![]() Michelle Zauner, at once giddy and expressive, took delight in how much space there was to bounce around on the main stage and often went out of her way to interact with the audience. ![]() The crowd at the Santander stage may not have lingered on every word – I wonder if their music translated better at the intimate Vision by Pull&Bear stage later that night – but those around me looked captivated, and the whole performance was, to quote one of their most beloved songs, a rush. This was Japanese Breakfast’s first-ever show in Spain their scheduled appearance at Primavera last year was one of a few that ended up being canceled. With the lyrics practically unintelligible, though, I wasn’t sure how well the songs’ radical politics would translate outside their home country, until Jordan made the message abundantly clear in a speech: “There’s no fucking freedom in the United States.” The Japanese Breakfast Show Is a Rush Credit: Eric Pamies There was a mosh pit going for the majority of the set, and it got wildly (and appropriately) overwhelming on the closer ‘Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?)’. Given that this is Primavera, this maybe doesn’t say much, but even those vaguely familiar with what the group is about might have been caught off guard by just how fast and chaotic the show was, or how compelling Pierce Jordan’s presence on the mic really is. There’s a high chance that anyone who caught Soul Glo’s set at the Plentitude stage on Friday evening will call it the heaviest and most frenetic thing they’ve seen all week – or likely ever. Soul Glo Make Their Message Clear Credit: Eric Pamies Somehow, singing along to the words still gets us excited. Highlights included ‘I’m Not Getting Excited’, ‘Jump Rope Gazers’, and ‘Silence Is Golden’, and the new album’s title track made for a great show-closer: “How do you know/ It’s over when you can’t let go/ Can’t stop, can’t rewind?” We’ve all been there and felt the crushing weight of that question. At one point, Stokes had to replace a capo that somehow exploded off her guitar, and bassist Benjamin Sinclair did an incredible job stalling by getting us to wave over at a boat that happened to be passing by (“You got a ticket?”). (In an interview, Stokes told us the song was in fact inspired by her time spent in Spain.) The Dice stage was, indeed, a wonderful setting to experience the band’s driving, hook-filled indie pop, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. “Look, it’s the ocean!” Elizabeth Stokes exclaimed, fittingly, after singing about being too scared to dive in on ‘Knees Deep’, a highlight from the Beths’ latest album Expert in a Dying Field. ![]() But I managed: Here are the most memorable moments of the night. ![]() Plus, catching Daphni’s euphoric dance set, which went late into the night, did not leave me with much time to actually put together the write-ups. Though scheduling conflicts meant I had to miss sets by Beth Orton, Julia Jacklin, Julia Holter, Karate, Avalon Emerson & the Charm, and Nation of Language, among others, and even after deciding to skip Depeche Mode’s headling set (I’d seen them live in 2017) to allow myself a much-needed break, the highlights were plentiful. ![]() There was a lot to see on the second day of Primavera Sound Barcelona 2023. ![]()
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