Primavera Sound 2017

[Calum stoke]

50 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Ha no way! Seriously she saved my festival/holiday from being a total disaster - together with my crushing comedown I was seriously not having a great time yesterday morning. Tell her I love her.

Haha. Get in! It was actually my mate Em who found it. So you've had two saviours this festival!! Ive told them both that you're eternally grateful!

[melanie isabel]

22 hours ago, FloorFiller said:

Got insanely fucked up yesterday and lost my phone and wallet and also missed Aphex Twin and everything after! Such a tit. How was he? Been coming down horrendously all day and only now feeling normal. Thankfully a girl found my phone and met up with me to give me it back otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get back in to the festival. What a lifesaver. Mel if you're reading this you're a G.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your festival pal!! 

Mel  x

[chemica]

Van Morrison is timeless. Excellent. Hope you're all enjoying the festival!!

[xxialac]

The trouble with booking Grace Jones is that it exposes the lack of charisma of other performers.

She is an absolute tour de force. And bonus points for the outfit-matching strap on dildo. 

[tjrant]

Are Arcade Fire going to lift the screens and turn it up for everyone who isn't in the first few rows?

[weston24]

I think the screens were down because of the wind? Because one is down on the opposite stage too.

I watched by the Heineken stage bar as the sound was so good and there was so much space. An amazing set I thought. That's the 8th time I've seen them, including primavera in 2014 and I'm still glad they booked them.

[Messy]

Arcade Fire set/setlist was pretty weak, right?

 

We.went VIP this year and have to say the VIP area for headliners is an utter shambles. I'd probably only go VIP again though for the other perks, I'll maybe go into more depth tomorrow when I'm less pissed.

[kingcrawler]

3 minutes ago, Messy said:

Arcade Fire set/setlist was pretty weak, right?

I disagree, the only big omissions for me were Tunnels and Keep the Car Running and as much as I love them I've seen them done a few times now so I'll happily lose them for stuff like In the Backseat. Thought the new songs came across really well too, Creature Comforts especially. Saw some good stuff this weekend but Arcade Fire were definitely the highlight for me.

[weston24]

Tunnels, Laika and Keep the Car Running were the only big omissions really, but as kingcrawler says, having rarer tracks like In the Backseat and Neon Bible more than made up for it.

I went into it with no expectations (was still considering going to wild beasts) but I thought it was a strong greatest hits set. 

[Olivedal 1904]

Arrived about 90 minutes early and secured a good spot for Arcade Fire which was worth it. Probably the best set of the weekend for me. 

On the other end of the bill Jardin de la Croix impressed hugely, so loud and the joy of performing really shined through. They always book one or two post-rock/post-metal, black metal bands but would love for them to also present more international names in these heavier genres. Primavera meets a little bit of Arctangent and Roadburn would be the perfect festival! 

Next year I would like to see the likes of Alcest, Russian Circles, Cult of Luna, Deafheaven, Jacob, It These Trees Could Talk etc.

 

[FloorFiller]

Overall had a great festival despite my many mishaps, but for me personally there was definitely a Frank Ocean shaped hole on the Friday/across the weekend. Guys a real fucker. 

[Memory Man]

On 03/06/2017 at 11:27 PM, xxialac said:

The trouble with booking Grace Jones is that it exposes the lack of charisma of other performers.

She is an absolute tour de force. And bonus points for the outfit-matching strap on dildo. 

Completely agree! She was the set of the festival by a long way for me. Other notable mentions for sleaford mods (after they sorted the sound out) jackmaster's daytime set on thursday and Kink on friday night. And also jarvis & !!! Chk chk chk. 

Mordor is shit but you just have to play it right. We were late arriving to metronomy & hated it as we were miles away & no one was dancing. They did play well tho! So we left early walked down the other end used the toilets & got inside the front barrier for Grace about 15 mins before she was due on and it made it a great gig!

