Primavera Sound 2013

[Olivedal 1904]

Of course it's a subjective matter. I don't think Blur or especially Daft Punk are really Primavera material. It has always been a festival where quality weighs more than corny crowdpleasers. The Knife and Swans are interesting enough. The rest of the names you mention from the undercard aren't that impressing at all. The strength of Primavera is the fact that they offer a wide and strong selection of smaller bands. Bat for Lashes, Frank Ocean, YYYs, Blur etc are better suited for Glastonbury or Reading in my opinion. Primavera has never been about bringing the biggest acts together. But if you want bigger names and more of "easy listening" then I'm sure you'd be delighted with that line up.

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

I was giving examples of the strength of the line up, not the subjective quality or the acts I most enjoy... Given that they've had the Cure & PULP the past two years, I wouldn't say Blur stand out as a particularly odd booking, but perhaps you're judging them off of one or two "easy listening" singles rather than their entire back catalogue. Nick Cave would be a perfect headliner, I agree to some extent that Daft Punk aren't that well suited, but they're hardly a "weak" booking, every festival in Europe is going to go after them when they finally return to the live circuit.

Argue it anyway you like, but there is no way in hell that line up could be described as "weak".

Edited January 6, 2013 by Frankly Mr Shankly

[Olivedal 1904]

Ok, I agree that Blur maybe isn't an odd booking. I guess I'm just feed up with "britpop".

But how do you rate the strength of the line up if not by subjective quality?

You don't seem to quite appreciate my angle. The fact that a lot of festivals would love to book Daft Punk is not something that neccesarily makes them a strong addition to Primavera. If it's just about getting the biggest names, then surely the likes of Glastonbury, Werchter and Roskilde are festivals for you. The ideal line up would include of Mumfords and Men, Daft Punk, Ed Sheeran etc.

That fake poster offered an underwhelming and unusually weak line up for Primavera, especially considering the undercard, which is what it's all about

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

You're still wrong. If Primavera was just about the under card then why bother to fork out for acts like Pulp, The Cure, Pixies, XX, Bjork etc. It's about getting the balance just right, which granted, that fake line up may not do 100%, but it's still not "weak." Never have I said it's just about getting the "biggest" bands, neither have I mentioned whether or not I am a fan of any of the bands I mentioned, so I'm not sure how you could suggest which festivals I should attend to suit my taste when I was speaking objectively, where as you seem to be rather set in your own personal ways.

Oh and drop the wink face, this isn't msn, we're not 14 year old girls & it doesn't add any weight to your argument, which you clearly came here looking for. Now I've said my piece, if you wish to continue, then feel free, but I have better things to do than argue over a line up that isn't even the real thing.

[Olivedal 1904]

You claim to estimate the line up objectively. Then what is the basis of your evaluation, if not the putative size of the acts? You can have a monkey trained to rattle off which bands are the biggest at the moment. That doesn't seem to be a very refined way of discussing the line up. Another way is to share your view of the quality of the bands on the poster. I don't think it's quite possible to do this without an element of subjectivity. This way it's possible to have a discussion with fellow music lovers about what would constitute a strong festival. Your way seems to be more of having a contest of knowing what names are supposedly the hotest or the most illustrious. If I want that I can read a tabloid like NME.

Of course the headliners mean something, they are a part of the festival. They attract some of the fair weather punters so that the festival can survive for another year. However, Primavera is not the kind of festival you attend, to have a party with your friends at the camping and then venture into the arena to get a glimpse of a few big acts you can tell your mates about back home. Primavera is mainly a festival for people who live for the music. That's why the undercard is really important and the headliners are relatively insignificant.

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

SBTRKT, Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab for Cutie, Benga, Refused, The Drums, The XX, Bjork, The Cure, Justice, Rufus Wainwright... just a few of the "commercial" or mainstream acts that played last year, which was considered to be one of the strongest line ups to date, Primavera always has the balance just right, which is what I've kept repeating again & again. You're the one who seems hung up on keep mentioning "the big names". That fake poster, whilst it may not be to your taste, does not deviate from the original formula of the festival, neither is it "weak"...a weak line up insinuates that: firstly it would not sell tickets & secondly that it would possibly alienate a festivals core market. That line up would shift a hell of a lot of tickets, whilst staying as true to the identity of the festival as possible, it is after all a business first & foremost. Oh & Daft Punk are hardly that indifferent to Justice when all's said and done, so your argument about them seems flawed also.

[Olivedal 1904]

I agree, Primavera always has the right balance. The line up on this poster however would deviate just a little bit from the original formula and I think it might alienate the core customers a little bit since it is lacking in quality. You are right about the fact that it would sell a lot of tickets though. While there are quite a few strong names on the poster it is just a tad short of the quality we've been spoilt with in previous years. I give you that it is not a terribly weak line up, just a little bit less strong than most of the years from 2006-2012.

