Cruïlla 2019 as we lived it

Jul 8

Jul 8 Cruïlla 2019 as we lived it

In the beginning of July Barcelona was hosting its biggest summer party – Cruïlla Festival. For its 10th edition, a quintessential event offered to dive into gastronomy, fashion, technology and music. Talking about which, this edition had several big names: Black Eyed Peas, Kylie Minogue, Foals, Parov Stelar, Garbage, Years & Years and many more.

I Gotta Feeling, Pump It, My Humps, Shut Up, Where is the Love… If you haven't spent the entire 2000s on Mars, without a radio or TV, these songs will probably ring a bell. Black Eyed Peas are a dynamite at the main stage with their infallible formula: pop, hip hop and R&B. The hit factory lands in Barcelona for the first time in almost ten years. Opening the tenth edition of Cruïlla, they want you to remember the night of July 3rd at least for another decade.

The London quartet Bastille composed their first hit Pompeii using choruses, and sparkling textures of the 80s synths. A mix that catapulted them to Nº 2 on the UK charts, selling millions of copies of their debut album “Bad Blood”. Shortly after, they were playing major UK festivals such as Glastonbury and Isle of Wight. Later Bastille released their second album “Wild World”, which reached Nº 1 in the United Kingdom, and debuted in a Top Ten in many countries around the world. Here in Barcelona the band played a vibrant set, rocking it all during the second day of the festival.

Garbage is a band of another era, but the songs that made them famous are more consistent than ever. The electronic sounds, heavy basses, punk and alternative rock of the nineties… Shirley Manson, emphasizing each phrase, taking a moment to remember the times of her youth in Barcelona. Later, the band covered Personal Jesus followed by some of their classics such as Think I'm Paranoid, Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!), Push It, Only Happy When It Rains and When I Grow Up. That was what people came for. A full power.

Surviving the wave of British groups of the past decade, Foals played a solid show. The band was generous with an extensive a setlist: My Number, Spanish Sahara or the most recent In Degrees, On the Luna and the wonderful Sunday. It perfectly describes the mix – guitars that can sound forceful but also tropical. Perhaps they changed their ways but still are going strong, with another triumph under their belt.

And the roads led to Kylie Minogue. Everybody was there: people with a vague memory, devoted fans and “just curious” folk, whatever it was, her show was huge. An impressive set design was alternating between warm and kitsch, chill and party, laser and confetti. Kylie commanded the night with her vocal power and an army of dancers. More than twenty songs in her set were divided into four acts with different stage design and costumes. Merging Bowie's Fashion into Slow, Kylie Minogue then takes a fan on stage to sing Where the Wild Roses Grow. She then finishes her set with Can’t Get You Out of My Head and All the Lovers.

Listening to Years & Years live is something else. When they go on stage you know that you are about to party for 75 minutes. A synthpop beat and the breathtaking voice of Olly Alexander are filling the area with the songs from their latest album “Palo Santo” - an album where they step forward and explore organic sounds.

Marcus Füreder, aka Parov Stelar, created a genre - electro swing - that idyllic love story between classic swing and modern electronics. His show was spectacular, everyone who was sitting on the grass got up and went to dance. With a totally renewed show that includes new songs, new vocalist, 8 artists, new visuals and new stage design, Parov Stelar came to transform the sound of jazz and swing from the 20s into house and vintage electro.