As much as many of you seem to not like haim, we went & enjoyed them! They do what it says on the tin i.e pop but if you take it for what it is then it can be fun! Also the AF secret gig was brilliant, 2 bonus additions to a stacked lineup - cannot complain! Particularly as i was never going to see AF at their main gig and under any other circumstances Haim would have played in Mordor but ended up on Rayban which is easily the best stage

Edited June 5, 2017 by Memory Man

[Noeliam]

Please go on with the reviews! Thinking about this for next year  

[sgtpepper100]

Finally back home.  I'm ruined.

So, every year the lineup comes out for Primavera and I've never really had anyone to go with so sulk all year.  This year I though, the line-up is SO. GOOD. that I just need to go.  Luckily, an old running club buddy and his mate were going, so we shared a hotel room.

Obviously, my hopes were massively high for Primavera, and guess what?  It surpassed them in every single way.  Just incredible.  

I genuinely loved every stage, even "mordor" as you all call it. Why the hate?!
The weather was stunning
Seeing bands in the hazy sunshine is just amazing
Sound was spot on at all stages, especially at Rayban (my favourite stage at any festival ever)
Every band I wanted to see were incredible.  The worst it got for me was Bon Iver and Mitski, both of whom were merely just "great" (!)
All stages ran on time.
All the unexpected stuff was so much better than expected - even though I missed Arcade fire and Mogwai, and I'm not a huge fan, that's 3 quite amazing surprises.
The crowds.. maybe it's the sun and the warm weather, but every one was just grand. Best festival crowd I've come across
Toilets were great
Bars and food stalls were never too busy
Easy to get to stage to stage, and easy to get near the front if you wish
All security and bar staff were very polite, happy to speak English or humour my broken Spanish

Cons?  Leave that with me as I can't think of anything right now.

Act highlights for me:  Flying Lotus, !!!, Solange, Kelly Lee Owens, Aphex Twin, This Heat, Death Grips, John Talabot disco, Weyes Blood

[TiZuff]

Just back, great festival. Would highly recommend to anyone. totally agree with the above, ray ban sound was fantastic. So many highlights:

The XX 
Jamie XX (esp opening with White Ferrari and playing Nikes)

Bon Iver

Sampha
Talobman 

Aphex

Haim

Arcade Fires new song going down a storm live.

Local natives Wednesday night
Jackmaster thursday afternoon

Bicep
Flying Lotus

aaaand finally the closing pary with dj coco on the ray ban stage. Cant go wrong with that. 

[Mardy]

Highlights

Magnetic Fields doing the whole of 50 song memoir, probably something I'll never get to see again

Arab Strap. Man, i loved that. had a dance, had a cry, just wonderful

Bon Iver. Incredible. That's not an easy listen, but so incredibly moving and heartfelt. Genius

Bill Drummond

Solange. Some show that, theatrical and accessible in perfect combination.

Grace Jones. Showed Van Morrison that getting older doesn't have to mean getting shitter

 

Downsides

Van Morrison. Awful.

XX. Not their fault, it just became quickly apparent how dull I find them as a live proposition. Definitely in the minority though, they had the most rapturuous, up for it crowd I saw all weekend.

The food was generally pretty poor, I thought. Pricey, nothing very interesting or exciting. Found it hard to find anything tempting. Which, if you've met me and seen what a fat c**t I am, is a pretty tough task.

The sponsorship everywhere, not a big thing, but having only been to Glastonbury/ EOTR in recent years, I found a bit jarring

 

Overall, a really good festival though, had a smashing few days. it was always well organised, staff were polite etc etc. Doubt I'll be back again, it just felt it was missing something a little idioosyncratic for me, but no hesitation in recommending it to friends.

 

 

 

 

[rebeccac]

Does anyone know if there's anywhere to watch performances back? I know Red Bull was live streaming but is there an iplayer type way of re-watching?

