A faltering giant - Sónar 2008 retrospective
» Published by szola on Aug 13, 2008
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Date: 19 - 21.06.08
Concert Time: All day
There are lots of things money cannot buy. Reputation is one of them. Sónar has been painstakingly building up its reputation ever since its inauguration as a three day event in 1993. The festival has included multi-million selling artist, the future stars and artist from the fringes of their genre. This plethora made the festival a special and a safe venue to visit. Special because you knew that if you trawled the free mag you were given at the entrance carefully and kept an open mind you were bound to catch a fantastic act you’ve never heard about. And safe because there were always a handful of shows you didn’t want to miss.
The Sónar festival of 2008 stained the hard fought reputation of Sónar. Writing this articles a couple of months after the festival itself I still cannot comprehend why Sónar 2008 disappointed. Maybe it was the inevitable hubris? Maybe it was a step back in order to take two steps forward? Or maybe its just me?
I hope its not my initial suggestion. It would be a shame to ruin so many year’s hard work just because you think you know it all. The most worrying sign to me was the artist line up. Sónar by Day was to put it bluntly, not as good as one could have hoped for. Yes, Pan Sonic did play. Yes, the Yellow Swans had their last gig at Sónar. Yes, Matmos was on stage. But the gems weer few and far between, and the mediocre concerts flourished.
Sónar by night was an even bigger disappointment. Richie Hawtin and Miss Kittin, again? Madness and M.I.A. as the big guns? The sheer size of the night venues calls an artist that can fill out the vast space. Either through sound or by presence. And for €48 you need to have more then a trip down memory lane, unless you reckon the crowd will be on drugs and willing to any music coming uot of the speakers.
In light of this criticism the Sónar festival was still an enjoyable festival. The venue has lots of positives going for it, being in the heart of Barcelona. The stages are in close proximity to one another, and the lame corporate tents easily avoidable. On that note I would like to add that drinking American Budweiser for at least triple price in Spain, is absolutely not a good policy choice from the behalf of the organizers.
So far Sónar has been an much cherished annual trip for me. I have loved to go there. I have loved to be thrilled by the unexpected surprises that each edition of the festival had in store. Sónar 2008 made me somber again. I would like to attend Sónar 2009. But next year I will check out the program before I fly down. I am not confident enough that Sónar will once again show me its good side.