Allow me to introduce you to the youngest person on the Primavera Sound festival ground at Parc del Fòrum: a roughly five-month-old baby on the arms of his rock ‘n’ roll parents, wearing fancy earmuffs to protect him from the noisy underground tunes of Florida-based band, Surfer Blood.

At the other end of the age spectrum, amongst the oldest at the Fòrum, is Mark E. Smith (53), the lead singer and head of what has been his lifetime project: post-punk legend The Fall. The band’s return to Primavera Sound raised considerable expectations after their thrilling gig at the festival’s 2007 edition.

Since The Fall began in 1976, Mark E. Smith has hired and fired several dozen band members, substituting the experimental two bass and two drummer lineups with a more minimal punk-rock configuration. Applauded by plenty of fans in stage front, the good news is The Fall still rocks. The bad news is that the band’s best years are a thing of the past.

The Fall’s latest release, Your Future Our Clutter (2010), lacks the brutal energy and inspiration evident on former albums like Imperial Wax Solvent (2008)—and this is tragically apparent on stage. Where Mark E. Smith tries to explore new ways of expression, his rather limited vocals fail to express the subtle tones he may have intended. While The Fall started up a wicked show in 2007, now in 2010, the gig reminds me more (quite involuntarily) of The Muppet Show.

On a positive note, the performance of London-based The XX, while not an overwhelming show, was a promising encounter with a band we’d love to flourish—and get along with one another. After losing one of its original members, Baria Qureshi due to personal differences, the group performed as a trio. Quite successful since their inception in 2005 (several of their songs have been used in TV commercials as well as a Karl Lagerfeld’s fashion show), on stage, you feel the pop potential reminiscent of the 80s, yet in a fragile, understated and unpretentious way.

One thing that was not understated was the weather: rain with chilly Northern Europe night temperatures. However, this didn’t squash the crowds’ enthusiasm when Primavera Sound 2010’s first real highlight, Canadian rock legend, Broken Social Scene, opened its epic show.

Primavera Sound organizers have done quite a lot to bring some of the best of Canada’s rock scene to town over the years. Montreal’s Arcade Fire has had two gigs and years back the New Pornographers gave a Primavera Club gig during the festival’s first edition (it also happened to be the group’s first European gig). This year, NP is back in town for another performance on Friday night.

With eight multi-talented musicians (who also happen to be good friends), though, the Broken Social Scene gave a fantastic show, among the best Primavera Sound has ever had on stage—it is of course just the first day/night of the festival, so we’ll have to see how the other acts do.