Primavera Sound 2018 as we lived it

With a great lineup diversity and insanely careful setup, Primavera Sound celebrates its 18th edition. When asked about the best music-experience, many festival-hoppers list Primavera Sound at the top. Located in the Barcelona’s harbor-side Parc del Forum, this music event marks the beginning of the year’s festival season.

Primavera is an extremely well-organized festival, remarkable for its people-first approach, stunning seaside beauty, artistic community, and a near round-the-clock lineup. With several stages set across the shore, Primavera Sound is rich and diverse event that allows everyone to find music to its ears. Going from Haim's charismatic pop-rock to Idles brutalism, enjoying a perfect transition from Father John Misty to The National, or celebrating guitars and synth with Arctic Monkeys and Lorde – all of it in beautiful Barcelona.

Thursday started with Warpaint and the sound failure that left Theresa Wayman's voice unheard during the half of Drive, but after that the LA band continued their performance increasing the tempo. Eleven songs to review all their albums - including Billie Holiday to immerse all of us in their dream-pop atmosphere.

The War on Drugs, divinely scheduled during the sunset, brought their exquisite music. It was a show focusing on the songs from their glorious “A Deeper Understanding”, as they opened with In Chains, followed by Pain. A beautiful ride of Red Eyes. The charm of An Ocean In Between The Waves. The lethargic Eyes to The Wind to say goodbye at low tide, with the tension on the ground and the heart in the clouds.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds came on with their classical staging, voice, charisma and musical skills. Theatrical as usual, Cave performed Loverman and Come into My Sleep, which are a little challenging to listen to live. Followed by linking The Mercy Seat with Red Right Hand, Cave then brought some themes from his last work “Skeleton Tree”. It’s an introspective album and it’s hard to connect with, especially when we are talking about more than twenty thousand people trying to have a party.

The band shook the crowd with Deanna and the accelerated, punk version of Jubilee Street, which is about to become another classic of the group. And then, during Stagger Lee, Cave invited the crowd to come up on stage and it began to flood with people. The farewell was with Push the Sky Away, as usual in recent years.

On Friday evening Father John Misty brought a well played set mixing the older hits with his resent work. Opening with Disappointing Diamonds Are the Rarest of Them All, which was the first of the four premiered cuts, he then says: "Does everybody have to be the greatest story ever told?", which perfectly describes the balance between irony and a certain romantic realism that Josh Tillman has brought to the excellence.

It was time to get into the matter, and there was no choice but to surrender to Father John Misty. Josh brought his newest work “God’s Favorite Custumer”, performing a wonderful Hangout At The Gallows, paired with a retro television advertisement projected behind. His set was a brief but also an intense review of the greatest themes of his abundant discography. Each melody resonated with the audience, and there’s no doubt that Tillman is one of the most gifted singers. A pure joy.

Friday night went on with Haim and it was one of the festival's greatest moments. The band went through their hits and also new songs from their latest album “Something to tell you”. The trio took over with their influences on pop-rock from the 70s and 80s. Haim has a tremendous stage presence and they know how to handle themselves with freshness and determination. The band finished their set with a percussion show that for a few minutes turned the Mango Stage into a bigger party.

Then it was time for The National to take over. When context and circumstances require it, the Cincinnati group operates like a Swiss watch. Matt Berninger led the band’s exquisite melodic precision, where everything seemed to fit together and radiate a tremendous heat in The National's ocean.

In front of VHS-encoded visuals, the American quintet started with Nobody Else Will Be There and then delivered the repertoire of their best songs from “Sleep Well Beast”: The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness, Guilty Party and Day I die.

The classics sounded more powerful than ever: Graceless, Don’t Swallow the Cup, Fake Empire, Mr. November and Terrible Love. They said goodbye with the unpublished Rylan and the caress of About Today, which they dedicated to the recently deceased Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit. This was, by far, spectacular.

Another highlight of the night was a set of IDLES. “This is the best festival I have ever been to” - says Joe Talbot during their performance at the Adidas Stage. You could tell it was a memorable day for him, and also for his band. IDLES landed in Barcelona for the first time, demonstrating its growing status in the UK. Far from being overwhelmed by the pressure of the moment, those from Bristol ran with a fast-paced, intimidating and hammering live performance. They started the show with Heel / Heal and Faith In The City, followed by Mother – that’s when the front rows began to swirl. Between elbows, stomping and the smell of sweat, the public surrendered to the post-punk power. The British went full force with Samaritans, soon after delivering their extremely heavy riffs of Divide & Conquer. Later on, Danny Nedelko put the most festive note on a frantic setlist. Followed by Rottweiler, which is an absolute banger, their performance at Primavera Sound was a huge success.

Will Toledo and his band Car Seat Headrest played on Saturday at one of the largest stages located pretty far from the main area of the site. Even so, there were a lot of people who came to see the band. Toledo kicked off with a cover of Crosseyed and Painless (Talking Heads) and from the first second the audience went dancing and jumping. It was a pretty short performance that lasted around 45 minutes. Even thought, the indie rock of Virginia showcased its good sound.

Later on, it was time for Ariel Pink to deliver his sonic powers. He was accompanied by Don Bolles, a Californian punk totem, who helped to increase the chaos on songs like Hardcore Pops Are Fun. The American band delivered a controversial live show. The first rows were tireless during each of the songs, while the other part of the crowd showed their preferences for the melodic cuts, such as Another Weekend. The band looks for the most faithful reflection of their sound pairing it with their signature attitude. With the constant winks to Frank Zappa, it might be dividing for those who do not agree on songs like Time To Meet Your God. At the end, it’s a matter of taste that makes the debate about the category of Ariel Pink a little irrelevant.

Arctic Monkeys - the headliners of the night, took us to the moon with “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino” - their controversial sixth album that caused an authentic division both inside and outside AM fanbase. This polarity of opinions about the new era of the British is also actively present in the reception of their latest live shows. Their set began with some sort of nuclear alarm, followed by a vigorous trio of electrified songs: Four Out Of Five, Brianstorm and Don't Sit Down cause I've Moved Your Chair. AM also delivered some of their classics such as Cornerstone, pairing it with a beautiful new song Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino showcasing its retro aesthetic. Their set continued with sparkly Pretty Visitors and Arabella. It seemed surprising that there are around nine musicians on stage to make the same songs the band used to play with only four members. Their show was filled with softened slow motion and the new lounge atmosphere. For the encore the band played Batphone followed by The View from Afternoon and R U Mine?

Another highlight of the night was Lorde. Intimate with the audience, sitting on the edge of the stage, she then says: "For the next hour this is my house, and in my house dancing is a must”. Starting in style with Kate Bush's Up Running Up That Hill and the bombastic Sober she then proceeds with Hard Feelings, Homemade Dynamite, Magnets and Tennis Court. While a group of dancers performed some dramatic choreographies, Lorde takes over with Supercut, Royals and Perfect Places. She embraces the awareness of attending a celebration of our own age, of our own generation. Lorde is an example, a role model, and it's breathtakingly inspiring. She bonds with her audience during Team and leads to catharsis with Green Light, which is an endless jump under a shower of confetti. Simple, effective, and above all, real.