When a spring performance is needed to electrify a crowd and invite everyone to forget the lines and the lulls, an artist like Beck can pull off a spectacular, no-holds-barred show. This Friday, the Californian artist delivered a set that felt like a bold statement, paired with a special moment reserved just for this occasion. It was the first tour since 2019, with a new band, and the goal was to intensify the energy at a venue like Razzmatazz, within the Primavera Ciutat program this Monday.
The latest album, hyperspace, released just before the pandemic, leaned toward relaxed textures and a futuristic mood. For the current tour, Beck shifted toward a trimmer, more physical and festive approach. From the opening number Mixed Bizness, the performance announced its purpose: a vivid celebration of influences from his late-90s material, including tracks tied to the era of Midnite Vultures and the grittier edge of Devil’s Haircut. The show also threaded in emphasis on Event from 1996 with a harmonica touch that flavored the set with a dusty nostalgia.
The concert program leaned into a collection of Beck’s greatest hits with a funk-influenced twist. Dark sunglasses, a clear guitar tone, and a choreography that bounced between neon-lit eighties disco vibes defined the look. The night unfolded as a seamless string of songs: new pieces from later albums like The Valley of the Pagans, recorded in collaboration with Dreams and Gorillaz, mingling with familiar anthems from earlier years such as Nicotine and Sauce or Hotwax. The chorus in Spanish — I have a broken record / gum in my brain — gave the moment a playful, self-aware edge. A reimagined version of the 1980 hit Everybody’s Need to Learn, with intimate acoustic guitar, offered a quiet interlude amid the high-energy rush. The set drew in a sense of resilience with a nod to Lost, a relic of the grunge era that still lands as a tongue-in-cheek joke about being a little imperfect in a modern pop landscape.
The show marked Beck’s triumphant return to live performance after a long break. The Barcelona venue, docked near a platform with a panoramic view, became a stage where late-night post-punk intensity from Fontaines DC once shared the space. Beck anchored the night with flashy picks like Skinty Fia and Boys in the Better Land, while electronic textures and narrative shadows from Formigues or Jo Competixo added a sharp, strategic contrast. The set also included Machiavellian moments in Per la bona gent and Al mar!, balancing a modern, streamed energy with a sense of theatrical storytelling.
Guillem Gisbert captured the moment at Primavera Sound 2022 Barcelona — a reminder of the festival’s enduring intensity and the way audiences move as a single tide through the night. The crowd remained steady as security stewards redirected flows and closed bottlenecks to keep things safe and smooth. Two parallel performances on the same stage, Binance and Weyes Blood, highlighted how audiences now split into distinct bubbles: an international group drawn to Beck’s distinctive, high-energy performance, and a domestic crowd eager for Basque acts and a more intimate encounter with live songwriting. Both sets offered pop contours with a rising sense of craft from a generation that considers the past while shaping the present.
Weyes Blood, known as Natalie Merling, brought a neoclassical warmth to the festival’s atmosphere. Her soft-rock lineage, rooted in Laurel Canyon traditions, opened with melodic lines that felt open, evocative, and slightly dramatic in the best possible way. The white suit and star-like aura suggested a Hollywood glamour, yet the music aimed for something timeless and transcendent. She mentioned inspiring ideas and a desire to craft songs with a lasting quality, drawn from an expansive catalog that reaches toward the feel of Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael and a sense of forward momentum in Titanic Ascend. The repertoire promised a bright future, with songs that might explore modern love and timeless longing alike.
A standout moment spoke to change and maturity. An elegant piece about adult life and childhood longing, a tune like Everyday, and a luminous ode to Andromeda offered warmth and clarity. An old Laurel Canyon landmark, The Air I Breathe, found a new home within her sound, as fans were treated to a closing flourish with flowers tossed toward the audience in a dreamy, cinematic Movies moment.
In a similar vein, Amaia offered a Primavera encore that spoke to a pop sensibility refined by electronic textures. Her recent work, including a collaborative spirit with a production team and the playful single Speaking to Dilo, pushed forward into piano-led moments on El relámpago, a piece delivered with a crisp, almost childlike directness. Her stage presence remained refreshingly candid, a mix of warmth and spontaneity that made her feel like a friend who just happened to be sharing a big festival night. The crowd’s reaction echoed a sincere appreciation for her down-to-earth approach and her capacity to fuse pop with a touch of club-inspired energy.
Low delivered a diverging, slow-blooming set that contrasted with the bright pop of others on the night. The duo, rooted in a three-decade history, offered a state of grace even as they embraced a darker, more experimental tone. Their latest work, acclaimed as one of the year’s most interesting releases, carried a stark, mechanical edge tempered by rich vocal harmonies. The performance leaned into silence, deliberate pauses, and a climactic build that felt almost ceremonial. They revisited older tracks like Not Understanding, allowing seas of distortion to wash over solemn, meditative sections, and concluded with a celestial rendering of Sunflower that carried a funeral-like, contemplative mood. Primavera became, in this moment, a ritual that balanced solemnity with the festival’s signature sense of revelry.
Overall, the festival night showcased the breadth of contemporary pop and indie music, centered on artists who bring personal histories into a shared live experience. The crowd left with a sense that Primavera remains a space where experimentation can coexist with accessibility, and where the magic of a well-timed performance can turn a city into a listening room that lasts well beyond the final encore. [Citation: coverage of Primavera Sound 2022 performances, attributed to Guillem Gisbert.]