Monday, May 31, 2010

Primavera Write-Up

"My friend and I are going to a festival in Barcelona next month. You should come!” she said.


“Barcelona you say? Umm... Who’s playing? And when is it?”

“Last weekend in May. And tons of people -- Wilco, Buena Vista Social Club, Spoon, Major Lazer – you should look it up online.”

I don’t recall my exact physical reaction, but I probably made my thinking face (sort of a combination of stroke victim and child-staring-at-television). Hipster music festival, early-summer Mediterranean coast, Barcelona – that shit is a Tier-1 Good Idea (and it certainly didn’t hurt that the girl asking was super pretty). I was making my thinking face because saying ‘maybe’ to something like that is fucking weak.

“Yeah, fuck it. That sounds awesome,” I said, snapping out of my thinking face.

And that was that. The festival itself (link here) was this weekend and, needless to say, it was awesome. Here are a few of the highlights, written smart-assedly in award show format:


Best Performance from a Band I’d Never Heard Of
Florence and the Machine
When she first took the stage I thought she was going to be annoying because she had bright red hair and was dressed like a gay angel. But she wasn’t annoying at all. She was awesome. I have a soft spot in my heart for vocalists who can plug their microphones into an effects pedal and make it work. Her band was awesome too. One word: Rockharp.


For Totally Playing the Shit out of Veckatimest
Grizzly Bear

Because that’s the one they sold at Starbucks.


Drummer Who Most Obviously Did Not Decorate His Own Instrument
This guy...

Bummer.


Most Rapey
Major Lazer

I’m all for exuberant stage shows, but when you stop listening to the music and have to ask yourself “who is that girl and why is he doing that to her?” they might have gone a little overboard.


Most Unexpectedly Metal
Wilco

I don’t know if the folks who make Jeff Tweedy’s flannel shirts were informed, but he is basically in a metal band. What’s the last thing you expect during a live rendition of ‘Impossible Germany’? Alien attack, probably. But closely following that would have to be the explosive aneurisms of awesome that the Wilco drummer and guitarist seemed to suffer at corresponding intervals.


Best Rack
Black Francis of The Pixies














<-- Nice.



Most Adorable Frontman
Carl Newman of The New Pornographers

Happy ginger with a funny little Canadian lisp chatting up the crowd between songs. Super precious.


Best Dressed
Spanish Hipsters


<--- How are this guys’ shorts even staying on? This award was clinched when my friend said aloud, “all we need now is a guy wearing one of those Velvet Underground t-shirts” and then like five seconds later, seemingly magicked into existence by the utterance, a guy walks past rocking the Andy Warhol banana. It was amazing. Spain doesn’t even have an Urban Outfitters.







Best Set
Spoon

Spoon rocks pretty hard.


Overall Winner
Me

Best weekend ever.

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