[Bort]

The names aren't any bigger here than usual, except for maybe Daft Punk, but they're not playing anywhere. Blur isn't much more than a cult band outside their home country, anyway. They haven't done a proper tour in a decade, so a lot of people will come out for them. Joyless, image-obsessed hipsters might scoff at "popular" acts like these, but at least they put on legendary live shows and would draw a crowd to a festival in a city that's being crushed by unemployment and an outrageous VAT. And Nick Cave always impresses live.

Too bad this poster is fake and full of facepalm-worthy typos because it's loaded with quality from top to bottom and definitely outshines last year's real lineup (the other fake with the old logo is better, though, since it had Cat Power, Sigur Ros, Tom Waits, etc instead of Phoenix and Matt & Kim). Last year's top tier included one-album wonder Franz Ferdinand, Justice aka "we got photographed pretending to play while our gear was unplugged", naptime with Death Cab for Cutie and Wilco, and Saint Etienne as a replacement for Bjork. Enough said. There's a bunch of obvious hype acts that everyone wants to see because they're always on pitchfork/nme/spin, like Frank Ocean and Alt-J but that's true every year. Remember those stupid rape rappers that everyone went crazy for in 2011 but nobody cares about anymore? Didn't stop the lineup from being one of the best of the year, if not the best. Or Florence and her Screech in 2010?

Outside the big names, there are some amazing acts that most people never get the chance to see like The Knife, Elizabeth Fraser, J.G. Thirlwell's Manorexia, Cibo Matto, Dead Can Dance. Plus lots of interesting undercard acts. Mono? The Residents? Whitehouse? Sigh? Ulrich Schnauss? World's End Girlfriend? Melt-Banana? Good luck ever seeing acts like these at a festival except maybe an ATP. Asobi Seksu? I know they've never been to Barcelona, according to all the people that kept coming up to me because of my tote back in 2011, but have they ever been booked to play anywhere in the country? Merzbow? I cannot even imagine the collaborations that would ensue from having Merzbow and Sunn O))) and Asobi Seksu at the same festival as Boris or I'll just get depressed that it's not happening. Some quality electronic acts like Flying Lotus and Four Tet, neither of whom have ever played, surprisingly. A refreshing amount of female-fronted bands and solo acts, too. Would jump for joy if the undercard included returns from Nisennenmondai, Warpaint, Swans, Bell, Bat for Lashes, Factory Floor, as well.

What I don't get is why the person who made this would just steal 90% of another poster's lineup and then screw up so many names.

Wait, Bat for Lashes doesn't belong at Primavera?, That must have been the stupidest thing I've read in days, especially since she played in 2009 and just put out a great new album and is a stellar live act. Plus she's playing in London on the 25th of May, so she's very likely been booked for an overdue return.

Edited January 6, 2013 by Bort

[zahidf]

It would be highly unlikely they have much of the line-up in place and would make up a complete line-up poster in January. There are too many acts there to be first names. Blur are the only act so far announced.

Plus Daft Punk have informed Rob Da Bank (as he told me here - http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/bestival/2013/interview-robdabank.shtml) that they're not doing anything this year.

[zahidf]

Accoring to come portugese papers, Nick Cave and the Bad seeds are at Porto ( And probably barca as well)

http://www.jn.pt/PaginaInicial/Cultura/Interior.aspx?content_id=2984908

http://www.ionline.pt/boa-vida/nick-cave-the-bad-seeds-no-optimus-primavera-sound

[TheSeventhOne]

They best be at Barca!

[cdm22]

They best be at Barca!

[cdm22]

Just 8 hours to go until the line-up is revealed!

Edited January 23, 2013 by cdm22

[Diamond Solitaire]

Who are we thinking is going to get announced later on? Hoping for Nick Cave, Phoenix, Portishead and Yeah Yeah Yeahs personally

[tolywoly]

I'm enjoying the live feed of the launch gala on the Primavera website. Despite not understanding much of the chat.

[Chinaski_]

Here's the line up:

Happy with Postal Service, MBV, Dinosaur Jr, Titus Andronicus, Grizzly Bear, Nick Cave, Jesus & Mary Chain, Shellac, Kurt Vile, Deerhunter and Fucked Up.

Edited January 23, 2013 by Chinaski_

[cdm22]

Not too shabby

[tolywoly]

Not bad at all. I'd had my fingers crossed for Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But the Jesus and Mary Chain was a nice surprise.

They go all out, don't they - with the launch gala and the animated package. Must take more planning than is typical for these things.

[abdoujaparov]

oh for fucks sake....

Nurse With Wound

Swans

Dead Can Dance

Shellac

Fucked Up

Swans

Crime & the City Solution

fucking brilliant

and we cant go

[saints15]

how quickly does it usually sell out?

[When Jokers Attack]

What a line up!!!

[Paul ™]

Wow..

[tolywoly]

how quickly does it usually sell out?

[Homer]

Anyone know when the Porto one is announced? Am guessing a lot of the bands are likely to play both (NIck Cave and the Bad Seeds seem to be down for Porto).

[5co77ie]

Is it the 1991 Rollercoaster tour all over again?