[kingcrawler]

Agree with most of Mardy's comments at the bottom. Had a really great festival and saw some really great acts but not sure I'll come back for a few years. Treated it as a holiday to Barcelona rather than just the festival so unless it's by their already strong standards a really amazing lineup next year I doubt I'll be back soon and I'll maybe try somewhere else instead.

Arcade Fire were the real standout for me. Excellent set with loads of their best songs and the two new ones came across really well too. Bon Iver and The xx were great too but I found myself struggling to get too into parts of both sets during the first half but things really picked up during the second half of each. Other than the headliners I thought Whitney, Haim, Angel Olsen and Metronomy all put in great sets.

I thought the organisation of the festival and transport (shuttle buses, metro etc) was really good and easy to use and the staff we spoke to were very helpful. The crowd wasn't really for me, was fine at the smaller stages for the most part but at the big stages I felt there was too much talking no matter where you were in the crowd. Never noticed so many people smoking in crowds either which is a bit annoying for someone who doesn't smoke at all. 

[Memory Man]

I find the crowds to be mainly pretty subdued, they dont dance or move about much the spanish! 

Perfectly friendly though and a nice change from most UK festivals where idiots are ten a penny

Edited June 6, 2017 by Memory Man

[hughes21]

i got back yesterday, i enjoyed myself and will look back on it better when i dont feel as shit but i doubt il go back.

the desperado dance stage was class, jackmaster was on fire

but the sound on the two main stages was shit no two ways about it, you could hear people speaking everywhere and it was doing my head in especially trying to watch bon iver and the xx

i am a broken man though so my mood isnt probably the best to reflect on it all, but i definitely prefer the slightly smaller festivals iv been to in spain like bilbao bbk, not as tiring and easier to get out the festival

id give it a 7, but arcade fire were class as usual and im going to see them in sc**thorpe tomorrow night!

[brayshizzle]

So my first year.

Ill start by saying this is the best festival I have ever been to. Not sure if it was just where I stood but the crowds around me were on point. Met a lot of really nice people. Not sure I met many Spanish weirdly. Tons of Americans, British and Irish. Everyone danced and had a good time. It was weird hanging out beside Bon Iver , Flylo and Romy from XX (She was so sweet) 

Getting to the music, aside from Arcade Fire who I couldn't get near and settled for the VIP bar, it all sounded amazing . They still sounded huge but the wind caused a small sound issue now and again.

Afaghan Whigs - Killed as always, one of the best life bands around.

Death Grips - Crazy as fuck, did a few songs are moved on.

Slayer - Really enjoyed them, all my friends didnt get it tho.

Aphex Twin - Mind melting and explosive. Front seeing your face on the screen morphing into something else really messed with my edible vibes....in a good way. 

 

Arab Strap - So so so good. 

XX - Decent, found their set at Coachella a bit better as it was more condensed. Like I think most, I cant see the draw for a full show and sadly, when Jamie XX gets to do his thing, it ultimately because more fun.

Run the Jewels - Tech issues aside, amazing as always. Fucking love these guys, always a great set. 

Jamie XX - Really loved this. Think he put on a great mix and everyone danced and enjoyed themselves. Couldn't ask for me.

Fly lo - Seen him at a lot of fests lately but it was still awesome. 

 

Metronomy - Fun as always but always find stuff not on English Riviera to pale in comparison 

Kelly Lee Owens - So good, great voice and sound and I have no doubt will be on a bigger stage in the future.

Hamilton Leithauser - Happy to see it was mostly songs from the new album. It was amazing to see some of it live, his voice was wonderful. In a Blackout is a very important song to me so shed a tear

Grace Jones - Batshit crazy. Second time seeing her, loveeeeeeeeeeee her!

Arcade Fire - It doesn't get better. Aside from sound issues in the VIP bar (which actually just gave a flanger effect on a few moments) they were fantastic. New songs sound great and they as a band sound bigger. 

