Geese triumphs and Massive Attack, Doja Cat, and Bad Gyal are cancelled at Primavera Sound, conditioned by rain and wind

BarcelonaFrom time to time, rain claims a spot as a headliner at Primavera Sound. It happened a couple of years ago during PJ Harvey's memorable concert and it happened again this Thursday evening, when the Fòrum venue was already full of a crowd ready to spread out among the different stages. The combination of rain and wind, with gusts of up to 80 km/h, conditioned the first day, and "for safety reasons" performances on the two main stages on the marine platform (where four concerts were cancelled) were temporarily suspended, and later on other stages. It was the decision taken diligently by the festival's management, and communicated in Catalan, Spanish, and English throughout the venue. The festival will announce on Monday the protocol for the return of Thursday tickets.

Despite the rain, activity continued on secondary stages in the central area of the Forum, such as the Cupra, where Oklou and Father John Misty performed, while the organization worked to get the two main stages (those on the marine platform) and also the third, Occident (at the Forum), which had become soaked, ready again. Finally, the performances of Axel G, Mac DeMarco and Doja Cat had to be cancelled. The marine platform venue was also evacuated, and did not reopen until midnight, when the space conditioning work made it seem that the concerts by Massive Attack and Bad Gyal could be reprogrammed from one o'clock, but it was not possible and they had to be cancelled due to “climatic and technical conditions”, as explained by the direction of Primavera Sound in a statement. Therefore, Massive Attack continue to be unlucky with the festival: they were supposed to perform in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of Primavera Sound; in 2022 they dropped out of the lineup due to illness, and now it has been the rain and wind.

Apart from these cancellations on Thursday, the rest of the performances, in the central area of the Forum, could be carried out.

Nevertheless, there were good concerts before and – while there were open stages – during the rain.

Macro-festivals are weapons of mass frustration, because seeing one band means missing half a dozen playing at the same time. At Primavera Sound, it's even more frustrating to rush to see the only concert happening at 5 p.m. at the Auditorium... and to find that there are always thousands of people who arrived earlier. This Thursday, half an hour before the solo concert of the North American Cameron Winter, the leader of the band Geese, the three thousand seats were already full, and there were still people queuing outside just in case. The frustration could be mitigated a few hours later, when the same Winter performed with the band on the Occident stage. Different repertoire and attitudes, of course.

The rain arrived around quarter past seven, timidly at first, precisely when Geese's performance began. The concert justified the anticipation in the central part of the Fòrum, which was very full. It was the young act of the day. A shame that the apotheosis wasn't total: as the rain and wind intensified, many spectators left to seek shelter. The same was happening in other areas of the venue. The crowd that remained in front of the stage was able to enjoy a good concert led by a reserved but magnetic frontman. A Brooklyn accent, Adidas tracksuit in the style of 90s Manchester, and an intelligent dynamic between vocal melody and guitar and drum riffs. All very connected to the musical history of New York. Geese, who came preceded by the good reception of the album Getting killed, have earned the right to return to Primavera Sound to perform on the main stages, if possible on a day without rain.

Father John 'Rainy'

Of the few who braved the bad weather, Father John Misty, who could have been introduced as Father John Rainy, as the rain continued to lash the gathered crowd on the Cupra stage at 11 p.m. The American offered a show of seductive decadence, set with the red lights of a shady bar and accompanied by a band in which the saxophone was the most prominent instrument and whose elegant and languid way of playing the songs could well have been the musicians of the Titanic. Of course, the sinking ship is not society, but self-esteem and personal well-being: singer J. Tillman has crafted this image of a crooner of the descent into personal hells, as he made clear in his solemn interpretation of Mental health.

The concert opened with the winning duo I guess time just makes fools of us all and the autofiction Mr. Tillman, a dark humor tale about what a hotel manager says to him seeing his very regrettable state. Live, however, this satirical part of the songs takes a backseat, as the staging favors taking desperate songs like Being you seriously.

The rain-free activity of the early hours

The early bird alternative was to poke your head out onto the Schwarzkopf stage, "the hairdresser's" according to popular wisdom. Before 5 PM, the South Koreans Hypnosis Therapy were already dishing out daytime ravebeats; in fact, it seemed less like the first concert of the first day of the festival and more like the last one of an after on a Sunday. The audience, grateful by nature, spent their time quite entertained by the sea, and even crouched down when the vocalist yelled at them to do so.

Contrasts are commonplace at the festival. That's why the same stage hosted the magnificent sunset pop of Renaldo & Clara. Clara Viñals from Lleida started with Repartir and Quines coses de mi, two of the gems from the album L’encant, and continued to serve as a reference for so many artists who graft pop onto danceable proposals. To reach the main stages, sponsored by a bank (Revolut) and "the Ministry of Music" (Estrella Damm), you had to cross the entire venue, passing, for example, by the new Disney mini-stage or by the bars, where a beer costs 6 euros, one more than last year.

Once on the marine platform (the green-carpeted Mordor according to the people), Blood Orange, the project of British Devonté Hynes, was delivering sensitive atmospheric R&B with guitar. However, in the mid-afternoon, the offering of small stages was more stimulating, like that of El Port, where British band The New Eves performed: rock dressed in punk with cello, violin, and flute, and an undeniable capacity to surprise, recalling the early PJ Harvey, remembering the rhythmic determination of the Riot Grrrls, or proposing post-punk electricity spirals. Splendid, of course. And then among the audience at the Geese concert.