Primavera 2010

XX.
Black Lips.
Pet Shop Boys.
Panda Bear.
Beach House.
Pavement.

Dearest Readers, this is just the beginning of an in-depth review of Barcelona's Primavera. Above is a picture of my friend's sister with a random crap violinist on the beach.

Okay, I am starting with this post, so I and my Dearest Readers remember. Above is a collection of random least crap pictures I took. I have quite a few good Beach House photos but perhaps another time. Another post.

Pavement - it was a fantastic gig with a lot of singalong fans, I was in the second row and could not move, I felt like it is 2003 Radiohead gig in Berlin where I almost died. Lots of people crow-surfing and a general joy. I am sure Stephen Malkmus was drunk (he was drinking during the show) with this devil-may-care attitude, throwing his guitar around. But oh yes, it was a memorable show.

HEALTH - I know they are not really playing but there was something ecstatic about their music, a certain entrancing rhythm, I was not really looking forward to this show but it turned out to be amazingly good fun, I would say it was one of my highlights. And they spoke Spanish.

Panda Bear - Panda Bear was an angry bear, the visuals were not working, they were trying hard to fix the problem, with no luck. He performs with a tension, utterly focused on the music, the quiet songs work surprisingly well. Needless to say, a cult following.

Pet Shop Boys - great karaoke show, a big big show. I am glad I saw it.

Beach House - what is there left to say other than that they were awesome.

Black Lips - curious, a closing party - I think they must be very popular in Spain. Their show was a no-limits experience, with naked buttocks, crowd coming on stage and carrying the singer around. Most curious.

To be continued, Dearest Readers.

Double Dagger, Ganglians, Real Estate

No photos of Real Estate, Dearest Readers, as my mobile died in Cargo on 18th May 2010 before they came on stage. And Double Dagger were the best anyway (that's the non-hairy men in the above pictures).

Obviously, the Upset the Rhythm crowd knew better than to come close to the stage for Double Dagger, I did not. Happily at the front, I experienced this most unsettling performance with a leader absolutely oblivious to how deathly cables can be according to health and safety authorities. The singer was also oblivious to the fact that the creepy Spanish guy does not appreciate when someone is singing straight in his face and casts a spell on the offender. Hypnotic, dangerous, primal Double Dagger are live. And, I am afraid, live only. Go and see them.

Ganglians and Real Estate were good, I enjoyed the gig but, worryingly, I do not remember much. Double Dagger dominated the evening.

Roy Harper, Joanna Newsom

11th May 2010 at Royal Festival Hall I was not expecting a catharsis. To start with, I had an awful headache and memories of Somerset House where I enjoyed Joanna Newsom immensely but the feeling did not last till the end of the gig. There was something in her voice that got annoying after one hour.

Now I realise what an ignorant I was. First of all, I knew next to nothing about Roy Harper whose tiny little performance blew me away, tore me into pieces, brought tears to my eyes. And I was far from the first row, as you can clearly see from the above pictures that feature candle lights as musicians. Joanna being the brightest light with her instrument. Terrible photos.

And then came Joanna, and I have to admit, it is hard to play after Roy Harper has left the stage. At least in my eyes. Nevertheless, the petite harpist poster girl for many (almost a month later I will meet a random music fan at a gig who will show me a picture of himself with smiling Joanna from ATP, she is smiling because someone from her team has just asked her 'are you sure you want to have a picture with this guy?') won my cold heart with her arrangements, mature voice and funny banter. I listen to her latest album which I was allergic to before the gig.

But oh Roy, what a fantastic story teller.

CocoRosie, Light Asylum

On 4th May 2010 I had the pleasure to see CocoRosie live in one of the most creepy venues for a girl from pan-catholic Poland. Trust me, it is hard to get rid of fearful respect for churches. Light Asylum were an interesting electro act with mighty mighty vocals and catchy tunes.

CocoRosie delivered a wonderful theatre-like performance, dressed as mysterious water creatures also known as pirates or sirens with a boombox guy, a pianist and a drummer. They mainly played songs from the new album, making fun of British accent, one CocoRosie half being smiley and outgoing, the other mischievous and slightly grumpy. It will not escape my Dearest Readers that once again I have little or no recollection of the gig but I love CocoRosie with all my heart. If you search the web, you will find an in-depth review of the following night performance written by my friend and not just miserable photos and uninformative reporting of mine.

Leafcutter John, Mandelbrot, Lina Lapelyte

I would like to start as if this post was not delayed by well over a month and it is early May and not mid-June now. But the truth is, I neglected my Dearest Readers so only now do they find out that on 29th April 2010 in Cafe OTO I went to Keung aka Mandelbrot's album launch. I felt slightly nostalgic since Mandelbrot and Lina were one of my first London scene experiences but back to the gig. Lina is a talented experimental violinist and yes she incorporates a naked foot in her performances, most enjoyable. Mandelbrot performed with a drummer, an unforgettable show of a musician who is entirely devoted the the art, a true perfectionist of guitar noise. By now Dearest Readers must have realised that I do not remember many details as it was over a month ago and I had a couple of beers and cycled to the venue with a friend who insisted that she did not know rode code only to prove that she indeed did not by heading straight onto the oncoming traffic. No casualties.

Leafcutter John was most creative with a variety of non-instruments, encouraging the audience to join him, provide ideas for improvised lyrics. To Leafcutter John's disappointment, all lyrics proved to me melancholic even though he tried to be cheerful. A lot of fun.

Finally, they all played together but my favourite was Mandelbrot, even though I seem to be unable to explain why.

LCD Soundsystem

Brixton Academy, 23rd April 2010 - I managed to take a million of absolutely awful photos with my famous camera phone. Firstly, because at the beginning of the gig I was not sure what to do with myself, following a not so great YACHT, there came LCD Soundsystem and I was not quite sure whether to party away or just watch the show unravel. Secondly, because I firmly and perhaps naively believe one day I will take really good photos, considering that I am in the first row and have an eye for detail. Thirdly, I was eagerly anticipating the not so inconspicuous balloons. Little did I know that the balloons would fall at the very end of the gig. That was not the only suspense as the gig was built around a momentum of a total rave to bring the audience to a quiet end of a ballad to New York, sweet.

James Murphy is a talented musician, with a great voice that can go a long way up high. He is also supervising but also most appreciative of his band and he loves and individualises the cheering crowd, at least the front row. They never get used to the praise - this is not what you hear every day. The keyboard did not work during the first show so they pretended to start the gig again and played the song in full, with keyboard.

I like to think that if I was famous one and had gigs in front of huge crowds, I would be happy and never ask people to buy my records. Unless my boss told me to, that is.

Bear in Heaven

Dearest Readers, I have no idea why but I was late for the Record Store Day at Rough Trade East on Saturday, I did not go to Vashti Bunyan the previous Sunday for reasons far from unknown and far from pleasant. Unrelated to the tragic plane crash that killed the head of state together with my candidate from the left. But I am back on track, on 20th April 2010 in Rough Trade East I somehow managed to see Bear in Heaven live. I was not sure how their songs would translate into live music but I can tell you, the three men are doing a great job. First of all, it is well played and electronic parts are not a mere playback. Secondly, the drummer rocks. Thirdly, there are two moustaches - owners of which either can sing with ease or play the guitar or bass and sport an inimitable Mexican look, a classic. Dearest Readers will know by now that it was a feast for eyes and ears alike. There is some kind of longing in their music and despite of what their manager of whoever I overheard saying, it was not just a tiny promotional gig. It was a great performance, with a band that was making jokes about the ash cloud and a traditional remark about buying records. And they played one more song. I love Bear in Heaven.