Weval - perfect end to a perfect fest

 

It was the best festival I have ever been to. The main acts were brilliant but the stuff on the side were fantasttic. Great discoveries all weekend. Food was great, booze SO CHEAP compared to other fests. 

Cant wait for next year.

[Memory Man]

27 minutes ago, brayshizzle said:

Food was great, booze SO CHEAP compared to other fests.

Really? The on site food I had was almost unanimously awful. It always has been but the fact they bigged it up and was still bad was annoying for us.

I had a tiny, miniscule taco for 3.50. you'd have needed about 7 of them to fill you up.

I had a quesadilla which came in what tasted like sweet sugary pancake rather than a tortilla wrap. 4 euro tho so not too bad.

I did have an acceptable seafood paella which when it eventually came after about 10 mins of waiting was just fine. 7 euros mind, I suppose thats an OK price.

As for booze, not exactly out & out cheap. £7 for a double & mixer or £4.50 for less than a pint of nasty heineken. At least you could sometimes get desperados to mix it up a bit. Our friends were on the martini & tonic! Mind you the awful exchange rate doesnt help matters does it.

Edited June 6, 2017 by Memory Man

[brayshizzle]

26 minutes ago, Memory Man said:

Really? The on site food I had was almost unanimously awful. It always has been but the fact they bigged it up and was still bad was annoying for us.

I had a tiny, miniscule taco for 3.50. you'd have needed about 7 of them to fill you up.

I had a quesadilla which came in what tasted like sweet sugary pancake rather than a tortilla wrap. 4 euro tho so not too bad.

I did have an acceptable seafood paella which when it eventually came after about 10 mins of waiting was just fine. 7 euros mind, I suppose thats an OK price.

As for booze, not exactly out & out cheap. £7 for a double & mixer or £4.50 for less than a pint of nasty heineken. At least you could sometimes get desperados to mix it up a bit. Our friends were on the martini & tonic! Mind you the awful exchange rate doesnt help matters does it.

I must have lucked out then. VIP £7 for free pour spirit and mixers. Beers were like 2.50 and I had a really nice kebab two nights in a row .

[Dontask]

Finally feeling like a human again... that was my first Primavera.  Had an absolute blast.  

Found this: https://www.youtube.com/user/RedBullMusic/videos there's not a huge amount in here, but enough to keep everyone going. 

Highlights for me:

Run the Jewels - I heard some people at the festival complain about the sound quality/levels.  I either had a good spot or was the right amount of drunk to not care too much.  Was bouncing about with what seemed like a group of about 20 people who were all loving it, made it even better. 

Arcade Fire (Thursday night) - The stage set up and back drop made it pretty special.  Thought Creature Comfort was a stand out track in that set, oh and Spraw II was pretty perfect.

John Talabot (Disco Set) - Seeing Arcade fire on the thursday night (and for about the 8th time) i decided to go to see John Talabot.  Best sounding stage of the festival and we didn't stop dancing for the 2 hours.

Talaboman - What a set.  If anyone finds it, please share it.  

For those who haven't been before, i can't stress the importance of keeping your belongings safe.  Two people in our group had stuff stolen.  My wallet which had my entry card in it was one of the items, luckily the good folks at the festival were very understanding and gave me a new one.  I was worried my festival was over!

Lastly, the food, i had an outstanding Kebab between on the bit down behind the Rayban stage, best thing i ate all weekend.  Everything else was average, but i didn't spend time looking really.  It was just to fill a hole! 

Edited June 6, 2017 by Dontask

[sgtpepper100]

To be fair, I was paying £4.20 a pint at Latitude festival about 6 years ago, so not too bad really.

Plus due to the set up you could do plenty of drinking pre-festival if you wanted.  I snook in a water bottle filled with vodka every day and just bought coke/fanta, so didn't spend too much at all.

Food wise, I didn't really have all that much in there but had some very tasty chips from two different places, and the pizzas at Desperados stage were nice.  

So surprised to hear that people aren't thinking of going back.. I would in a heartbeat.