Primavera Sound 2018 in brief, day 3

Without hesitation, we arrive to the third and final chapter of our quick chronicles of "our" Primavera Sound Festival 2018. Saturday 2nd of June was a pretty exciting day, intense and complete, with promising newcomers and surefire heavyweights. It was a full schedule... so let's begin!

The Good

Ms. Graham, indeed does ring a bell
Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Third female afternoon in a row: Núria Graham and Christina Rosenvinge were the responsible of igniting our afternoon. The young Catalonian artist and her band were excellent (once again, we must add) showcasing the highly recommendable 'Does it Ring a Bell?' with stunning aplomb and confidence. She's great and, if there's some hope in the world and we're not completely deaf, she should hit big. She was followed by a veteran that was particularly expressive  and enticing at Seat stage. Ms. Rosenvinge showed charm, mystery, strength... plus an unquestionable knowledge of what does it mean being in front of a large audience, leading the way.     

Slowdive: We were a bit late to be in a front row position, but contrary to what was going to happen afterwards with the Arctic Monkeys, the sound was so powerful and the gig so fierce and tightly executed we were able to enjoy it even from a distant (and chatting) location. Like The National yesterday, you can't go wrong with Slowdive. What an unexpected, much longed, welcomed and special return to form this has been. Please keep coming...

 Rosenvinge, still a case to be resolved, luckily. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

The Bad

Too much Mordor (part II): History repeating with what happened the day before. Criminal sun, dust and too many people wandering around. And the collapse to leave the area was appalling after the Monkeys gig, although it has to be said that some of the blame should also rest within the public shoulders, not contributing at all to ease the circulation.

Arctic Monkeys: Arguably the biggest name of this year's edition... that was major disappointment. Not because of the band itself, that was impeccable (although not very engaging and with a setlist heavily focused in their last two records, not the most dynamic) but due to the strangely weak sound, hardly listenable from the far-yet-not-that-far location at Mango stage. For once, it was easy to understand that thousands of people weren't really into it, chatting and looking for things to do/go.

Rolling Blackouts C.F., pop waves (always) from down under. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

The Queen

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever/Jay Som: Yeah, we're going to give an ex aequo this time. Because both bands provided us the most joyful moments of the Festival. First, the mighty Australians (probably the most featured band at this Blog with taking into consideration their short career to date) demonstrated WHY any good festival that claims to be so SHOULD have several Antipodean bands in their roster. Energetic, jangly and unstoppable. Later on, it was time for Melina Duterte and her colleagues to conquer the (not so big, kudos to everyone to chose the Americans instead of Lorde, you are hope) audience gathered at Pitchfork stage. There's a natural charm that can't be faked. The Californian quartet looked, acted and played like a genuinely fun, easygoing, bunch. The kind of people you would like to go for drinks and goof around. Add they have enough, lo-fi, quirky and immediately lovely, songs to knock you down, and we must assume the fact: here's a band to love. Two, to be more precise...

But WE like the bus! Fun with Jay Som. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Here are the links of the previous chapters! Day 1 and Day 2

Primavera Sound 2018 in brief, day 2

No time to waste. Here's the second round of our traditional briefings of what went on for us within the Primavera Sound Festival 2018. Friday 1st of June came with several "big names" and a few promises to be confirmed so let's begin!

The Good

A great female afternoon: The combo of Waxahatchee-The Breeders is just a fantastic way of beginning a Friday afternoon. The band of Katie Crutchfield, which includes her amazing sister Allison (what a wonder when their two voices intertwine) and the great Katie Harkin (Sleater-Kinney, Sky Larkin), gave us a top-notch show, passionate and powerful. We love 'Out of the Storm' and believe the future couldn't be brighter for them. The day kept getting better and somewhat linked, because after Waxahatchee it was the turn of the Deal sisters, who are so genuinely fun and lovely you really don't care about the initial false steps or little bloopers. Their gig, like the weather, got warmer and warmer, ending in a memorable, gigantic, way. A big big love for both bands.   

