A Fire, A Wind Storm and A Helluva MessWednesday 15th – Monday 20th July 2009
Benicassim Festival, Benicassim, Spain
DAY 5: Sunday: It’s All In The Timing
This morning I opted for the beach rather than the pool and strolled down to the opposite end of Oropresa to find it full of Spanish families. It’s a bizarre reality coupling 100’s of everyday Spaniards holidaying at their favourite beachside resort alongside a few thousand mainly British drunken and debaucherous tourists. I’m sure they love it when we arrive. After a relaxing stint on the sand I strolled back to the homestead and prepared for the last night’s festivities, which included The Killers and TV On The Radio. It was bitterly disappointing upon arrival to find the nights set times had changed once again and we had in fact missed TV On The Radio.
For some reason - of which we didn’t follow up as the information tent was more crowded than main stage – all stages were running at least 1 hour early. Defeated and deflated we head to main stage to wait for The Killers and scored a great spot due to the arena being empty. Obviously not all had caught on as quickly as we did. By the time they snap, crackled and popped onto stage the place was packed, but we maintained a good view throughout their safe and sound set. I do like The Killers – and I don’t deny, oh Brandon – but they’re hardly cutting edge. The songs are solid pop tracks with catchy melodies and good beats and a charismatic front man to sing them. No amazing riffs, guitar solos or epic moments, just purely poptastic. The exact opposite of what came up next – the awesome Rhinoceros.
I don’t know a lot about this band but I know what I like, and I sure as hell liked them. With their space-aged futuristic ABBA-esque get up and eclectic stylings they served as the perfect closer for those who had the stamina. They were rock, they were funky, they had beats, they were dancey – all while oozing effortless style and ferver. One cameo featured a skinny-legged big Afro’d gentleman who sounded not unlike Elmo shimmying his way across stage and wreaking all sorts of havoc with his mic. An awesome end to an awesome week.
Benicassim was obviously not without its faults, but regardless the week was enjoyed by all. The line up was fantastic and the Spanish Summer setting helped ease the pain of long queues, no-show acts and Mother Nature’s wrath. I can only hope that future Benicassim’s are better organised and restructured to cope with its rising popularity and punter demand. If not I fear its current cool-as reputation will soon be blowing in the wind. Or wind storm, as it were.
This morning I opted for the beach rather than the pool and strolled down to the opposite end of Oropresa to find it full of Spanish families. It’s a bizarre reality coupling 100’s of everyday Spaniards holidaying at their favourite beachside resort alongside a few thousand mainly British drunken and debaucherous tourists. I’m sure they love it when we arrive. After a relaxing stint on the sand I strolled back to the homestead and prepared for the last night’s festivities, which included The Killers and TV On The Radio. It was bitterly disappointing upon arrival to find the nights set times had changed once again and we had in fact missed TV On The Radio.
For some reason - of which we didn’t follow up as the information tent was more crowded than main stage – all stages were running at least 1 hour early. Defeated and deflated we head to main stage to wait for The Killers and scored a great spot due to the arena being empty. Obviously not all had caught on as quickly as we did. By the time they snap, crackled and popped onto stage the place was packed, but we maintained a good view throughout their safe and sound set. I do like The Killers – and I don’t deny, oh Brandon – but they’re hardly cutting edge. The songs are solid pop tracks with catchy melodies and good beats and a charismatic front man to sing them. No amazing riffs, guitar solos or epic moments, just purely poptastic. The exact opposite of what came up next – the awesome Rhinoceros.
I don’t know a lot about this band but I know what I like, and I sure as hell liked them. With their space-aged futuristic ABBA-esque get up and eclectic stylings they served as the perfect closer for those who had the stamina. They were rock, they were funky, they had beats, they were dancey – all while oozing effortless style and ferver. One cameo featured a skinny-legged big Afro’d gentleman who sounded not unlike Elmo shimmying his way across stage and wreaking all sorts of havoc with his mic. An awesome end to an awesome week.
Benicassim was obviously not without its faults, but regardless the week was enjoyed by all. The line up was fantastic and the Spanish Summer setting helped ease the pain of long queues, no-show acts and Mother Nature’s wrath. I can only hope that future Benicassim’s are better organised and restructured to cope with its rising popularity and punter demand. If not I fear its current cool-as reputation will soon be blowing in the wind. Or wind storm, as it were.
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