Barcelona Chronicles: junio 2006

PRIMAVERA SOUND, BARCELONA 2006: THE BEST OF

Three days of dusk 'til dawn festival-going. It was a task set only for the best of the best music lovers. Tara and I took it upon ourselves to represent and put ourselves to the challenge.

Although there were moments where our commitment to the cause was tested (normally between 4 and 5am), when sleep and warmth were such tempting options, the music, the merchandise and those Spanish hotdogs never failed to revive a bout of waning enthusiasm.

So I am happy to report that made it to the end - to 5.30 on Sunday morning when we stumbled home bleary-eyed yet happy-hearted.

Installment 1 of The Best... starts at day 3.

DAY THREE

The last day of this fantastic festival and I planned to make the most of the next 11 hours of music. All the biggies were there for the finale: Lou Reed, Violent Femmes, Mogwai, Stereolab, Deerhoof, BJM, Lambchop y mucho mas. Of course food aquiring, port-a-loo going, drinking banned alcohol at the front of the entrance with Irish lads and some general wandering meant that not all the greatness could be seen. But I did my best and had a great time whilst doing so.

8.10pm

Best headwear: Sported by those cute Spanish boys from Coconot - which just so happened to be the Best Spanish indie rock band of the day.

9.20pm

Best 'back to 1967' experience: Sharing a joint and dancing to I'm Waiting For The Man. Ooooh yeah, I'm waiting for my man / 26 dollars in my hand...wahahahahaow.

Although I had my doubts about seeing the infamous Lou Reed 40 years after the Velvet Underground's heyday, the masterful White Light/White Heat and Waiting for the Man more than made up for the rest of the set which consisted of Lou and his band playing what sounded like a tribute to Bryan Adams.

If only I was born a few decades earlier...

9.25pm

Best baby rocker: Spotted in front of us at Lou Reed.

Clapping his hands and shaking his booty, that was one cool bub!

10.40pm

Best bushy chops: Worn most successfully by Frankie Emerson(is that his name? 1st guy on the left, from The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Elbows were put into action to get front row positions for these notorious psychedelic revivalists. Expectations of antics from Anton Newcombe were dispelled as the band proceeded to play a tightly rocking set.

Just happy to be there, I took lots of photos - most of them out of focus - and jumped up and down with the fans.

The hour between pm and am

Best funny thing I did all night: Take photos of myself in a port-a-loo.

As to what I was thinking at the time of these questionable actions, I am not sure. I do however, remember thinking at the beginning of the festival that it would be fun to do a Primavera Public Toilet series...perhaps the artitic integrity was lacking here.

1.05am

Best band I think were awesome but I can't remember: The Violent Femmes.

Why oh why did I choose to be under the influence during one of the best rock bands EVER? And the photos I managed to take don't even help to reconstruct those lost memories. Sigh.

3.15am

The best loudest music: Mogwai.

Every. single. chord. is. felt. reverberating. through. every. part. of. your. body.

Despite damaged cochlears, watching this band was a musical sensation. I left Tara on the grassy knoll and ran into the sea of swaying people, pushing my way forward towards the thick, languid sound waves resonating from the front of the stage. And here I remained until the last note had been played, in a world of my own, completely and utterly encompassed in the etheral sounds.