The XX light up Barcelona’s Poble Espanyol as a preview of the Primavera Sound festival
The XX performed last week at the Poble Espanyol in Barcelona. The band from London played songs from their hit albums ‘xx’ and ‘Coexist’. Besides their great performance, Barcelona-based producer John Talabot also put on a great show with his first album ‘ƒIN’. Talabot’s music can be labeled as melodious techno, with a dark and creepy atmosphere. The Catalan producer played for less than an hour after which the stage was rebuilt for The XX.
Barcelona (CNA).- 200 Meters. That was the minimum length of the queue to enter Poble Espanyol as fans waited for The XX and Barcelona-based producer John Talabot. After the doors opened early evening the place filled really quickly. John Talabot’s music can be labeled as melodious techno, with a dark and creepy atmosphere. John Talabot played more or less 50 minutes after which the stage was rebuilt for The XX. If there was one negative point to be mentioned, it was the forty minutes concert management took to rebuild the stage.
In the meantime, it became dark outside and the crowd waited impatiently as the lights went off. The band opened with ‘Try’ a song from their second album ‘Coexist’. When The XX perform live, it is really live, which means that even the beats of the songs are created live on stage. Jamie xx, DJ/producer from The XX, radiates his passion while creating the beats. The same goes for Romie and Oliver, who both sing and play the electric guitar.
After playing several songs, including hits like ‘VCR’, ‘Reunion’, ‘Crystallized’ and ‘Infinity’, they stopped and walked away from the stage. While the beat was still playing on, the crowd expected The XX to come back, and so they did. They came back and played probably one of their most popular songs ‘Intro’. This felt like the intro of a new concert and you could feel the energy coming from the crowd. After having played two or three more songs the show was over. Both Romie and Oliver said they really love Barcelona and how amazing it is to be here. “And we don’t say that every show”, said Oliver.
The concert took place at the Poble Espanyol, an open-air architectural village located on the Montjuïc hill in Barcelona. Poble Espanyol was built with the aim of creating ‘the ideal Spanish village’. This place has a very own and unique atmosphere what really added something to the concert. The stage was surrounded by houses which lent an intimate feel to the gig and so it proved.