Primavera Sound 2014 - Day 2

After the rain, inevitably, comes the sun (little darlin’), and so on the second day of Primavera Sound in Barcelona we can actually see things like the impressive view one has from the festival site. In the sunshine it is all quite breathtaking, especially from the top of the staircase that leads you to the Vice and Pitchfork stages.

On that Pitchfork stage Glasser struts her stuff. She released her second album, named Interiors, last year, but live she mixes it up with older material as well. The stage is almost bare. There’s a guy behind a laptop, and then there’s Cameron Mesirow, who looks as intriguing as she sounds. On stage she is at times seductive, at times skipping about as if in a bad Mozart comedy (including la-la lines), and at times theatrical. Which is a good thing, for she is the only thing on stage to look at, and one does so willingly.

She is basically as intriguing as her music. At times there is a little beat to dance to, but more often are the completely divergent soundscapes that range from the interesting to, sometimes perhaps a bit estranging. Nonetheless, with Cameron at the helm, there is always something to it. Very impressive is the control she has over her voice. From almost operatic interludes to genuine emotional singing, there’s a command in her vocals that cannot be denied.

On the same stage, Majical Cloudz is up a bit later, and that, too, is an interesting act. The stage is just as bare as with Glasser moments earlier, with Devon Welsh at the center and Matthew Otto behind all the electro gadgetry at the side. Where Glasser commanded the stage by doing, Welsh does this by not doing, and, in that, magnifying the nakedness and vulnerability of it all. Otto doesn’t come with beats or the like, but he almost mimics the vocals of Welsh, and together they form a unity with just that one thing to focus on. The songs lay bare the troubles of his mind, which fits in perfectly with the minimal form of the act.

How “honest” and “naked” Majical Cloudz is, how purposely theatrical and artificial St. Vincent performs. The act she has crafted seems like the Rise and Fall of the Bionic Woman. Her motions are android like, and while being Mrs. Roboto she still manages to hit all the notes with an almost automatic precision. Her performance is close to a stage show, and not because of all kinds of antics and extra characters on the podium, but because she convincingly plays the part she herself has written for no one but her.

Between all the “acting” there is not much that is lost in terms of musical performance. Her singing is inch perfect, and her guitar playing shows she is definitely a musician, not just a stage artist. The new songs sound incredibly powerful, with ‘Digital Witness’ being the second thing she plays. This is a woman who is really making a statement. Her album received great acclaim, her musical ability live is impeccable, and the stage act she has built around all her talents makes for a great performance. She has really become an artist, and one who has shown to belong on the greater stages at that.

Arcade Fire close out the Sony main stage, and if you want to actually see them you have to be there early. People are queuing up from the very moment St. Vincent finishes her set, which means there’s a 1 1/2 hour waiting period for this lot. And apparently, waiting and wanting to see a band you get emotional about equals frustration on some parts, with people trying to get as good a position as they possibly can. So annoyance a plenty here (though the impromptu ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ sing-a-long by some of those waiting is a welcome diversion to all that). Luckily, when the music starts, everything else is long gone and forgotten.

So suddenly, instead of frustration, there seems to be only sheer joy on people’s faces. From young, lanky boys singing along passionately with every word to big bearded blokes doing “oe-oe” chorus lines in as good a high pitched voice as they can manage. And the girl behind them is smiling -- and not annoyed -- when the aforementioned boys start jumping up and down to some of the more indie rock songs, and probably land on her toes at least a couple of times whilst doing so. Good vibes are suddenly all around. And Arcade Fire are the cause of all this.

The band start their show with some of the deliciously catchy songs off of their new album, such as ‘Reflektor’, which gets everyone in either a dancing or a jumping mood. Both the start and the end feature some tracks off of their most recent album, with ‘Be Exist’ positioned somewhere in the middle. And though the outfits scream “disco” (and those things are certainly screaming in every other way as well), the middle of the set has a lot of indie rock from Funeral and Neon Bible to it as well.

They not only treat the audience to some good music, but the robotic sculpture a bit off from the stage, the people with the big heads that at one point come walking on the stage, and the confetti at the end: they certainly want to give away a good show out there. The euphoria at the end (when the confetti comes down) certainly is indicative of how this band manage to touch all these people standing on this massive field. There are people dancing, jumping, singing, and emotionally responding to what certainly has to be a rightful headliner this festival.

Julio Bashmore certainly has a bit more trouble getting such a good response, at least at the start of his set. Not really his fault, mind you, but the late start due to technical difficulties in combination with the lingering effects of said difficulties make it, well, difficult for him to get out of the gates. Due to the time slot we make the executive decision to not see him undoubtedly redeem himself, but get some shut eye for the upcoming days of the festival.