Barcelona Trip 2024, Day 4 of 6
Hotel Attica 21, Barcelona Mar
Like tourists, we’ve spent the early part of the day shopping and eating. It’s very tough for me to find after-shave products, male deodorants, and shower gels in Asia, so I’m all in for going to beauty stores here in Europe. Then we were off to the Festival. The first paid day of the festival was indeed better managed. There was no issue queuing or getting in or out, and the crowds were bearable.
How about the music, though? First, we tried the band Voxtrot at the back end of the festival grounds, and it was a good show. The audio mix could have been better; the vocals were buried and barely audible, but the catchy songs and enthusiastic performance were still fun. Then we took a peek at the K-pop hip-hop performance, gave up on it, and went for food. Then we went to the main event in the area, which people call “Mordor,” a 20-minute walk from the festival center.
We stumbled upon the performance of the Australian group Amyl and the Sniffers. The performance was a kind of punk/cock rock, fronted by a woman. I did not care for the elementary songs, but it was a high-energy experience worth watching. Then a very underwhelming Freddie Gibbs/Madlib show, with a lot of trite banter (“Fuck the police”) and making a show of getting high. They went off stage with 10 minutes to spare.
What did not disappoint was the Vampire Weekend show. Suddenly, the audio mix was super clear and powerful, and the performances were full of virtuosity, energy, and great songs. Finally, we walked back through a massive crowd in Mordor to the central area for the Deftones. We were very close to the stage, but the audio sounded quiet. When we walked way back, it was better. Afterward, we talked about the era of Deftones, Korn, and Limp Bizkit. I remember seeing Limp Bizkit in Shenzhen, of all places.
While my sister had way more stamina, I returned to the hotel around 1 AM.
But before I close this blog entry, let me share the Kombucha of the Day! Today I took the metro back to the town and went to the Ferment 9 shop. It was worth the trip. I had a very interesting, mildly coffee-flavored kombucha. It was a nice and fizzy, clear brew with just a hint of coffee, and it did not overpower the fermented tea flavor at all. I’m continuing to enjoy the fermentation/kombucha community. Everybody is super friendly in this scene. I received a delicious pickle while sampling the kombucha at the shop today.
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