Pegasvs, machines going pop in Barcelona

Pegasvs (+ Y). Music Hall, Barcelona, April 12th

Pegasvs in action. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

This concert review is going to be quite biased, as electronic and krautrock music are not my field of (modest) expertise. So me being part of the audience can only be explained by three factors: someone "pushing" me to go, a ridiculously cheap price (reasonable prices, more tickets sold, see?), and of course, the highly addictive Pegasvs homonym debut album. 

Y, support act of the night.
Photo: Bloodbuzzed

On a quite full Music Hall (is a very small venue, but still quite remarkable considering there were many concerts going on in Barcelona), showing the considerable buzz Pegasvs are making with their record, the night started with the (gig, performance, session?, sorry for my lack of knowledge) of the support act Y (seems it was their debut live). During a set that lasted more than 30 minutes, this local duo sounded like a mixture between Kraftwerk and the annoyingly ubiquitous Chromatics, thanks to the also annoying "Drive", to me. But again, electronic is not an area where I can make a lot of comparisons.

Luciana della Villa
Photo: Bloodbuzzed

After Y, the turn arrived for Pegasvs, officially presenting their LP live. But for a show advertised as an special occasion, Sergio Pérez and Luciana della Villa their performance wasn't that special. Songs were executed with precision, sounding very close to the album versions. For a non-electronic music fan, that was great, because what makes "Pegasvs" a fantastic album is that behind the Motorik rhythms and machines, the tunes sound pop, with explosive and fascinating melodies like "La Melodía del Afilador" (amazing), "Sobre las Olas" or "Atlántico". But it was also a bit disappointing, as their technically irreproachable performance was quite flat in terms of connection with the audience, giving credit to the ones saying electronic is cold. But that's something that can be corrected, experience will solve it. And it's way more easier when, like Pegasvs, you have the songs. See you again pretty soon!

"Drive", stylised race to nowhere

Drive

Sorry to say that, but there's something seriously wrong with critics, or the situation with regards to cinema is even worse that I thought. I already expected that Malick's "The Tree of Life" would make it for the majority of best-of the year lists. It was too obvious: the critic's ego needed to include it. But also "Drive"? Sorry, that's too much.

Don't get me wrong. "Drive" is a way better film than Malick's. Much more focused, not that pretentious and complete. Its even quite engaging and suggestive, with a very peculiar aesthetics that obviously is its biggest attractive. But among the best of 2011? What an awful year it has been then.

"Drive" is a style exercise, ideal to make some "specialised magazines" to target it as the "coolest" film of the year. The way it is filmed (these sun-baked scenes mixed with the more usual dark ones), admittedly appealing, Ryan Gosling poses (and his jacket and gloves if you are into that kind of fetishism), the music (paused and abstract electro clearly devoted from the 80s),  the pink credits... Oh sorry, I forgot to say, the 80s electro music and the pink credits... are a bit kitsch (specially the song "A Real Hero"). But aside its nice envelope, there's nothing much to find here.  

Story-wise, "Drive" offers absolutely nothing new. We have seen Gosling's silent, lonely and unnamed character before. As interesting the brutal ellipsis or the lack of flashbacks to tell us why "our driver" behaves that way must be (good for director Nicolas Winding Refn in that sense) or how magnetic is Gosling's performance (as expected) the hero in our film is pretty hard to believe. And I don't buy the "violence is just part of the world he has chosen to live in) argument. Then some more explanation would be needed.

No, probably my major concern with "Drive" has to do with the criminal story, the noir thriller. Let's buy for a second our quiet, introspective driver would risk his life and his future career as a racer for the girl (strangely looking, aged Carey Mulligan) and her husband, who returns from prison (can anyone really have so little clue about the person who is married with?). But why the money cannot be simply returned? Who would really go to the cops if there's no one in the film without the hands covered in blood? Why all this genre films has this sort of "that's the unavoidable fate". Sorry, maybe its me that doesn't really gets into this kind of style, but to me the whole plot was just an excuse to justify the escalation of also stylised violent, crude scenes.     

Overall, a pretty solid film in what it really offers: a noir impact thriller where atmosphere and style is way ahead of emotion. And entertaining, intense and sometimes brutal recreation of the crime films of the 80's, but light-years from being a masterpiece.

SCORE: 6/10