Waxahatchee, sister's act. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

That band from Ohio: Luckily, we've seen The National in many different occasions and much better, smaller venues now, so we didn't bother about getting in a front row (if you want to be in a closer position for a gig in Mordor, you must sacrifice the previous or next one) position. From the distance, it's pretty obvious the gig wasn't going to be that special for us, but still the band was impeccable and unafraid of getting into their latest and more experimental 'Sleep Well Beast', or deliver a setlist generous in ballads and downtempos. In our opinion, highlights were a rougher 'The System Only Sleeps In Total Darkness', 'Fake Empire' and finale 'About Today', all stunners, as well as newbie 'Rylan' sounding promising. They never disappoint.

Matt Berninger meets the digital age. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

The Bad

Too much Mordor: After several editions without ending there that much, this PS18 we have spent too much time within Seat and Mango stages, the clearest symptom this year's line-up wasn't that appealing for us. Mordor is hell. No way to hide from the sun, too many bored people being there because the headliner "obliges" (meaning endless chat) and too many bar zones (meaning more human traffic of bored people). Add the issues of leaving the area, which is something that the organization has to improve. There's a Festival in Mordor and another one, much more pleasant, out of it.
Charlotte Gainsbourg: You know when you go somewhere because you have a reminiscence (not confirmed) that once you enjoyed it? It also works with records & artists. And usually, it's a mistake. That was the case.

The Queen
Father John Misty: It was in 2012 and Mr. Tillman opened the day (Saturday) at Auditori, very early in the afternoon. The venue wasn't full by no means, and he was doing a show on his own, acoustic guitar and dark sense of humour. How times have changed! On Friday he was accompanied by a full band and an orchestra, clearly one of the headliners of Friday line-up. And deservedly so. The show was arresting, flawless and enjoyable from start to finish. A performer at the top of his game, doing wonders with a song book that at Seat stage sounded like a collection of classics. Folks, the man has it. Probably the gig of the Festival. Must-see in a smaller venue as soon as we can. 

When pure comedy turns into pop. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Don't go anywhere, the final chronicle of the PS18 on Saturday 2nd, coming very soon at the Blog!

Primavera Sound 2018 in brief, day 1

The Primavera Sound Festival (PS) 2018 is almost over! So, here we are, pretty exhausted (again, the not very recommendable combination of daily work and Festival), but ready to being with the first round of our traditional quick chronicles of our experiences there. What follows is our take of Thursday 31st, with a note on Wednesday's fail. Let's go!

The Good

The War on Drugs: Yeah, the millennial era might be all about synths, danceable (or kind of) grooves and that sort of shallow urban pop-indietronica that fits so-well with glasses & clothes advertisements, but dammit if the best gig of the day wasn't full of guitar riffs & solos, plus the urgency and the mystery offered by the most iconic and traditional instrument of rock history. Adam Granduciel and Co. just nailed it. Terrific band, terrific tunes.

The War on Drugs, lost in the dream of rock. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

The infinite, powerful worlds of Laetitia Tamko
Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Two more female artists to follow closely: On a pretty "empty" day (to a poignant level compared with previous years, something that has been the sad trademark of this PS' edition, with the exception of Saturday) the gigs of Vagabon and Amaya Laucirica were very welcomed. Keep an eye on them...

The Bad

(Missing) Spiritualized: Is it that hard to make some sort of announcement or use the Festival App properly to let the people know how are the tickets needed for the Auditori selling? The organization could easily avoid extremely long queues and the understandable anger from concertgoers. We were the unlucky ones that missed grabbing a couple for a matter of minutes, so pretty frustrating to wasteone hour and half waiting for nothing...
Not made for this times: We'll try to keep the rant short and try not to repeat ourselves that much. The millennial age is just killing music. It should be about the songs, the artists that make it and the feelings these tunes bring to you, not about your looks (by the way, Mango?), your selfies, your constant, irrelevant & discourteous chatting, or the amount of beers you can drink... Raise your head and look at the stage, not to your smartphone. It's MUCH MUCH more interesting...

The Queen
The Twilight Sad: In terms of sounding, the Scotts show couldn't compete with The War on Drugs's one. Unfortunately a recurring trend within the Festivals and gigs, bass (and/or rhtym section) are too heavy in the mix burying vocals for the sake of power, that happened with The Twilight Sad. But we were compensated, extraordinarily, with something even more important and meaningful: real, intense, touching, unadulterated emotion. Coming straight from the heart and the boundaries that not even the death can take away. Humans talented and passionated enough to be in front to of a stage, and with the humanity, the guts and kindness to open their hearts out in front of us to pay tribute to a lost beloved pal. Goosebumps and tears. James, we're sure you did your friend proud. Thank you.

