Who's not from Barcelona?
Yesterday I met up with some friends, two of them from Barcelona, and took the bus into Stockholm to see a concert. The band: 'I'm From Barcelona'. They're a many-membered pop outfit that has just released an album entitled 'We're From Barcelona'. They're not from Barcelona; they are from Sweden. I can't say 100% for sure, but I think that this sort of thing only happens in Sweden.
Anyway, as I was saying, we grabbed a Barça Futbol Club scarf, a Catalan estelada nationalist flag and a poster reading "Catalunya is NOT Spain!" and headed into Stockholm. A long walk and long queue later we were looking up at a gyrating clump of 26 all-dancing, all-singing, all-clapping, all-hopping Swedish freaks. It was great. Their songs are from the catchy pop sing-along camp and their energy is great; I mean, not many bands can effectively cheer themselves. They were really having a lot of fun on stage: picking one another up, rolling around, leaving stage, coming back with beer, playing kazoos and toy ukuleles and tambourines.
We, on the other hand, we were really having a lot of fun off the stage: waving our flags and banners and shouting the lyrics to the single. I am not sure how many of the band members recognized the Catalan flag and FCB paraphernalia, but we got a few nods. After the set we managed to beckon the lead singer, Emanuel, who climbed down a lighting scaffold to talk with us for a while. He is a space-case, enough said. Later we met Johan and Anna, who were both nice and more 'normal' (i.e. capable of conversation). All three signed the flag (with, uh, paint...), then Johan ran backstage and came back with armfuls of swag! I scored a CD, nice!
Unfortunately, I think that their international tour circuit will be limited by the fact that the band has 29 members. They are going to Barcelona on June 1st, though, for Primavera Sound. I wonder how the real Barcelonins will receive them... Though they might not make it across the pond, you can see one of their videos here. Try the official website for everything else.
Anyway, as I was saying, we grabbed a Barça Futbol Club scarf, a Catalan estelada nationalist flag and a poster reading "Catalunya is NOT Spain!" and headed into Stockholm. A long walk and long queue later we were looking up at a gyrating clump of 26 all-dancing, all-singing, all-clapping, all-hopping Swedish freaks. It was great. Their songs are from the catchy pop sing-along camp and their energy is great; I mean, not many bands can effectively cheer themselves. They were really having a lot of fun on stage: picking one another up, rolling around, leaving stage, coming back with beer, playing kazoos and toy ukuleles and tambourines.
We, on the other hand, we were really having a lot of fun off the stage: waving our flags and banners and shouting the lyrics to the single. I am not sure how many of the band members recognized the Catalan flag and FCB paraphernalia, but we got a few nods. After the set we managed to beckon the lead singer, Emanuel, who climbed down a lighting scaffold to talk with us for a while. He is a space-case, enough said. Later we met Johan and Anna, who were both nice and more 'normal' (i.e. capable of conversation). All three signed the flag (with, uh, paint...), then Johan ran backstage and came back with armfuls of swag! I scored a CD, nice!
Unfortunately, I think that their international tour circuit will be limited by the fact that the band has 29 members. They are going to Barcelona on June 1st, though, for Primavera Sound. I wonder how the real Barcelonins will receive them... Though they might not make it across the pond, you can see one of their videos here. Try the official website for everything else.
