Today sees the final day of hot hot heat descend on the excitable, largely Spanish, crowds gathered at Sonar By Day at the MACBA museum in the Raval area of Barcelona and I for one am feeling slightly sad that it’s drawing to a close. However, it’s not over til the fat lady sings – or in this case, the Chemical Brothers pound out some blazing basslines in the Fira Gran Via – so I make the most of today’s stellar lineup and get myself to the Red Bull Music Academy tent again.
Things really are rammed here and it’s a bit of a task making your way into and out of the tent, but I make it in time for the splendid half Italian-half British Ad Bourke who’s mixing a plethora of ultra-chilled upbeat electronic vibes that are perfect for the summer sunshine we’re all basking in. He’s stamped futuristic techno all over it and mixes it with deep down funk – it’s pretty glorious and appealing to all the punters rammed in the tent.
People all around me are waiting for something immense to happen – and it does
To my surprise though, things only serve to get even more rammed when he departs. It’s as if people all around me are waiting for something immense to happen – and it does. The cult Detroit house lynchpin Moodymann is set to appear and I find myself engulfed by excitable Spanish teenagers all eager to get a glimpse of the godlike genius as he walks onstage with a white towel slung over his head, relaying a wry anecdote about how the US customs girl looked at his stack of vinyl and exclaimed – “hey, those are some BIG CD’s!”
There’s only one word I can use to accurately sum up Moodymann’s set and it’s an entirely shameless – WOW! Yes its house music, but it’s underscored with 60’s soul, 30’s jazz, 70’s disco, 80’s hip-hop and one huge dose of killer funk. He ingeniously punctures excerpts from blaxploitation movies into the mix, making everything so uniquely his that I’m staggered. Actually I’m dancing away like crazy – but I’m still gobsmacked at how awesome this sounds.
Moodymann is so damn cool that I find it impossible to tear myself away from the RBMA tent
Moodymann takes the bassline from The Clash’s Radio Clash and slickly unites it with LL Cool J’s I’m That Type Of Guy, leading to roars of appreciation from the crowd. He’s ironically accompanied by two sexy Amazonian black women in hotpants who double up as his bartenders and security guards. The Spanish teenagers stare at them slack jawed and it’s not hard to guess what’s running through their hormonally-charged imaginations. Moodymann is so damn cool that I find it impossible to tear myself away from the tent to catch Post War Years in the MACBA museum, so I don’t leave for another twenty or so minutes. In hindsight, he was THE act to catch at Sonar By Day – what an awesome guy!
I make it down to the much cooler confines of the MACBA to catch a few of their last numbers, my bad. But they’re going down a treat with the crowd that’s assembled there to see them. I thankfully catch them playing Whole World On It’s Head which is very catchy with it’s stop-start rhythmic sequences, slightly sci-fi synths and ‘Lights on, lights on!’ shouty harmonies. It’s a daft comparison to make but it’s probably what a wobbly lemon jelly would sound like, if it could make a sound. Post War years were fun, addictive and cool: another excellent showing from the Brits at Sonar 2010.
I wander out of MACBA in time to catch the crazy Colombian five-piece Bomba Estereo
I wandered out of MACBA in time to catch my only main stage act of the day, the crazy Colombian five piece Bomba Estereo. Offering up tunes that are very similar to the ska, punk and reggae influenced sounds expounded by Manu Chao, Bomba’s gold playsuited frontwoman Liliana Saumet takes things to another level with her rock-style stage presence. Obviously I can’t make out a word of the lyrics but I don’t need to – their addictive reggae rock is exactly the type of vibe that the crowd outside are loving. I’d definitely try and catch them if they appear in the UK.
I tear myself away from the summer party vibes in the main arena to head down to the MACBA again for the UK’s Necro Deathmort. What a name! I’m really intrigued and have no idea what to expect from this pale, nerdy looking duo at all. What I get is something incredibly intense and slightly warped emanating out of a computer and one guitar. It’s post-industrial rock certainly, but it’s much more ambient and visceral than anything you might expect from say, Nine Inch Nails. I have to say I’m surprised when the Spaniards applaud at the close of the opening track as I expected this party-loving crowd to be grossly turned off by the sound of impending doom, but they love it! If you want to check out more, catch their ironically-titled debut This Beat Is Necrotronic, wink wink. I decide to call it a day and prepare myself for tonight’s marathon endurance battle at the Fira Gran Via.
Striking incongruity onstage between the old men of Roxy Music, very young women and childlike guitarist
Getting to the Fira nice and early, i.e. while it’s still clean, and bouncing my way to the front, I’m as intrigued as most people probably are at the billing of Roxy Music on tonight’s lineup. Fair enough, they’re old and probably past it but I’m expecting them to put on some glorious 80’s style electronic funk-rock. Instead what we get is lots of stuff that must be new as I don’t know what the heck it is. What’s really bizarre though is the striking incongruity onstage between the old male guard of Roxy Music (Ferry, et al), very young women in tiny skirts and a guitarist who looks like he’s been nabbed from outside the gates of a secondary school. Sadly though, there’s no real chemistry between the crowd and the band until they play their well known hits like Love Is The Drug, even though there are a lot of older men in the audience that are obviously here to see Roxy Music. Oh well, you wouldn’t have known a lacklustre performance from the deafening applause they get as they leave the stage.
Living up to his name, Dizzee Rascal rides a scooter onto the stage and the crowd goes boom! Lots of British kids are obviously at the front for his manic set which takes in storming old-skool grime classics Jus A Rascal, Fix Up Look Sharp, Stand Up Tall with the rap of Road Rage and the obvious commercial hit Dance Wiv Me. It’s a rough and ready but impressive set and sets the crowd alight. I have to mention two London boys Courtney and Charlie for representing the UK crew with me during Dizzee’s pounding set, big up!
A monstrous concoction of synths and mixing desks that looks like it’s been lifted from Doctor Who
And so we come to the final act of the night and of Sonar Festival 2010: The truly seminal Chemical Brothers. The black stage curtains are finally pulled apart to reveal a monstrous concoction of synths and mixing desks that looks like it’s been lifted from the set of Doctor Who. Even though I secretly don’t expect much of a set that will probably take in the entirety of their new album Further, I’m wrong to have written them off so quickly. Opening up with the repetitive digital blips of Snow, Tom and Ed move about in the shadows of their creation of synths, decks and ahem, knobs, while being backed up by awesome visuals and lighting. It’s so beautiful and impressive that I’m proud these guys are my brethren. It also shows that their new album is still pretty damn good with knockout heavyweight tracks like Horse Power, Swoon, Dissolve and K+D+B.
The Chemical’s set is so littered with extended build-ups and cascading climaxes that I can only liken it to having a damn good romp with your perfect lover. An encore sees their classic big-beat anthems come out to play with Hey Boy Hey Girl, Music: Response and Under The Influence striking yet another knockout blow to the 20,000 strong crowd. When they finally depart the stage, they modestly bow and thank the crowd for coming through with a tremendous 90 minute non-stop rave and I’m hugely impressed with myself for lasting the distance at the Fira tonight and staying put right at the front – bueno!
Related posts:
- Review: Sonar Festival 2010 - Day One
- Review: Sonar Festival 2010 - Day Two
- Alkaline Trio, Nottingham Rock City, 2 June 2010
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(4.50 out of 5)