The imposing Tejano rapper Megan Thee Stallion was in charge of closing the performances on the main stages of Primavera Sound, culminating a torrential and historic twentieth anniversary. Originally from Houston, the visit to the festival has meant her debut in our country; first in a pass at Razzmatazz, during the Primavera a la Ciutat, and yesterday in style.
Preceded by the image of a metallic horse with red eyes trotting on the screens -stallion means stallion-, she appeared after two in the morning accompanied by a DJ and a dance troupe of ten dancers, four male and six female, who supported her in erotic choreographies that served to enhance their message of empowerment through sexuality. Thus, the so-called twerking -word that designates the act of dancing provocatively, with sensual pelvic movements, in the manner of reggaeton perreo- was the norm, in accordance with lyrics full of “pussy”, “bitch”, “cock” , “motherfucker” and whose best compendium was the song Freak nasty.
Another choreographed hit was Body, whose lyrics say “I’m a hot ebony.” And he really is, managing to create through lewdness -another of his hallmarks is continually sticking out his tongue- a powerful character whose art is based on old school hip hop, with the sole help of the phrasing of his voice, to which the DJ responds, in charge of shooting some simple but very effective bases. The resounding forms of her body and that of the dancers who accompany her also represented the triumph of the non-normative, in a performance that will go down in the annals of the festival.
At the same time, Puerto Rican reggaeton star Jhay Cortez performed at the other end of the venue, preceded on other stages by a performance of European pop and rock. We were able to see the Belgian Angèle, singer-songwriter and actress, who makes a sophisticated mix of pop and R
Another that stood out was Phoenix. The veteran French group from Versailles performed as a sextet on one of the big stages, making it clear, as the title of one of the songs they performed says, Trying to be cool, that they continue to sound modern with a pop formula that fits rock guitars and synthetic sounds, in a repertoire that began with his classic Lisztomania and ended at the top with Rome and 1901.
Such was the euphoria that their singer Thomas Mars did not hesitate to immerse himself among the fans in the front rows who lifted him up, producing the effect that he walked over the crowd like a God of rock.
Also worthy of mention is the post-punk discharge created by Viagra Boys, a Swedish band from Stockholm with a tattooed singer who seems to be a disciple of Johnny Rotten. In his forceful and sharp sound, the contribution of a saxophonist who makes his instrument sound like a croak stands out.
In the British installment, the presence of the singer Jessie Ware stood out, as she arrived at the festival on the presentation tour of her album What’s your pleasure?. With the Cupra stage, the one with the stands, full to overflowing, it seemed that he was playing at home since the majority of the devoted public was British. With a sound totally influenced by disco music, he provoked tons of pleasure with his own songs like Please, Soul control or Mirage (don’t stop). Although for madness the one that was unleashed with his version of Kylie Minogue’s Kiss of life.