The Twilight Sad, Keeping Ourselves Warm. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Stay tuned, the second chronicle of the PS18, covering Friday 1st, is about to come!

Discoverer 125: new indie findings

In anticipation of Primavera Club, this weekend we are going to offer you a double dose of our discoveries series, with six bands & artists that are definitely our must-watchs of the Festival. Here are the first three, enjoy!

Chastity Belt. Formed in 2010 in Walla Walla but based in Seattle, WA, this all-female quartet met in college and kicked out the pop-post-punk engine following post-grad shows received with enthusiasm from the city’s DIY community and songs surfacing online around 2012. In summer 2013, after the digital single 'Seattle Party' they put out praised debut album 'No Regerts' that allowed them to tour around the country. No more a party-band, now they are back with 'Time to Go Home' sophomore release out on Hardly Art since March. Without losing their careless and funnily goofy attitude, there's much more here to be enjoyed: instrumental sections that create haze and gray-skies, vocals that infuses anxiety and a pensive, melancholic mood, Shapiro's lyrics dissecting the mundane while at the same time questions existence. I've been to a wonderful party... but then I woke up next morning. Strikingly powerful, powerfully beautiful.

Ultimate Painting. Hailing from Eastern London, the parallel project of James Hoare from Veronica Falls and Jack Cooper from Mazes blossomed fully in the summer of 2014 with their eponymous debut single. It was the crystallisation of a fast growing friendship and music connection that has its origin when Mazes were on tour supporting Veronica Falls and turned into exchanging demos and music sessions after the gigs together ended. Self-titled first LP arrived in October 2014 on Trouble In Mind Records to wide acclaim and tours around the world along Parquet Courts, Twerps and White Fence. But the two quickly got back into studio to record follow-up 'Green Lanes', out since this August. A truly guitar record with a foot on that 60's English melancholia and the other on sunny California, Ultimate Painting delivers sparse, gentle, dreamy, melodic and harmonic tunes that are almost a treaty of what's enduring, eternal pop.

Samantha Crain. Hailing from Shawnee, Oklahoma, Crain began her prolific music career in 2004, beginning touring when she was just 19, defending songs based on her short stories the summer before her senior year at Dale High School. That material became also her first recording, the self-released EP 'The Confiscation', later reissued by Ramseur Records in 2007. Their solo project expanded into a full band, the Midnight Shivers, with whom she recorded the album 'Songs in the Night' in April 2009 but, after the band disbanded, she came back to release under her own name with LP 'You (Understood)' a year later. Then arrived her work alongside John Vanderslice, who produced her 7" single 'A Simple Jungle' on 2012 as well as third album 'Kid Face' in 2013 on Full Time Hobby Records. Now the circle is completed with 'Under Branch & Thorn & Tree', out since July on Ramseur Records. A incredibly talented artist, with a gifted voice and an extraordinary ability for adding a striking, fierce and honest, narrative to an already attractive, melodic army of tunes. What a find!

The Bloodbuzzed Jukebox 29

This weekend we are covering the Primavera Club 2014, an exciting little Festival (a comeback after a one year hiatus) gathering some of the most promising national & international bands. That's why we have prepared a special edition of our TOP TEN playlist devoted to some of the bands playing there. Several music wonders to discover. As always, it's all at our Blog's soundcloud. Join Us!

Direct links to the previous Jukebox weeks
Week 1      Week 8        Week 15     Week 22  
Week 2      Week 9        Week 16     Week 23 
Week 3      Week 10      Week 17     Week 24
Week 4      Week 11      Week 18     Week 25
Week 5      Week 12      Week 19     Week 26 
Week 6      Week 13      Week 20     Week 27 
Week 7      Week 14       Week 21     Week 28

Welcome to the Jukebox!

Primavera Sound 2014: Timetables, 1rst attempt

PS14: the clashes' nightmare begins...

Here it is, the timetables for the Primavera Sound 2014 are unveiled... Still pending on some additional things, like Primavera als Parcs' schedule or the remaining small stages, but for the first attempt, this is what my PS 2014 looks like:

Wednesday, May 28th, La [2] Apolo
20:30 Aries 
21.30 Beach Beach 
22.30 Me and the Bees
Zero doubts here. Not very interested on Wednesday bands at Parc del Fòrum and La Castanya's showcase looks so exciting this is a no brainer. Me and the Bees presenting their new record! Can't wait...

