Primavera Sound returned to the Forum and so did the people. big time To jet. People everywhere. For having, there was even a guy dressed as Spiderman who nobody paid attention to, more or less definitive proof that the festivals are back to what they were: an open bar of stimuli in which not even a flea market superhero calls the shots. attention. Even less so in this colossal-sized Primavera Sound and rock-bottom concerts where almost all eyes were on Dua Lipa last night. And no, it is not a saying: the crowd was tremendous. The perfect cross between mass pop and mass festival.
A week after sweeping through the Palau Sant Jordi, the London singer returned to Barcelona to finish off the job with an even more massive triumph in the return of the Barcelona festival to the Forum.
A second weekend for which the bars were reinforced and food stalls were removed to avoid traffic jams, but which once again overwhelmed the venue with floods of people and overflowing stages. In the two central ones, those of Dua Lipa and Gorillaz, the question was no longer where to stand to see the stage, but from where one wanted to see the screens. This is the 'magic' of festivals: even those who only see the scaffolding of the VIP area can feel part of the party.
From the stage, with her voice somewhat more punished than in her Sant Jordi pass and a couple of tweaks in the production and costumes (she changed the pink jumpsuit to the purple dress), Dua Lipa reigned in Primavera Sound and took the public on a spree for 'Future Nostalgia'. From 'Physical' to 'Don't Start Now' passing through 'Good In Bed', 'Boys Will Be Boys', it was a feast of elastic pop, recreational electronica, sticky choruses and gymnastic choreography. There was no giant lobster nor did it fly away in 'Levitating' but, in return, he invited the Belgian Angèle to come on stage to sing 'Fever'. The Forum, once again, was a party.
For their second showing after conquering the Forum last Saturday, Gorillaz are also back at it with a smoky, crunchy party of Jamaican beats, colorful electronics and upbeat projections. A stylistic blender with bits of soul, pop and dancehall, a horn sextet and Damon Albarn piloting the ship from the stage, letting himself be loved in the pit and, finally, handling crowds as he pleases once again.
Between such a colorful display and a festive mood, the Interpol thing, all tied rigor and black and white screens, sounded somewhat out of place and inoffensive. They don't go out to play with sunglasses anymore, but it's still hard to distinguish if their thing is autopilot or that the thing doesn't give more of itself. It wouldn't have hurt New Yorkers to spend some time watching Big Thief's passionate and ardent performance, yet another lesson in intensity and folk-rock served from the guts, to see if something stuck with them. Pure fire to start heating up the early morning and let bands like Slowdive and Ride give the baton to Charlie XCX, Metronomy and Bad Gyal. From the old heroes to the new claims. The past and the future, condemned to understand each other in the Forum venue
Before, and to start off on the right foot, war drums with Amyl
Nothing to do with the anarchic Jay Electronica pass, a rapper from New Orleans who, after ten minutes, had already encouraged an invasion of the stage and had dispatched the security personnel at ease. Another memory of when hip hop concerts were all chaos, incessant chatter and the occasional flash of magic.
