfidenceMan]

55 minutes ago, scatteredscreens said:

Reflecting on this line up now some other fests have announced more acts...

It's the best of the bunch. But I do think it's a weak bunch to begin with. The undercard is very good despite missing a few names like Sigur Ros that other fests seemed to have booked. Probably just the timing that didn't work though as they seem to be active in July and not early June.

I'm happy to miss international fests in 2023 and look at going away again in 2024 when hopefully there's some more acts that take my fancy.

 

This is where I am at present. I've gone from hanging back on PS for cost matters, then deciding I didn't want to go when I saw the bill, then changing my mind, but I've now settled on not for me next year. Come back to me in a week... 😂

But there does seem to be a general weakness across the board in my opinion this year. Maybe weakness isn't fair, but the acts topping the bills everywhere aren't to my taste, and the curation seems really unusual at lots of festivals too. Mega pop stars next to nostalgia acts next to indie names... Its a bit too catch all to justify the price point for me. I'm glad everyone gets to have their fun, but there's nothing wrong with niche or specialist festivals existing too.

I'm gonna see how PS Porto looks next week as its a lot more affordable right now when you factor in the cost of BCN flights and accommodation (thank you, formula 1!), but I'd be surprised if I end up there either. 

Anything else out there worth waiting on? Maybe End of the Road, or Best Kept Secret? 

None of this is to say that there isn't loads at PS (or mad cool, or I assume Glasto...) that wouldn't be good; but it's just not worth the cost for me at this stage. 

[scatteredscreens]

1 minute ago, ConfidenceMan said:

This is where I am at present. I've gone from hanging back on PS for cost matters, then deciding I didn't want to go when I saw the bill, then changing my mind, but I've now settled on not for me next year. Come back to me in a week... 😂

But there does seem to be a general weakness across the board in my opinion this year. Maybe weakness isn't fair, but the acts topping the bills everywhere aren't to my taste, and the curation seems really unusual at lots of festivals too. Mega pop stars next to nostalgia acts next to indie names... Its a bit too catch all to justify the price point for me. I'm glad everyone gets to have their fun, but there's nothing wrong with niche or specialist festivals existing too.

I'm gonna see how PS Porto looks next week as its a lot more affordable right now when you factor in the cost of BCN flights and accommodation (thank you, formula 1!), but I'd be surprised if I end up there either. 

Anything else out there worth waiting on? Maybe End of the Road, or Best Kept Secret? 

None of this is to say that there isn't loads at PS (or mad cool, or I assume Glasto...) that wouldn't be good; but it's just not worth the cost for me at this stage. 

When I say weak I do just mean to my own tastes and vibe at the minute. I've also been fortunate enough to see a lot of acts on the line up which others might not have seen. There's also an element of hope in there that I'll catch the likes of Swans and Death Grips at their own shows for significantly cheaper.

I have an EOTR ticket on early bird. I'll be interested to see who tops the bill for that but there's always loads of up and coming stuff which eventually ends up on the Primavera line up the next year. Especially if they're an up and coming UK based act (black midi, squid, bcnr all get their early footings thanks to EOTR/Green Man)

[ConfidenceMan]

11 minutes ago, scatteredscreens said:

When I say weak I do just mean to my own tastes and vibe at the minute. I've also been fortunate enough to see a lot of acts on the line up which others might not have seen. There's also an element of hope in there that I'll catch the likes of Swans and Death Grips at their own shows for significantly cheaper.

I have an EOTR ticket on early bird. I'll be interested to see who tops the bill for that but there's always loads of up and coming stuff which eventually ends up on the Primavera line up the next year. Especially if they're an up and coming UK based act (black midi, squid, bcnr all get their early footings thanks to EOTR/Green Man)

The weak remark wasn't directed at you, but at me. For me, Depeche Mode headlining a festival in 2023 is weak, but someone on here will straight-up call to my house and break my windows for that. 😂

There's a clutch of acts I'd have paid for this summer at any festival, really. But few of them are turning up anywhere just yet. And lots of them are acts that are on the circuit regularly too, I've just missed them, or not seen them for a few years. 

Its no harm. I'm hoping to be in a position to try out lots of one day festivals too next year. I'm UK-based presently, so I should have options! 

And anyway, I'd have to chuck all plans in the bin if Sault announces a tour/residency anyway. 

[scatteredscreens]

3 minutes ago, ConfidenceMan said:

The weak remark wasn't directed at you, but at me. For me, Depeche Mode headlining a festival in 2023 is weak, but someone on here will straight-up call to my house and break my windows for that. 😂

There's a clutch of acts I'd have paid for this summer at any festival, really. But few of them are turning up anywhere just yet. And lots of them are acts that are on the circuit regularly too, I've just missed them, or not seen them for a few years. 

Its no harm. I'm hoping to be in a position to try out lots of one day festivals too next year. I'm UK-based presently, so I should have options! 

And anyway, I'd have to chuck all plans in the bin if Sault announces a tour/residency anyway. 

The only one which I was a bit gutted about headliner wise at PS was Blur, which would be cheaper to just see at Wembley instead. I've seen Kendrick 3 times, including glastonbury this year so whilst he's a great booking I'm in no rush to see him right now.

Edited December 8, 2022 by scatteredscreens

[Rico_Pliskin]

20 minutes ago, ConfidenceMan said:

The weak remark wasn't directed at you, but at me. For me, Depeche Mode headlining a festival in 2023 is weak, but someone on here will straight-up call to my house and break my windows for that. 😂

There's a clutch of acts I'd have paid for this summer at any festival, really. But few of them are turning up anywhere just yet. And lots of them are acts that are on the circuit regularly too, I've just missed them, or not seen them for a few years. 

Its no harm. I'm hoping to be in a position to try out lots of one day festivals too next year. I'm UK-based presently, so I should have options! 

And anyway, I'd have to chuck all plans in the bin if Sault announces a tour/residency anyway. 

Having never been a Depeche mode fan I was happily converted when they headlined Nos Alive.

 

It was epic and definitely headliner material 

Edited December 8, 2022 by Rico_Pliskin

[scatteredscreens]

1 minute ago, Rico_Pliskin said:

Having never been a Depeche mode fan I was happily converted when they headlined Nos Alive 2017.

 

It was epic and definitely headliner material 

They were great at Mad Cool in 2018 but I honestly can barely remember it, I saw so much music that day. I saw QOTSA, NIN and DM back to back with only a 5 min window between them!

[Ohjesus]

i was underwhelmed on the line up and definitely wouldn't have bought tickets if i'd known the line up in advance (i got early bird, not doing that again),

 

but i've been looking at it for a week and like it a little more now, and have also booked wide awake tickets today, which scratches my US garage rock itch somewhat.

 

really surprised acts like osees and ty segall aren't playing PS, seeing as they're touring europe round there, and i was sure unknown mortal orchestra would be a shoe-in too. ah well.