@acb Really enjoyed these notes from #primavera2018, thanks!

Tigercats just played, on a courtyard stage, as it rained. The courtyard was perhaps a little under half full, though the punters who braved the rain did get into it. And, to be fair, Tigercats were pretty good. #primavera2018

Watching a Taiwanese band named The Fur; nicely mellow indie/dreampop, not too far from Beach House or Hatchie #primavera2018

Watching Lindstrøm play his playful electro-house; not a bad way to end #primavera2018 proper.

Interesting to see that he seems to be using just a MacBook and control surface, rather than the big bank of Authentic Analogue Synths other practitioners of this craft go for

Is there any thing more transcendently sublime than Slowdive playing their version of Syd Barrett’s “Golden Hair” live? The waves of sound flowing in and out, crashing over you: it’s not so much a sonic cathedral as a sonic aurora borealis. #primavera2018

An unpopular right-wing prime minister falls, punk labels in Catalonia celebrate with sales: #primavera2018

Just saw Montero play with a full band and it was… well, something. The band (who I’m told are the Greek psych band Acid Baby Jesus) were really tight. As for Bjenny Montero himself, his performance was, well, somewhat erratic; the phrase “cracked actor” came to mind. On a stability scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a super-polished, tightly choreographed show like Client Liaison, 1 being a Syd Barrett-style total psychological collapse and 7 being an average indie band who’ve been playing for a while, his performance started at around 4, with him seemingly unable, or unwilling, to hold a vocal melody and instead emoting along with the songs, and escalated to the high 6s once he got into the groove. His performance didn’t converge on what was laid down on his record (and it does one’s head in to think of how many takes it took in the studio to nail down his lush, un-erratic vision), but soared to a cracked visionary splendour of its own. The climax, “Pilot”, brought the house down.

Also: “Tokin’ The Night Away”, which I think is one of the weaker songs on the album, is an absolute juggernaut live.

#primavera2018

Oh, they’re picking up instruments; that’s more interesting #letseatgrandma #primavera2018

Hang on: Let’s Eat Grandma don’t play their own drums anymore? #primavera2018

For what it's worth, I've been posting my photos (mostly taken with my Lumix LX-100, not my iPhone) from #primavera2018 to Flickr; they're in an album, which is at https://www.flickr.com/photos/acb/albums/72157696881533724

Now watching the end of the Confidence Man set (having seen the start of their set at the Aussie BBQ), and am wondering if any of the people involved were also behind that “Sweaty Wet, Dirty Damp” song some years ago. #primavera2018

Just saw Chromeo; very funky, and not a world away from Client Liaison stylistically. Their main influence seems to be Zapp/Roger Troutman, whose talkbox electro-funk they update for the post-Daft Punk age of retro-electro, with bits of club/house thrown in. Though I can’t help thinking that those neon-lady-legs keyboard stands and the lyrics that read like pickup artist patter seem somewhat pre-#MeToo. Still, some nice chord progressions and riffs. #primavera2018

Currently watching Cigarettes After Sex and it’s quite pleasant; somewhere between Slowdive, Mazzy Star and Galaxie 500 or something; mellow shoegazey rock. Bet the cigarettes in question are not tobacco-based ones… #primavera2018

Just saw Mike D from the #BeastieBoys DJ at #primavera2018; he and one other guy were spinning tracks, and he was getting up in front of the decks and rapping (over Beasties songs and others). It was much cooler than I expected, though, I’m told, nowhere near actual Beasties gigs back in the day

Big shoutout to the bro holding up a glass of lager, underlit by his phone, in the line of sight of those behind him at the Charlotte Gainsbourg set #primavera2018 : You da man! #alphamalesofprimavera

Dominant Alpha-jerks of #primavera2018: this pair of twattocks:

I can hear Ride playing on the Hidden Stage in the distance. The area around the stage is half full, but walled off by a barrier. A queue about a hundred long snakes around to be let in; there doesn’t seem to be any inward movement, but occasionally people leave the queue to go elsewhere.

#primavera2018

I must say, I’m enjoying Mogwai’s new more electronic sound; the kosmische synth patterns complement their massive post-rock build-up dynamics quite well… #primavera2018

I just went to the Liminal Soundbath, organised by Jónsi of Sigur Rós, Alex Somerset (his partner in Riceboy Sleeps) and Paul Corley. I say “went to”, as “saw” would not be the right word.

In a darkened space, people sat and lay on rugs and cushions provided. A low rumble sounded from somewhere. Soon it was joined by slow droning notes and chords, in waves; reverbed vocals drifted in, then sparse prepared piano notes. At one point, a procession of three figures in veils carrying white lights made its way through the other side of the room, reminding me of a Swedish St. Lucia procession. The event culminated with Jónsi singing something in Icelandic over majestically soaring drone-chords.

I spent much of the event lying on my back, eyes closed, letting the sound wash over me. It was an experience I’d recommend.

#primavera2018

Carpenter Brut could be said to be a sort of dark shadow-world version of M83. Both are French bands riffing off a stylised 80s America. While M83 take their cues from the romanticism of John Hughes movies, Carpenter Brut draw from the dark side of the psyche of Reagan-era America. Hence low-budget teen-slasher horror, MTV rock and televangelist infomercials about the menace of Satanism.

Their music is online at http://carpenterbrut.bandcamp.com/

#primavera2018