Ok, a little late, but I owed you!! Let me tell you a little about what the MMVV is. First of all, the "MMVV" stands for "Mercat de Música Viva de Vic" (Live Music Market of Vic). These are 4 days full of concerts in every corner of the city, not a very big one, but with plenty of plazas (I think more than 60... in every corner there is a plaza, big or small!). The idea is:
-There are the official concerts, the ones you can see in the official programme, some of them for free, some of them you have to pay (usually short, and not cheap at all). There is the main plaza (the Market Plaza), where at night there are the biggest, most crowded concerts, for free. Also in certain parts of the city, in places prepared for those days. All kind of music: pop, rock, alternative, hip-hop, ethnic...
-Apart the official concerts, there are the "unofficial ones", those you can find in any plaza at any time. And those are, in my opinion, the most interesting! For instance: on Saturday we had lunch in a little plaza, while hearing one of those bands playing in front of us. It was a "typical Spanish" music (rumba and similar), but good enough, and pretty happy. It was a good music to eat with!
Last year we went there for first time, but only for a day, and we had to come back home (1h by car), so we felt we missed too much. This year we got a hotel room (the hotel was just above the Train Station!! Luckily, it was sound-proof. No train woke us!), for two nights: we arrived Friday evening, after work, and we left Sunday afternoon. So, our first night was Friday's night. Xiquet is in guitar forum, and he knew two of the users who have each of them a band which had to play that evening, two of these unofficial concerts, in a plaza with a Irish pub. So we went to the pub, we drank a couple of beers and had dinner (pizza), while hearing the two bands. The first one was pretty good (popish, but not bad at all) and the second one, rockabilly. The second one I liked a lot!!
After these concerts, we went to the Market Plaza and saw a little of Macaco (pretty important band here). We were tired and headed to bed.
Saturday. We go to the market plaza... to see the market!! It's an important one, very big and with plenty of everything: food of all kinds (vegetables, fruits, meat, mushrooms...), clothes, handycraft... Really big and nice! For lunch, the little plaza I talked about with the small "rumba" band. After that, walking by the streets while encountering here and there more bands of all kinds. See a band, stop to hear (more or less depending on how you like them), all afternoon. Finally, we go to one of the official concerts I wanted to assist to: a sefardí and andalusí "band" (sefardí = medieval jews in the south of Spain; andalusí = Spanish Arabs, also from medieval times). Very interesting, and very different! Good and nice musical instruments, arabic chants and even a cunning song from the sefardí tradition. After that concert, a Brasilean one. Before going to bed, still another concert, in the Market Plaza, from "Gossos", another very important Catalan band.
Sunday. Ok, this day was the least musical of all... few concerts left and all at the evening, when we wanted to be at home. So we said "good bye" to Vic, and "Since next year!!"!
If you want to get an idea of how much music there was, a little anecdote: Saturday, before going to the sefardí andalusí band, I asked for a quiet place. I found a plaza without music in it (there was in both sides, but far enough for me not to hear too much. I needed a moment of "musical rest". I meant... I need to hear the silence for a while!! Of course, that was just before going to a "marathon" of little music concerts...
If anyone wants to know what it feels like, every year in the middle of September there is this festival. Anyone want to join?
PS. Soon I'll post some pictures and even videos... but you have to be patient!!!
