In only its second iteration, the famed Primavera Sound of Barcelona has made its way to Los Angeles. And with Arctic Monkeys as the Sunday headliner, so did I.
Truly, the opportunity to see the band that I obsessed over for most of 2021 was the prime reason for heading back over to the sunny state, but what a perfect excuse to do both! Firstly, I love a music festival (I think that’s kind of obvious at this point), and secondly, there’s still so much more of California to see! The fact that the Arctic Monkeys popped up to do shows in the back half of this year was all the reason I needed to pull the trigger. Of course, with the announcement of a new album, The Car, due out in October, I hope that means I’ll get another opportunity to see them a little closer to home and at a smaller venue. But for now, I embraced what was available and what fun it was!
Primavera Sound LA took place in LA’s State Historic Park, in the heart of downtown LA. The grounds of this place were really, really nice! I don’t know why I was expecting something dumpy from a park in LA, but it still managed to surprise me. The grass was well-kept, and since they practically never get any rain, there were no mushy or muddy parts to look out for. Everything was pretty well spread out across the park, with merchandise and food more centrally located. A smart layout in my opinion. Those options were also pretty vast, so lines were never all that long. The four stages were staggered pretty well away from each other, but alternating set times also helped make sure no artist got drowned out by someone playing at a similar time. Perhaps the only thing people had to complain about were these 21 and over areas, but that didn’t personally impact my old ass, so sorry for you Gen Z-ers.
Now onto the good stuff though – the music! My friend and I got there a little later in the day, so the first act we caught was Amyl and the Sniffers, and what a delight that was! This Australian punk band was loud and punchy, and they were so good! After that we looped around to the smallest stage at the venue which was mostly dedicated to DJs and EDM acts. That means we watched a lot of people have a good time to Sherelle. Next up was Bad Gyal, which is just not really my thing. The crowd that did amass there loved her though, so good for her! Finally, we caught Girl in Red who, despite her popularity, I had never checked out before. She freaking killed it! While she did have some more rock-oriented songs, I was pleased to find out how much she wanted mosh pits and walls of death to happen. Also, she’s an Arctic Monkeys fan, so she was sticking around for there set for sure.
I didn’t stray too far from my spot to listen to just the tiniest bit of Cigarettes After Sex, but I did catch their hit “Apocalypse” and one of my favorites “Falling in Love.” But then it was back to my, admittedly, not close spot to see Arctic Monkeys take the stage. They opened with “Do I Wanna Know?” and ended with “R U Mine?” which was to be expected, but all the songs in between got me even more hyped as the set went on. Of course, I would have rather heard “Brianstorm” open the set, but it did get played and that’s all I really needed. I was sad to learn “That’s Where Your Wrong” got bumped from their more recent setlists, but when you’ve got new music you’ve got to make room. Thus, we heard “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am,” and it was my first time really listening to it in earnest – so good! I was most excited to hear “Teddy Picker,” “505,” and “From the Ritz to the Rubble,” but the whole show was incredible.
There! Another bucket list show checked off the list, but this better not be the last time I see Arctic Monkeys in concert. Can’t say I’d ever go back to Primavera Sound as the rest of the lineup wasn’t quite my cup of tea, but never say never. If you live in the area though, why wouldn’t you go?!