Facing the Balearic Sea in Barcelona's Parc del Forum, thousands of festival goers basked in the sounds of the stellar Primavera Sound. The line-up was good but the one catch was that the festival site was very big and hilly so if you weren't quick on your feet, rationing was the order of the day but luckily, with a line-up that boasted Blur, My Bloody Valentine, Jessie Ware, Death Grips and Grizzly Bear, it was difficult to make any bad decisions.
The energy that Blur exuded was invigorating as Damon Albarn bounded about the stage with the same abandon he practiced at the height of the Britpop era. 'Song 2' was the finishing number but we got every side of Blur and they jetted from 'Girls and Boys' to 'End of a Century' to 'Coffee and TV'. 5/5 Catch them at IMMA, Kilmainham on 1 August.
My Bloody Valentine attracted the majority of the Irish crowd at one of the headlining stages. Every garment of clothing was vibrating at the loudness of the majestic set which included a blistering finish with 'You Made Me Realise' which sounded like a thousand fireworks going off at once. 5/5 Catch them at Electric Picnic, 30 August - 1 September.
Solange delivered cool finesse as she soothed through songs from her True EP and her 2003 and 2008 albums. Crowd pleaser 'Losing You' was intended to be her last song but such was the demand for her that she returned with a cover of Dirty Projectors' 'Stillness is the Move'. 4/5 Catch her at Body and Soul, 22 June
The Postal Service's set was tinged with teen nostalgia as everyone's inner Seth Cohen let loose and salivated over Ben Gibbard and Jenny Lewis' awkward onstage flirtations. 'The District Sleeps Alone Tonight' and 'Such Great Heights' were played with the same pedantry seen on Give Up. 3/5 Catch them at Electric Picnic, 30 August - 1 September
The crowd were like putty in the hands of up-and-comer Jessie Ware. Her big and soulful voice stunned and with her south London accent, she was endearingly grateful for her place on the line-up. Get to know and love her now. 4/5
The Knife pulled out all the stops with their set that was of the scale of a Broadway musical. Their show requires your full attention which would be best suited to a seated music venue. It's an experience to watch the mysterious duo at work but don't expect much from their back catalogue as this year's Shaking the Habitual got the spotlight. 4/5 Catch them at Electric Picnic, 30 August - 1 September
Wu-Tang Clan were one of the most entertaining acts of the weekend even if they did milk ODB's death a bit much with a medley of his biggest solo singles. With some of the biggest veterans of hip hop in tow, they know how to work the crowd. 3/5 Catch them at Electric Picnic, 30 August - 1 September
The stylish nature of French band Phoenix, both musically and visually, is never to be looked down on. 'Lisztomania', 'Love Like a Sunset' and '1901' from 2009's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix remain the standout hits but newbies from this year's Bankrupt! will soon reach that level. 4/5 Catch them at Longitude, 19th to 21st July
Festival favorites Grizzly Bear always outdo their previous projects and with four top notch albums, beautiful stage designs and extremely likable band members, they have perfected both the live set. If their name is on a line-up, you'd be a fool to miss them. 4/5 Catch them at Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, 18 July and Galway Arts Festival, 10 July
Death Grips. What to say. A Death Grips show will stay with you for a long time. It is apocalyptically good and frontman Stefan Burnett viciously raps as if his life depends on it. Their loudness could only be compared to My Bloody Valentine's and though it's not to everyone's taste, Death Grips will leave you mesmerised. 5/5
Review by Louise Bruton