Thursday, May 29th, Parc del Fòrum
17:45 Grupo de Expertos Solynieve (Sony)
18:40 Real Estate (Heineken)
19:35 Midlake (Sony)*
20:40 Warpaint (Heineken)
21:50 St. Vincent (Sony)
23:00 Queens of the Stone Age (Heineken) 
00:30 Arcade Fire (Sony)
If the schedules fit and there's time enough to move from Sony to Heineken and viceversa stages this should be an amazing day... Fingers crossed!

Friday, May 30th, Parc del Fòrum
19:25 Jenny Lewis (Sony)
20:40 Dr. John and The Nite Trippers (Ray-Ban)*
21:40 Slowdive (Sony) 
22:50 The Julie Ruin (Ray-Ban)
00:20 The National (Sony)
Terrible what a dramatic day it's going to be: Slowdive versus Sharon Van Etten? No Pixies? No War on Drugs? No Lee Ranaldo? That's criminal and, sorry to say, I believe the organisation could have done better, it's pretty strange to me not to think many of the public interested in one of the aforementioned won't like to watch any of the other names... so why are they playing at almost the same times?

Saturday, May 31th, Parc del Fòrum
17:20 La Sera (Vice)
18:45 Courtney Barnett (Pitchfork))
20:00 Dum Dum Girls (Pitchfork)
20:50 Hospitality (Vice)
21:50 Volcano Choir (Sony)
01:05 Helen Love (Vice)
02:10 Foals (Heineken)
Not as terrible as Friday but quite disappointing again. At this point I'm sacrificing Television because I'm not going to leave Courtney Barnett's show and don't want to miss Hospitality's... and after that gig... we'll see... Like last year's edition, maybe I'll be back home pretty early.

Sunday, June 1rst, BARTS
19:40 Joana Serrat
20:45 Grouper
21:50 Juana Molina
23:00 Angel Olsen
Another no-brainer, really looking forward to see Angel Olsen live, and I'm curious about a couple of names on BARTS' agenda so not much to discuss here...

Sure it won't be the final schedule!

*Incomplete (depending on the distances between stages)

Bloodbuzzed at Indietracks 2014!

Not exactly a post, but I couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer: Bloodbuzzed will be covering Indietracks 2014 for Indienauta and this humble blog! The indie press from Barcelona is going to the railroad, so excited!

What an amazing line-up already!!
Gruff Rhys │ Allo Darlin’ │ The Hidden Cameras │ Dean Wareham │ Joanna Gruesome │ Withered Hand │ The Popguns │ Rocketship │ Sweet Baboo │ Spearmint │  Thee AHs │ Axolotes Mexicanos │ Big Joanie │ The Blue Minkies │ Cosines │ Elopes │ Franny & Zooey │ The Just Joans │ Let’s Wrestle│ Laura J Martin │ Linda Guilala │ Los Cripis │ Lost Tapes │ MJ Hibbett and the Validators │ Night Flowers │ONSIND │ Slum of Legs │ The Spook School │ TeenCanteen │ The Very Most │ The Yawns │ The Wellgreen

PD: Any suggestion regarding flights, accommodation, distances is more than welcomed, thanks in advance!

Primavera Sound 2014: first impressions

And the DAY arrived, the Primavera Sound 2014 unveiled its line-up yesterday night. The movie was so-so imo (too short to make their story appealing) and the theatre was too full of hipster/posers only worried to identify the band names that made it hard to follow, but anyway, that's understandable. PS organisers offered quite a night (for free) to guests, so many thanks in that sense. 

But let’s go to key question. The #BestLineUpEver? No way. But it's a very interesting, diverse, and with a lot of potential line-up. Except Friday (The National & Slowdive, oh yes, oh yes), it’s the year I’m more disinterested with headliners. As a matter of fact, Thursday’s big names are ok for me, Friday are excellent, and Saturday are… annoying. It’s also worrying bands/hypes like Disclosure, Volcano Choir or Haim are so high in the line-up instead of groups like Midlake, Real Estate, Dum Dum Girls. So more than ever, I’ll happily focus on the "middle & lower class" of the line-up, where names like The Julie Ruin, Hospitality, Courtney Barnett or my dear Sharon Van Etten appear. Crossing my fingers overlaps have mercy this edition. They are going to make the difference between an ok Festival or an unforgettable one.

