Expressway to Yr Skull: Primavera 2009, Day Three

My ears have almost recovered since My Bloody Valentine rammed a hundred decibels into them last night, so Primavera Day Three is good to go. First on our agenda is Texan band Shearwater, which began as a side project by two members of Okkervil River but has since become a full time concern, especially after last year's lauded album, Rook. All multi-instrumentalists, they chop and change between guitars, keys, upright bass, glock, banjo, and drummer Thor Harris (who looks like a relic of a 1980s hair metal band) even plays a home-made kind of percussive harp (pictured). Talented enough to make you sick with envy (singer Jonathan Meiburg also chats to the crowd in fluent Spanish), they are an easy, undemanding start to the last night.

We stay at the Pitchfork stage for another of the American website's favourite acts: Plants and Animals. The Montreal trio may not own as many instruments as Shearwater, but they still play a sophisticated style of indie rock that has had bloggers enamoured since the release of their debut Parc Avenue a year ago. Although it's not uniformly excellent, the new material previewed here bodes well for the follow-up.

We stop for a burrito (delicious, in case you're wondering) and let the anticipation build for the main man of tonight, and the entire festival: Mr Neil Young. Over at the main stage it appears that the entire populace of Parc Del Forum has had the same idea, so any notions of seeing the Canadian legend at close quarters are scuppered. It doesn't matter of course, because when the wispy-haired legend appears we just feel privileged to be here at all. I can and will write a proper appraisal of his near two-hour show, but for now all that needs to be said is that this was an unforgettable performance, taking in his early 70s classics (Old Man, Heart of Gold), his heavy rock period (Hey Hey, My My, Rockin' in the Free World) and this year's Fork in the Road. The audience is enraptured, especially when Young holds up an FC Barcelona scarf during his farewell bow.

It's another huge crowd over at the ATP stage for Liars, and perhaps sensing the occasion, singer Angus Andrew quips, "I'd like to thank Neil Young for opening up for us." Andrew is a frontman par excellence, commanding the stage, stripping to his waist and chanting out his indecipherable vocals while the other two thirds of the New York experimentalists conjure a dark, tribal soundscape that inspires mass outbursts of pagan-style dancing among the assembled crowd. Far-out.

Back to the main stage for tonight's second headliners (if that's possible), Sonic Youth. My notes by this point have taken on the form of scrawled hieroglyphics, so again, a full review will have to wait, but it is yet another stellar show. Despite their middle age they are and always will be unflinching rockers at heart, and they play a rough and ready set of career highlights, including Hey Joni, Expressway to Yr Skull and tracks from their forthcoming album The Eternal.

All that's left from Primavera is a bit of a boogie to Simian Mobile Disco and A-Trak and we stagger towards the Metro station at 5am. It's been a fantastic festival, and definitely worth some minor ear damage.