Getting Your Fix: The Barcelona Guide to Rock and Roll

By Tom DeFeo

If you’re studying in Barcelona and you haven’t been trapped in a sound proof cage the entire time then chances are you have gotten more than a healthy dose of dance music in the past month. Great, that world renowned club scene is what this city if known for, but bottom line, some of us miss the sound of actual instruments. Some of us just need a healthy fix.

A couple weeks ago me and some like-minded friends ventured out to the quiet industrial neighborhood of Poble Nou. It was a Sunday night and we were at Razzmatazz, but we weren’t at the EDM driven Razzmatazz you think you know, this night was different; the super club had been transformed into a sea of bodies fixated on a stage with actual musicians on it! For 90 minutes Jack White and his musical outfit played hard and they played loud and after the show we were left standing at the front of the stage waiting for a nonexistent encore, the mark of any great show, until we were ushered out the door by security. We had gotten our fix and all was good in the world again.

If you find yourself fiending the same type of musical fix then you are reading the right article. In terms of finding big name acts, your best bet is to check out the concert calendars for Razzmatazz and Sala Apolo. Both host shows of all genres including that heavier stuff. If you just got a downright hankering for some live music, and you need it now, head down to the Sidecar Factory in Placa Reial. You won’t find big names coming through here but you can depend on solid live acts at least twice a week year round. Don’t have the money for live shows? Everything’s going to be okay, check out Carrer de Jauquin Costa over in El Reval any night of the week. There are a number of bars on this strip devoted to rock of all decades, most notably Manchester Bar and Betty Ford. If you’re too sketched out by El Reval or just don’t like the smell of piss covered streets then head west to the Gracia neighborhood where you’ll find La Perla Rock and Roll bar.

We’re only a month into the semester and if your craving live music now then you will go mad before December rolls around so do yourself a favor, get some friends together and go get a listen of some of that good old fashioned rock and roll.

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