Primavera Club 2012 in brief, day 1

Update on the first day of the Primavera Club 2012!

The Good

Dusted at Arteria. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Arteria: After the amount of incredible and despicable obstacles the Organization has faced regarding the venues of the Festival, I was thinking the unknown Arteria Paral·lel wouldn't be a suitable place. But on the contrary, it is such a wonderful venue for having concerts. It's even a very pretty and comfortable place. Now, can you imagine how nice it would be having a Primavera Club just between Sala Apolo and Arteria (they are in front of each other)?

Dusted & The Soft Moon: One of the best things about Primavera Sound/Club is discovering new bands. It always happens and that's precious. Dusted was a total surprise. Fantastic melodies, somewhere in-between space-rock and folk-rock, like Neil Young or Fleet Foxes being helped by Dave Fridmann on production. Definitely band to check. And the last act of the night, The Soft Moon,  although not really my taste, wow! Sounded terrific. It was nice to be in madchester or an 80s dark club for a while.

Bjorkas from Cats on Fire. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Cats on Fire: Wasn't the best of sounds and there were some other issues (read below), so not all the gig was that remarkable, but some songs were outstanding ("My Sense of Pride" was amazing) and folks, we do have a frontman here. Mattias Bjorkas looks like a young David Bowie, moves likes Ian Curtis (spasmodic dances), stares at talks to you like with a naughty and intriguing face... and hey! The guy can sing and deliver all the jangle pop wonders their fantastic tunes have on record live. Cats on Fire will become bigger and bigger.


The Bad
Shout Your Mouth!: This is becoming very worrying and frustrating. People comes to gigs to talk and comment with his/her partner/group. They don't give a damn about the music. I'm not that innocent: I know there's a huge amount of people who goes to Festivals like Primavera because is "an event to be". It looks "cool". But this is ridiculous. I go to the concerts to hear & watch the artists I like or to discover new proposals. I can chat with my friends in between concerts, comment about a song when it is finished, before a new one starts, or outside the venues. But I don't need to hear the f****** annoying beeep from your Iphone every second. I don't care you are chatting through whattsapp or saying how cool you look on twitter with your new hat! If you don't care about the music, at least show some respect for the ones playing, or trying to listen them.
Low voices: Don't know if it has to do with mics or singers, but Brian Borcherdt from Dusted and Mattias Bjorkas from Cats on Fire's voices in particular sounded very low (and I was at the front row). In both cases, this limited the impact of their otherwise excellent performances.
Organization & the Press: Why the press has a much more reduced schedule to pick up their accreditation? Don't seem very logic for me to put such an obstacle for the ones that would like to see as many bands as possible to review them. Besides, press has the same accreditation as the regular audience, so why the restrictions?

The Queen

Great Lake Swimmers. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Great Lake Swimmers: Sure, this is a personal choice, but the Canadians were, as I hoped, sensational. Their delicate folk sounded elegant, subtle and rich, with plenty of moments to be remembered. I have to highlight the moments were Tony Dekker and Miranda Mulholland's voices intertwined. Plus, the fact than despite being a short gig, they played personal favourites from "Ongiara" and "Lost Channels", like "Your Rocky Spine", "Pulling On a Line" or "I Am Part of a Large Family". Even the aforementioned disrespectul people was unable to harm the beauty of their music. Finally saw them live, and it was completely worth it.

Many more bands today and tomorrow, so more updates coming very soon. Stay tuned!

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

Primavera Club 2012: 50/50?

Wednesday arrived, and as promised, the organization revealed the full line-up of the forthcoming Primavera Club 2012 (December 6-8). And on my first impression I have mixed reviews about it (click on the image to enlarge and see the complete list).

Negative side

• Just one name from my wish list, which is quite a disappointment (their agendas made think they were possible, so I was hoping for a few more "hits"). Maybe for spring 2013? 
• Less days and less bands. Not to mention the quite dramatic reduction in Madrid. I know this is not the fault of the organisation, but the consequence of the absurd policies of our governments... but still, it is frustrating.
• Distributed in five days, last year I was able to be at more than a dozen concerts. I'm afraid with the reduction of days, overlaps can be more painful than ever. Hope I'm wrong on this matter...
• Sant Jordi Club instead of Casino l'Aliança? Sound was pretty great, hope the change works...

Positive side

• Cat Power. Finally I'll be able to see Chan Marshall! 
• Toy (the one on my wish list), Great Lake Swimmers (totally unexpected, very happy with that), The Vaccines, Cats On Fire, plus the special gig of Los Planetas. Five must-see acts.
• Aloud, El Genio Equivocado and BCore will have showcases during the Festival. That means nice bands to discover/enjoy, almost granted.
• Quite a few bands to research and, maybe, discover, one of the biggest pleasures, and trademarks Primavera Sound always offers us... 

Next week, the organisation will have the schedule, which could be a major fact in order to value more accurately the line-up (fingers crossed for the overlaps). But whatever the case, plenty to see and enjoy this December! Thanks Primavera!

Discoverer 3: new indie findings

Third round of indie proposals!!

The Middle East. Hailing from Townsville, Australia, and they sound a bit like mixing Great Lake Swimmers with Neutral Milk Hotel (yes, that means superb folk). An excellent homonymous EP, where you can find the gorgeous "Blood", precede their debut album, "I Want that you are Always Happy", that will released on April 8th. Check their facebook to hear two more tunes, including the amazing "Jesus Came to My Birthday Party".



Brave Irene. I've only heard two songs, so this is a bold statement. But there's no risk considering that Rose Melberg (Tiger Trap, The Softies, Go Sailor, Gaze, and solo) is in front of this project. The jangle-pop heroine is back, now with a 5 piece band format based in Vancouver, releasing their first EP next week. And its seems the magic is still intact. Catchy pop tunes, with a slightly psychedelic side thanks to the keyboards and unforgettable melodies, Rose's trademark for almost 20 years. 
Brave Irene - No Fun by Slumberland Records
Brave Irene - Longest Day by Slumberland Records

The Dodos. A new discovering for me despite being around since 2005, next week is a very important one for this San Francisco duo, as they will release their fourth album, "No Color". "Black Night", an amazing example of frenzied folk that turns into an epic cascade of drumming and riffs, is an excellent first taste on an album that promises a lot of emotions.