It’s only a few days to the start of Primavera Sound Festival, Barcelona’s alternative music festival that in recent years has become a magnet for Europe’s music-lovers. The line up of the three day event (without taking into consideration the various parallel shows) gathers once again the elite of the independent rock scene, plus some very notable names from the world of electronic and dance music.
The big names of the first day, in order of appearance, are The Fall, Superchunk, Broken Social Scene and Pavement. I think it's already obvious why we've decided to repeat our trip to Barcelona so soon. The Fall are the kind of band that I would gladly see every day of the week, especially now that they have just released such a great new record (interesting (?) trivial fact: Barcelona will become the fifth different city that I see a Fall gig). Superchunk is the classic example of a group that during their prime time relatively few people listened to them, but as the years went by their reputation grew. It is telling that when I got to see them in London in the mid '90s, there must have been about 100 people in attendance. The band responsible for founding the excellent Merge Records, never announced a break up or hiatus - they just took things slow and now, after almost a decade, they have announced that they will have a new record out soon. 
Pavement may have been one of the greatest indie bands of the '90s, but their profile is now higher than it ever was, as during their ten year absence they have gained a new generation of fans that never before had the opportunity to see them live - until now. Their reunion for a limited number of shows, is certainly one of this year’s major events. As for Canada’s Broken Social Scene, both their collective work and the individual efforts of their members in the ‘00s contributed in becoming one of the leading groups of contemporary music. This year's "Forgiveness Rock Record" shows their ability to continue as strong as ever for years to come.Among the newer names that complete Thursday’s line up, the most interesting are The Big Pink, The XX (two of 2009's greatest discoveries), Sleigh Bells, Chrome Hoof, Titus Andronicus, Surfer Blood and Sic Alps.
Friday, May 28th 
The schedule of the festival’s second day is looking pretty congested, with many groups playing simultaneously, which means that we're faced with some difficult choices. What we're definitely not going to miss is Spoon’s show (one of my favorite groups of the '00s) and Les Savy Fav (Tim Harrington on-stage antics are legendary). Revered post-punk godfathers Wire play almost at the same time with one of the hottest bands of 2010, Beach House, and we must find a way to watch both of them. Wilco are playing somewhere between Wire and Les Savy Fav, so there is little hope we’ll be able to see them. A little after midnight we have the Pixies, but personally I will be somewhere between Panda Bear, Cold Cave, Shellac and The King Khan & BBQ Show. Later on we have Yeasayer without much competition, while early in the day some tough decisions must be made as in the space of a couple of hours we have the performances of Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, The New Pornographers, Low (playing their classic "The Great Destroyer") and Best Coast, one of my newest obsessions.
Saturday, May 29th
More difficult decisions lie ahead in the third day of the festival. Personally, I am looking forward to seeing Built To Spill for the first time (which means no No Age for me) and Dum Dum Girls, one of my latest crushes. Some great names from the past that play on Saturday include The Slits (you can see them at Rodeo Club on Tuesday), mad dub scientist Lee "Scratch" Perry, Liquid Liquid and New Zealand's Clean, and from the new crop of bands The Drums and HEALTH stand out. Real Estate, Dr. Dog, Atlas Sound, Florence + The Machine, Grizzly Bear, The Antlers, and Polvo (the last three playing almost simultaneously with The Drums) complete the puzzle of this year's Primavera Sound. Tune in here (and here) from next week to find out what will really go down in the three days of the festival.
Until then, let’s take a trip down memory lane with one of Superchunk's finest tunes: