After the enthusiasm with which we attended Primavera Sound in Barcelona last year, we couldn’t help but return, especially after seeing names like Vampire Weekend in the line up. There were several failures to participate (and failures to replace, unfortunately), such as that of Kim Petras, FKA Twigs (for the second time! The 2025 edition will be the right time, maybe?) e Daniela Lalita – and the unforgettable Steve Albiniwhich with the Shellac he should have performed his new album “To All Trains” live.
To remember the iconic producer, the festival inaugurated the “Steve Albini” stage, also celebrating his Shellac with a listening party: a stage adorned with unplayed instruments with a bouquet of flowers at the side, while music booms in the air. The hope of seeing Albinos walking on stage and the following realization hurt, but it warms the heart to see that the love for an icon of this caliber endures and persists.
Among the highlights of the first day of this intense weekend we also find the Balming Tigerwhich it is no coincidence that we suggested you keep an eye on: not only is their album “January Never Dies” very interesting, but the collective manages to transmit a unique energy live, making the audience jump continuously – especially on “Pop The Tag”, solo track by Omega Sapien, a rapper from the group. This is perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of the Balming Tiger: from Omega Sapien to Abyss, each member has a well-defined identity and style, even a stage name each; every time they create something under the name of Balming Tiger, however, create something different while keeping clear who and how they are as individuals. They exalt and highlight each other, under the name of a project for which we wish only the best. Highly approved.
We couldn’t get lost then Arab Strap: we had already had the pleasure of seeing it Moffat And Middleton two years ago at the TOdays Festival, but after the release of that little gem that is the new album the curiosity to hear it live was too much, and we did well: the result was a great live show which involved an audience crowded as well as exhausted by a scorching sun – but no less excited for this, on the contrary.
A particularly excited audience was the one for Dillom, an Argentine rapper who from the outside appears to be a mix between Gazzelle and Young Signorino – believe us, it’s a strangely apt comparison – from the inside he is a Frankenstein of sounds in the best possible sense, a rap experimentalism that combines Latin music, metal, trip hop. All with slightly dreamy, slightly horror settings: perfect for a tormented artist but with a tattoo of a jug of juice on his cheek.
Pure anger is instead what they divinely transmit Mannequin Pussy: Marisa “Missy” Dabice it is charged, it claims the political importance of music and exhorts the public to a collective liberating cry, hundreds of souls who have left their sorrows to the wind. Here too a not bad show, the only flaw: the acoustics are not exactly excellent, which we also noticed with yeule later (also flawless, by the way).
“This song is for stupid fuckers”: like that Amy Taylor presents “Hertz” by Amyl and The Sniffers – and we have already summarized their concert for you. There Taylor he dominates the stage in an excellent way, he hypnotizes you and makes you go wild – who knows how the person he threw the top he was wearing will feel?
The hat-trick was devastating Amyl and the Snifflers (photo below) – Vampire Weekend (photo above) – Pulp (with interludes by yeule And Deftones, due to timing coincidences). If the first ones had already driven us crazy, Ezra Koenig and they put on a very respectable show, impeccable from every point of view – the most beautiful concert of the evening by far, and perhaps one of the most interesting that the undersigned has seen so far in her life. Theirs was a magical party between saxophones, violins and two (two!) sets of drums. The only band that would ever be able to make us think back to our teenage years with nostalgia. Live with top marks.
Equally iconic i Pulp (we had doubts? Absolutely not): perhaps we expected a greater turnout, also considering that there are more people at the festival this year than in last year’s edition, but considering that they had to play at the same time as the Deftones…
We definitely ascend with i Justice: the French duo spoils us with a spectacular set, a phenomenal lighting system that hypnotizes while stopping dancing becomes increasingly difficult. They have irremediably raised the standard of electronic evenings, and we could immediately notice this when we saw them Peggy Gou: pretty, nice, loved by the public always and in any case. Unfortunately a little repetitive, little inventiveness, and equally little effort in the visuals that surrounded it. A nice and light DJ set, all in all not bad – attend it immediately afterwards Justice, however it was like tasting a simple tiramisu after enjoying the menu of a starred chef. Forgive us, Peggyif you can, but as we said, our standards have irremediably risen (and quite a bit).
How to end this day if not in after con AG Cook? Unclassifiable, unquantifiable, undescribable: all a big non. Yet, especially after the release of “Britpop”, he continues to be a huge yes. We were hoping that it would pop up during his performance Charli XCXguest of the festival on Saturday evening, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case: we await with great trepidation to see how it will go on Saturday then, and in the meantime we look forward to this Friday’s performances: Lana Del Rey, Troye Sivan, Ark, Dogstar.
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