Words by Laura Martin & Marisa Brickman
Photos by Maria Elisa Gomez
Day 2. Good night sleep. 2pm breakfast of fresh baguette, sliced manchego, Spanish ham and Orangina. Perfect fuel to get us out of the hotel and out for tapas and cava sangria. Yum.
Time to hit some gigs.
FRIDAY
(17:25) Marisa: The perfect way to start the day (yep, we started it around 3pm this day) is to go sit in a beautiful auditorium and listen to the blissful voice of Mazzy Starr’s Hope Sandoval & her band the Warm Intentions. We sat back in some comfortable chairs all the way towards the back and just completely chilled out and zoned out on all the freaky visuals. It was so blissed out, we nearly fell asleep. Note for next year, bring a pillow. It’s a perfect place to take a little power snooze.
(18:50) Marisa: Next up in the auditorium was Low performing The Great Destroyer (their first album on Sub Pop in 2005). We didn’t know how many people would show up to see this relatively obscure ‘slowcore’ band from Minnesota, but the queue was around the block and the auditorium was packed. You can’t help but watch a band like Low whose instrumentation is like watching a mini three-person orchestra. The vocal harmonies of Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk which typify the low sound couldn’t have sounded more beautiful given the amazing acoustics in the space. We were sat behind some super fans who knew every word to every song – their enthusiasm and near tears joyfulness, brought tears to our eyes as well. Once again, we left a Primavera gig feeling nothing but inspired and totally fulfilled. And the evening programme hadn’t even begun.
(21:40) Laura: Beach House kicked off the proceedings at the ATP stage. The breathless duo’s ethereal dreampop had much of the festival headed down to the stage at the far end of the site, which meant a massive bottleneck and an ill-judged venue for the band who would have been much more at home on one of the main stages.
(21:25) Laura: CocoRosie back at the amphitheatre pulled the crowds too and had everyone scratching their heads as they tried to decipher which dancehall track the sisters broke down and covered, all heavy harps, strings and yearning vocals (FYI – Kevin Lyttle, “Turn Me On”). Listening to them play was the moment when everyone stopped and took track of the stunning festival views paired with some perfect acts.
(23:00) Marisa: Japandroids caught our attention a few months ago – check out the ‘SUP Interview. Even the low-fi look of their EP Post-Nothing brought us back to our old ‘emotional hardcore’ days and we immediately became fans. Primavera was the first time we saw them live and we were absolutely FLOORED at how much noise two dudes could make and at how electrifying and captivating they are live. What was even weirder was that the front 10 rows of moshing, screaming Spanish kids knew all of the words.
This 7-minute long jam out of “Crazy/Forever” (dedicated to Titus Andronicus) pretty much sums it up!
Les Savy Fav always put on a good show. We go way back with these dudes and have seen them more times than we have fingers and toes – and they never disappoint. Lead singer Tim Harrington is quite the frontman. We’d been with him yesterday trying to convince this vintage store to take a Hawaiian cape off the mannequin in the window for him to wear on stage. They didn’t bite, so he settled for a black and white hairy sasquatch looking outfit with red blinky lights – which eventually got removed in favor of the bare chest and tight shorts. I have to admit that I didn’t actually go and watch them play, but if you’ve seen them once…
Les Savy Fav
(00:15) Marisa: Cold Cave who Cameron interviewed for ‘SUP 21 had been a band we’d wanted to catch live for the first time. Knowing the hardcore background of lead singer Wesley Eisold, we weren’t sure how this new moody, electro thing was going to work out. Even though the set-up (three people right in a row next to each other, drummer in the back) and the minimal blue and red lighting run the risk of coming off as boring, we grabbed a space right up front and were mesmerized.
Check out the live footage of “Life Magazine” we took last year at a gig in Brooklyn for a little taster of what the live show is like:
(01:15) Marisa: When the Pixies decided to reform in 2003, indie and alternative kids all over the world were high-fiving each other. Finally, the one band who every kind who claims to like indie rock would reform and tour, showing everyone the magic that is Frank Black and Kim Deal. We like to think the fuss is equally about both of them. I remember seeing the Pixies and remember singing along to every song – particularly peaking at “Where is My Mind’?
The Pixies
(01:30) Laura: Picking up the party stick, Major Lazer were perfectly billed for the 01.30 slot with their high-energy set, with incredible lead singer Skerrit Bwoy running, jumping and performing like a man possessed, getting the crowd hyped andbouncing. Check this out for 42 seconds of amazingness. We’d party every fucking day of the year with you, Bwoy.
Marisa: I couldn’t bring myself to go see Major Lazer… I know people say they are good live, but the album is atrocious. After hearing the rave reviews though, I wished I’d have gone – at least to have something to back up all my shit-talking.
(02:30) Laura: Yeasayer were always going to be a big pull for the Friday night, but we’d underestimated how well the Brooklyn afro-beat would translate to the festival scene. Lively and a tight stage act, as they begged: “Hold me like you used to,” “O.N.E”. will definitely go down as one of the tracks of the weekend.
Marisa: Love, love, love Yeasayer. We interviewed them back in ‘SUP 18 in 2007 just before their first album dropped. Back then they were some scraggly, charming Brooklyn via Baltimore dudes who had this crazy unique style and flair and their live performances exuded passion and effortless charisma. They’ve slicked up the operation these days, and everything has a bit of a pop star sheen – including designer clothes and fancy haircuts, but isn’t that what happens to all bands who start becoming successful? People want to hate on the new stuff, but Yeasayer still bring it. We’ve noticed that Anand has started singing a lot more lately. Hopefully there’s not pending dueling frontman scenario (a la the Rapture…).