When timetables are confirmed, I'll add our plan for Wednesday and Sunday, but right now for SURE I'm going to La Castanya showcase (Me and the Bees!) and Primavera als Parcs, which looks stunning! But right now, here's how my (our) Primavera Sound 2014 looks like...

Green- Definetely seeing them. Absolute must
Yellow- If there are no overlaps (in particular with the green ones), I'll be there for sure
Orange- Curious about it/"on research mode"

Primavera Sound 2013: my draft schedule

3rd attempt. Not even two weeks before Primavera Sound 2013 begins, and now we have (virtually) all the information needed to try to design our schedule for the Festival. Here it is!

Wednesday, May 22nd, Parc del Fòrum/Apolo
18:00 Aliment (Ray-Ban stage)
19:00 The Bots (Ray-Ban)
20:00 Guards (Ray-Ban)
21.00 The Vaccines (Ray-Ban)
22.10 Evans the Death (Salón Smint Myspace)
00.00 Cheatahs (La [2] de Apolo)
01.00 Veronica Falls (La [2] de Apolo)

Thursday, May 23rd, Parc del Fòrum
18:25 Wild Nothing (Heineken stage)
19:30 Savages (Pitchfork)
20:30 Tame Impala (Heineken)
21:45 Dinosaur Jr. (Primavera)
22:55 The Postal Service (Heineken)
00:15 Grizzly Bear (Primavera)
01:40 Phoenix (Heineken)
Possible changes of Evans the Death at 20.45 at Adidas Originals stage instead of Tame Impala and Menomena at 00.30 at Vice stage instead Grizzly Bear.

Friday, May 24th, Parc del Fòrum
16:00 Ethan Johns (Auditori Rockdelux)
18:10 Kurt Vile & The Violators (Heineken)
19:30 Daniel Johnston (Auditori)
21:30 The Breeders performing Last Splash (Primavera)
22:45 Local Natives (Pitchfork)
23:50 Daughter (Vice)
01:30 Blur (Heineken)
03.15 Titus Andronicus (Primavera)
The organizations has made some changes on the schedule... that didn't help one bit. The Auditori will be so full with Daniel Johnston that maybe watching Peace at the same time at the Primavera stage might be a good option. Plus several empty hours with no clear option to attend...

Saturday, May 25th, Parc del Fòrum
18:35 Adam Green & Binki Shapiro (Heineken stage)
19:45 Rodríguez (Primavera stage)
20:55 Band of Horses (Heineken)
23.30 Camera Obscura (Ray-Ban)
01:05 Los Planetas (Primavera)
No changes on this day, very unfortunate with the schedule. Missing Bored Spies, The Babies, Sr. Chinarro, Grushenka... and to make it worse, there are several moments when nothing really interests me, in particular in between Band of Horses and Camera Obscura. We'll see...

Sunday, May 26th, Apolo/Sala BARTS
19:30 The Orchids (Sala BARTS)
20:30 Julie Doiron (BARTS)
21:30 Sr.Chinarro (BARTS)
22.30 Come (BARTS)
Easy and, on paper, comfortable last day. Still missing for the Primavera als Parcs schedule, where there are a couple of bands I would like to see. Even despite some disappointments and several decissions to be made, it's a busy & exciting schedule, don't you think?

"All Tomorrow's Parties", an alternative holiday

All Tomorrow's Parties

What a difficult movie to review! I thought I was going to watch a proper rockumentary celebrating the then 10th Anniversary of the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival (ATPs), arguably the best one in what regards to indie music (I repeat, arguably), and the expression of one of my music dreams: curating a Festival line-up. But I found something quite different instead...

"All Tomorrow's Parties" is not a director's work... but an editor's work. Nick Fenton collected more than 600 hours of footage from the fans and the bands themselves. Video cameras, mobile phones, super 8s and a few archive footage of the holiday camps in East Sussex and Somerset, where ATPs takes place, compared with what it used to be in the 50s and 60s. Can you make a film with that material?

