Primavera Club 2012 in brief, day 2

Tired, but here's the quick review of what we lived yesterday night at Primavera Club 2012!

The Good

Fernando Alfaro. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

The Spanish Indie Day: Going to Sant Jordi Club on Friday meant being part of "La Alineación de Los Planetas" a series of gigs with some of the best Spanish indie bands, as selected by Los Planetas. It was an interesting line-up comprising Fernando Alfaro, La Bien Querida, Sr. Chinarro, Triángulo de Amor Bizarro, before Los Planetas closed the night. It was nice to hear the very diverse styles and the solid performances of each artist. Spanish indie, at least in what refers to music proposals (not talking about money, resources, support, future perspective, these are much harder and very different issues), has good health.

Fernando Alfaro: Los Planetas aside (more below), among the Spanish bands the highlight for me was the veteran, former member of the mythic Surfin' Bichos and leader of another referential name on the Spanish alternative scene, Chucho, Fernando Alfaro. He might look like your history teacher, but believe me, the guy knows about indie rock and how to fill a stage with music, putting down a flawless show with several moments to outline, like "El Detonador" (that was on the soundtrack of Alejandro Aménabar's "Abre Los Ojos") or "Un Viaje Largo, Largo". Serious stuff.

Little Wings. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Little Wings: Before we started our trip (quite an adventure by foot) to the "magic mountain" we made a quick stop at the Arteria Paral·lel to watch and hear the folkie and soul sounds of Kyle Field. A wandering spirit, his music is hard to define. Eerie but soulful, chaotic but heartfelt and compelling. Even if his voice, again, couldn't be heard as it should had sometimes, yesterday we discover a unique artist.

The Bad
Shout Your Mouth! (part 2): It was bound to happen. If the majority of "chatting" people probably didn't have a clue about the artists that were watching on Thursday, the possibility of having even more people attending Friday gigs only because it was a special event (Los Planetas back live after two years) was something to expect. But frankly, I don't get why people who are only interested in "showing up" wants to be at the front row. Oh, and second comment, at least in Barcelona, live music is on the verge of being completely ruined thanks to IPhone and modern mobile phones. Thank you, Steve Jobs (note the irony). 

La Bien Querida. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

La Bien Querida: No bass and no drums? Umm, didn't look very promising. And sadly, it wasn't. The electronic percussion wasn't the best choice for the venue. I missed all the richness and subtleties of her music, replaced and ruined by a much monotone, cold and anodyne club sound.
Sant Jordi Club: We are very lucky compared with the Madrid Primavera Club (that would deserve a post on its own, what a country). The venue itself is quite ok, and the sound, well, not excellent but pretty decent. But it is a horrible place to get there. Mobility issues, that will increase today (several accesses will be closed as another activity takes place in the area).

The Queen

Los Planetas. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Los Planetas: Now I can say it (proudly): I have seen Los Planetas live. Yes, there were "sound issues", like Jota's guitar, a few slightly out-of-sync tunes, or a few a bit blurred, so the eternal debate on the band from Granada playing live can continue. And yes, if, like me, you are not into their latest records (where they embraced flamenco to merge it with their trademark space-rock), you probably think you heard too many of them last night. But it doesn't matter. After I got "Corrientes Circulares en el Tiempo" followed by "Nunca Me Entero de Nada", time stopped for me. So many memories and emotions aroused. With wonderful and hypnotic visuals they played "Santos Que Yo Te Pinté", "Segundo Premio", "Un Buen Día", "De Viaje"... Did I need to keep writing? They are, arguably (of course, this is music, not maths), the best Spanish band ever. And they have tones of songs to prove it. As they did yesterday.

Final day of the Primavera Club today, so stay tuned for the last chapter!