VIDEO: Wavves Freakout At Primavera Sound Festival In Spain

Wavves (San Diego, CA)

[MP3] Wavves - So Bored

You’ve no doubt read about Wavves singer Nathan Williams’ on-stage meltdown at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona last week. Quite honestly I really feel bad about the whole situation. It can happen to the best of us. Freaking out in front of thousands of festival goers and Pitchfork owner Ryan Schreiber wasn’t the greatest idea but undertsanding the events that led to the situation brings up a bigger debate about the nature of the current industry - especially the indie world.

Nathan later apologized for the incident citing mixing drugs and bad decision making as the culprit. It now appears the band has also canceled the rest of the dates on the European Tour which is probably for the best.

We all deal with pressure in different ways and in today’s music climate - especially in the indie world, I feel there is an unfair expectation for artists to deliver consistently amid grueling touring schedules or else face a quick and swift death by the press. A lot of indie acts also lack the control and guidance that can come from having a great management team looking out for their best interests. Personal vices become a way of dealing with the stress and sometimes can get out of control. I’ve witnessed it first hand more times than I can count.

Some advice to the touring acts of the world: Make sure you are taking care of yourself on the road. You are not invincible and need downtime. Exercise moderation and try and set some ground rules for basic health such as getting good Sleep, eating healthy, and cutting back on alcohol consumption.

Video of the band’s performance at Primavera has now surfaced on YouTube. You can watch it below.