The answer is yes and no. If the goal was capturing a vibe, and show that the Festival is unique, sort of a holiday break full of music, like the familiar activity it was on the 60s, but full of beards, "hipsters", drunk and stoned people, and of course, great musicians and loads of fun, then this film should be considered a masterpiece. But if you're looking for a documentary on the motivations, general aims, difficulties and evolution of the Festival, opinions of the musicians taking part on it, or just a film about music performances... well, then "All Tomorrow's Parties" is not what you're looking for. 

In my opinion, it's lack of coherence (it's disjointed) and/or structure (of course, there's no plot whatsoever) harms it, because at the end there's no real point on the development of the film. It could go on forever, it could end any second and it wouldn't make any difference. But in terms of visual experience is quite an intriguing one. Even if you don't care that much about the line-up proposed by Explosions In the Sky or Portishead, the film provides a fascinating take on young adults genuinely "abducted" by music. Among them, a bunch of the coolest musicians on Earth, capable of making music almost everywhere (the other biggest impact of the film). The scenes with Daniel Johnston, Grizzly Bear or Lighting Bolt are pretty mesmerizing, regardless whether their music appeals you.

To summarize my impressions: Is "All Tomorrow's Parties" a great documentary? Honestly, I couldn't really say. But would I like to go to one of the ATP's Festival? No doubt about it. Will definitely love to. 

SCORE: 6,25/10

Primavera Club 2012: we (finally) have timetables!

It's been a tremendous battle: against the economic crisis, against the stupid decisions from politics, who are on the verge of killing our cultural industry with the incomprehensible raise of the VAT tax for the sector, against bureaucracy (in Madrid and Barcelona) and against bad luck, with the cancellations of Cat Power and Crocodiles. So it has to be said first. Big, huge thanks to the Primavera organizers for not giving up and overcoming all obstacles. Thanks for bringing us the music. Again.

So here it is, finally. The timetables for the Primavera Club 2012 in Barcelona. I'm very happy to announce Bloodbuzzed, like past year, will be covering the Festival next week. and after checking times and venues (I still have to figure out how to move from one to another in a couple of situations), here's what my schedule looks like right now (this is not final).

Thursday 6th
19:15 Ghandi Rules OK at Sidecar
20:20 Dusted at Arteria Paral·lel
21:05 Great Lake Swimmers at Arteria Paral·lel
22:10 Cats on Fire at Arteria Paral·lel
23.15 The Soft Moon at Arteria Paral·lel

Friday 7th 
18:15 Little Wings at Arteria Paral·lel
19:30 Fernando Alfaro at Sant Jordi Club
20:30 La Bien Querida at Sant Jordi Club
21.35 Sr.Chinarro at Sant Jordi Club
22.45 Triángulo de Amor Bizarro at Sant Jordi Club
23.55 Los Planetas at Sant Jordi Club

Saturday 8th
19:30 Stand Up Against Heart Crime at Sant Jordi Club
20.15 Toy at Sant Jordi Club
21:25 Deerhof at Sant Jordi Club
22.50 Mark Lanegan Band at Sant Jordi Club
00:20 Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti at Sant Sant Jordi Club
01.40 The Vaccines at Sant Jordi Club

"The Other Side of the Mirror", the birth of Bob Dylan's myth

The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival 
In-Edit Beefeater Festival 2011, chapter I

Our first film in this long weekend devoted to the 9th edition of the Barcelona International Music Documentary Film Festival was focused on Bob Dylan. Theoretically, the documentary was not just another one to add to the long list of works on him, but included one of the most controversial and legendary performances ever, while it chronicles Dylan's music evolution in the three successive years he appeared at Newport Folk Festival, from 1963 to 1965. 

And that's exactly what it is. A collection of full-length performances (17 songs overall) by Dylan at Newport, brilliantly filmed by director Murray Lerner (the film was broadcasted by BBC Four in 2007). So if you are looking for early live shows of Dylan, playing some of his more famous tunes "The Other Side of the Mirror" is an excellent choice. But if you are looking for an insight documentary on the relation between the Newport Festival and Dylan, you are almost wasting your time.

