And in the third year, the Primavera was resurrected, after the anguish and confusion of the pandemic biennium, with its redoubled splendor and the long-awaited atmosphere of normalcy for all intents and purposes. It was a festival Thursday with a Saturday flavor, this one, with crowds, unusual on the opening day, taking over the different stages of the Parc del Fòrum and expressing a plus of effervescence, of laughing crowd covenaround a first grill of attractions of a very varied nature, which ranged from the electric corrosions of Kim Gordon (the former Sonic Youth bassist) to the Mediterranean song of Maria del Mar Bonet.
Old sensations revived, a lot of spirits and a highly visible preponderance of international audiences (in recent editions it was already around 60%), as well as some long queues at the most restricted stage, that of the Auditori del Fòrum, with the Rockdelux brand. That’s where some of the most eagerly-awaited performances of the afternoon began, such as the one by Kim Gordonlady of early noise-rock, whom the passage of time has not softened, but quite the opposite.
no wave pride
Perhaps evoking the alt-rock origins of Primavera, Gordon put into dance a dense and severely distorted art-punk, following without deviating from the repertoire of the album ‘No home record’ (2019), well supported by a trio and framed by images of industrial warehouses and suburban areas. invectives against capitalism between the slow strides of ‘Get yr life back’, with its angry singing, bursts of robust rock on ‘Earthquake’ and a tribute to his roots in the New York no wave scene with the version of ‘Blonde red head’ by DNA, with extra dissonances. Kim Gordon is still a lot of Kim Gordon.
In the same auditorium, Maria del Mar Bonet’s debut at the festival, to which he dedicated one of his songs, ‘Dansa de la primavera’, in an extended-format recital, with six detailed musicians, and a panoramic repertoire, drawing on various registers of his work: singing with views of the east, ‘Digues amic ‘, quoting Verdaguer, that ‘Alenar’ that Manel took to electronic territories not long ago. It is not usual for the Mallorcan to condense her classics into a recital, but the occasion was propitious to travel to ‘Mercè’ and evoke two recently deceased friends, Jordi Sabatés (the ‘bluesy’ ‘Jo em donaría a qui em volgués’ with a psychedelic organ) and Pau Riba (‘Es fa llarg hope’). And he couldn’t miss the gesture towards the purest popular roots with ‘Sempre hi ha vent’ and, off script, ‘So de pastera’, letting his single, clean voice sustain it ‘a cappella’.
Subtle country aromas
Another authoritative voice, that of Kacey Musgraves, reigned on the esplanade cordially known as ‘Mordoh’, riding that repertoire that, from its country roots, has evolved into pop tempered with soft-rock textures. The Texan confessed to feeling “fuckin’ excited” in her debut in the “lovely country Spain & rdquor ;, and the songs of her new album, ‘Star-crossed’, as the title, ‘Good wife’ or ‘Cherry blossom’, they transmitted aromatic vibrations at dusk. Vestiges of her country education floating in the air, although much more processed than those of Faye Webster, bearer of ‘roots’ melancholy, with ‘pedal steel’ at the ready, in the neat staging of that album sarcastically titled ‘I know I ‘m funny haha’.
But, although varied offerings such as ‘mainstream’ pop have made a place for themselves at Primavera, ascendant rock continues to form part of its denomination of origin, and the gentlemen of Les Savy Fav were there, representing post-punk essences with his natural touch of delirium, pulling the material that a decade or two ago put them into orbit. Y the endearing classic Dinosaur Jr, with its appointment of electric aridity and hospitable harmonies, and the recovered tandem of two weighty figures such as J Mascis and Lou Barlow. There are no steering wheel hits in his career, and his carefully disheveled sound was shaped by quotes from his latest work, ‘Sweep it into space’ (co-produced by Kurt Vile), dented classics like ‘Freak scene’ and ‘Feel the pain’, and his sympathetic attack on ‘Just like heaven’, by The Cure.
an unpredictable band
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An artifact with as much or more pedigree if possible, I have it, started the night with one of his combinations of guitar aridity, melodic care and vanishing points in which almost everything seems possible. Those from Hoboken, New Jersey, have always been unpredictable, and as they passed through an overcrowded Cupra stage (the amphitheater with the sea in the background) they tightened the rope with the distortion festival of ‘Ohm’, with Ira Kaplan delighted with his mischief, to later drift towards other climates with the sleepy ‘Shaker’, the falsetto of ‘Mr. Tought’ or the mental drift of ‘Autumn sweater’. his was a familiar yet sturdy anchor point for this kick-off day among the crowds, building momentum for headliners this weekend like Beck and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.