E´s & Wizz in Barcelona – back to Primavera Sound Lalaland
90.000 spectators decided to come to this first weekend of the Primavera. I repeat: 90,000. The area has accordingly grown in the official twentieth edition to a radius of what feels like ten soccer fields – probably there are even more, but thanks to VIP pass we do not have to complete the very large arc, which connects the two areas (which can be roughly divided into main acts / indie bands and electronic music and more) and a bit reminiscent of those tracks in which animals have to … I better not write it out now; the criticism of the organizers for this was not long in coming and rightly so, heat and difficult drinking conditions (the second point of criticism were the sometimes absurdly long queues at the bars for the regular visitors) made it very difficult.
The positive effect of the large area: even more stages (a total of twelve or maybe even 13…) and thus so many bands and artists in the lineup that you constantly feel the FOMO in the neck (especially since you always have to weigh whether the distance a) logistically works and b) is worth the energy expenditure at this time (a bit like a marathon, where you have to manage your energy well, at least according to those who successfully reach the finish).
Anyway: even if you missed 3/4 of what you had on the longlist, the shortlist you experienced should provide enough happiness – and the rest was taken care of by the many too long missed international friends as well as the “E’s and Wizz” and the “Ccoaine Piss Cool Party”.
Optimo’s dj set on the first night was overwhelmingly beautiful, a gathering of friends and a boisterous but (mostly) also considerate crowd (the exception being the guy who was supposed to pee on the dance floor late at night, luckily I missed this post-euphoric moment for him and only got it reported by the rest of the Kaput Prima crew) – and also for Optimo‘s Jonnie and Keith it was a very special set, as the photos and videos show.
The performances by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (who had recently lost two people from their close environment after Nick had recently lost his second son far too early), Caribou, who were allowed to move up to the main stage due to the Covid-related failure of the Strokes and simply away happily overwhelmed, as well as Tyler, The Creator, who knew how to play with the crowd like no other artist on the festival, a magician of words and a hypnotist of people. And then there was the moment when Mos Def (who lives in Barcelona) entered the stage as a guest of Gorillaz and the estimated 80,000 visitors who were cavorting in front of this stage at that moment just freaked out.
I could go on forever like this, about Jeff Mills, who teased individual bars from Dj Rolando’s “Knights of the Jaguar” for over ten minutes and never completely released or just as forever released; of Dreamcatcher, who were the first K-Pop act to play the Primavera and brought nightmares for us all; and of course my buddy Dave P, who did the last set of the first weekend of the festival and, contrary to all previous ambitions, was able to lure me onto the stage for the final dance (see photo below), for me the most moving two hours of the festival, next to the Optimo set.
It’s a good thing that I negated the ambition to take part in both weekends myself in a moment of clarity, my body is still looking for sugar to process the last one to cope with the britischen Popband Baxendale. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to having magnificently powerful FOMO given all I’m missing this second weekend.
My heart is still on the Primavera, though, anyway – and I’m sure I’ll have some “flashbacks” over the next three days via postings and personal messages, too.
I don’t know if I need to mention it yet, but for those who can’t read between the lines:
Primavera 2023, The kaput team will definitely be there.
Some broken highlights of Primavera Sound 2022 captured by Vivan Thi Tang, Alex Lemieux & Thomas Venker.
The top 5 performances of the weekend, in no particular order:
Optimo
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Mavis Staples