I say almost because we have glimpses of something more on the film, little additions that suggest there's going to be a crescendo in the documentary. Between songs, in 1963 we have a newcomer, shy Dylan that has Joan Baez as his godmother at Newport, announcing to the audience the relevance of who are they going to listen/see. Only one year after, 1964, Lerner let us, briefly, in a couple of  bursts, see how Dylan's dimension has grown enormously, being the indisputable "king" of the Festival. Crowds loves him and wants more songs, to the point of not allowing other artists to play. We also have a couple (literally) of brief chats with the audience about the importance of folk music and Dylan's relevance. I admit I was engaged by the idea everything was going to "explode" in 1965.

Because that's the year when Dylan went electric at Newport, a mythical performance that, of course, I wanted to see. But what Lerner offers is just two songs of that set, and the acoustic final comeback. Yes, we can hear Dylan received a mixed response from the crowd, but there's zero interaction with the audience, no comments from anyone, just an (in my opinion) abrupt end. 

Maybe the problem has to do more with the advertisement/information booklet of the In-Edit Festival that marketed the documentary as a must-see to understand Dylan's evolution, quoting them, "as much a sculptural moment as an involuntary criminal trial. It must be seen at all costs". Sorry but, to me, "The Other Side of the Mirror" is not that film. For Dylan fans, as myself, is a very well filmed performance documentary (one that would easily receive an excellent rating), but if you are looking for more, as I was, it will disappoint you. I recommend you to skip this one and watch Lerner's Festival! instead, a documentary from 1967 that shares some footage with this but offers a much more vivid picture of the Newport Festival, while it also includes Dylan's controversial set from 1965.

SCORE: 5/10

The Perfect Bloodbuzzed Music Festival

Yesterday, on a radio programme, some music journalists talked about their perfect Festival line-up. Social networks also had their say, and aside of an entertaining hour, it forced me to think what would be mine. Took me a while, but I finally have my selection.

To be "professional", I considered a "draft" schedule and copied the five-day structure of this year's Primavera Sound Festival, with a very special line-up on the opening and closing days. It has been impossible to include everyone, but it has been a lot of fun doing it. Welcome to the first edition of Bloodbuzzed Music Festival!

Day 1, at the Impossible Stage
17:00 Angelou
18:00 The Softies
19:15 Mazzy Star
20:45 Nick Drake
22:15 10.000 Maniacs with Natalie Merchant performing "MTV Unplugged"
00:00 Bob Dylan (back in 1975)

Day 2, at the Perfect Stage
17:00 Kat Flint
18:00 The Very Most
19:15 The Mynabirds
20:45 The School
22:15 Camera Obscura
00:00 The Divine Comedy
02:00 Pulp

Day 3, Perfect Stage
17:00 Fanfarlo
18:00 Cat Power performing "You Are Free"
19:15 Beirut
20:45 PJ Harvey
22:15 The Decemberists
00:00 Arctic Monkeys
02:00 Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Day 4, Perfect Stage
17:00 Motorama
18:00 Sufjan Stevens (excluding "The Age of Adz")
19:15 Beth Orton
20:45 The Walkmen
22:15 Doves
00:00 The National
02:00 R.E.M.

Day 5, back at The Impossible Stage
17:00 The Concretes with Victoria Bersgman performing "In Colour"
18:00 Monkey Swallows The Universe
19:15 Saint Jude's Infirmary
20:45 The Beautiful South (Jacqui Abbot period)
22:15 Oasis, performing their two first albums
00:00 Joy Division

What would be yours?

Fly Me to the Moon, summer festival with Beach House

It was already announced during the days of the Primavera Sound Festival 2011. A misterious sort of announcement (you could read it on the back cover of the commemorative book of the Festival) I must say. Then names were rumored/made public. And, finally today, we get to know everything:

After the successful return to the Poble Espanyol during its last edition, Primavera Sound proposes a short cycle of l ive music under the name of “San Miguel presents Fly Me To The Moon". Two summer nights, during which it will be possible to enjoy a total of four performances.

The Wednesday 27th July centres around experimentation with the tropical and mutant pop of Animal Collective and the experimental electronic music of The Suicide Of Western Culture.

The second night Thursday 28th July will have a more delicate aura with the precious folk of the elfish Joanna Newsom and the subtlety of the ever more popular Beach House.

Tickets for Thursday night already booked! Excited to have the chance of seeing Beach House live! It's going to be a wonderful summer night! Here you have a couple of special vids of the two headliners for Thursday.

Beach House: Used to Be

Joanna Newsom Performs 81.