A Fire, A Wind Storm and A Helluva MessWednesday 15th – Monday 20th July 2009
Benicassim Festival, Benicassim, Spain
DAY 4: Saturday: 2MuchFun
Needless to say our Saturday was fairly quiet. Not waking until afternoon we rolled out of bed, met friends at the beach, nursed our hangovers with food and swimming then set about doing it all over again. Regardless of the night befores proceedings Saturday was to be our night to let loose. With an amazing line up of dance and rock we left Friday’s fiasco behind and head off with high spirits. There were varied acts to see meaning our group of around 20 kept splitting up, but having decided on our meeting place of ‘The G Spot’ (a giant tartan cube selling amazing cocktails) we were never far from one another.
As we arrived I was especially happy to find Maximo Park had taken Lilly Allen’s place due to her being ill. They put on an energetic and amazing set as always, heightened by the fact everyone thought they were goners after last night’s disasters. Next up were Elbow who certainly didn’t disappoint, drawing a huge crowd who came readied to sing their hearts out to the bands solid flowing rock sound, and I can’t tell you how elating ‘Beautiful Day’ was to watch. It may sound cliché but I love that song, and watching thousands of people sing it at the top if their lungs on a balmy Spanish evening makes you feel so good to be alive. It most certainly was a beautiful day.
Franz Ferdinand then joined us at the perfect time – not too late in the evening to rock out but just early enough for everyone to be happy, trashy and jump around. Their stylish rock musings and do-do-do’s got the most tired of us up on our feet and dancing for a solid hours set and even prompted an encore. The lads from Scotland were on form as usual and were a perfect precursor for the nights headliners, 2ManyDJs.
With a small hiatus between the two acts we loaded up on drinks and the like until the Belgians were ready to go. Unfortunately one of our friends had perhaps one too many drinks, resulting in her having a little 2 hour or so snooze just as 2ManyDJs came on. We carried her with us to a suitable clear area and proceeded to dance around her lifeless body until she returned from the land of slumber. I don’t need to tell you this made for some hilarious photos. Just like their show at Brixton 2 weeks previous 2ManyDJs provided the ultimate get up and shake your thang party selection. They posses the ability to mix anything – from Dolly Parton to Sepultura, MGMT to Justice. They banged out the hits with no time to waste and ended with a well-appreciated version of The Prodigy’s ‘Out of Space’. A great set to end a great night.
Once back at The G Spot our weary friend had awoken and was inhaling some chips and a kebab – breakfast of champions. The rest of us however, whilst dancing to 2ManyDJs, had inhaled a breathtaking amount of dust due to the dry ground so it was coughs and blocked noses all round. While some decided to call it a night us girls stayed, having been sucked in by The Orb.
The Orb was bright, sparkly and not easy to ignore - a dance stage tucked in a corner of the site, and in the wee hours of a Sunday morning it provided a refreshing change as the crowd in attendance were actually Spanish! With the headliners being from the UK and USA the majority of the crowd had usually been of British origin – only here or there did you hear a Spanish or French accent. It was nice to finally find a genuine Spanish representation at The Orb even if it was 4am on a Sunday morning. We faced a sea of smiling faces greeting ‘Hola!’ all the way and even leaning in for the 2-cheek European kiss now and then. It just goes to show who has the stamina and who knows how to party properly. Everyone was friendly, fun and ready to dance the night away. Everyone but our sleepy friend who was now wide-awake but had lost her shoes in the earlier commotions. Taking pity on her poor feet we decided to call it a night – or morning, as it were.
Needless to say our Saturday was fairly quiet. Not waking until afternoon we rolled out of bed, met friends at the beach, nursed our hangovers with food and swimming then set about doing it all over again. Regardless of the night befores proceedings Saturday was to be our night to let loose. With an amazing line up of dance and rock we left Friday’s fiasco behind and head off with high spirits. There were varied acts to see meaning our group of around 20 kept splitting up, but having decided on our meeting place of ‘The G Spot’ (a giant tartan cube selling amazing cocktails) we were never far from one another.
As we arrived I was especially happy to find Maximo Park had taken Lilly Allen’s place due to her being ill. They put on an energetic and amazing set as always, heightened by the fact everyone thought they were goners after last night’s disasters. Next up were Elbow who certainly didn’t disappoint, drawing a huge crowd who came readied to sing their hearts out to the bands solid flowing rock sound, and I can’t tell you how elating ‘Beautiful Day’ was to watch. It may sound cliché but I love that song, and watching thousands of people sing it at the top if their lungs on a balmy Spanish evening makes you feel so good to be alive. It most certainly was a beautiful day.
Franz Ferdinand then joined us at the perfect time – not too late in the evening to rock out but just early enough for everyone to be happy, trashy and jump around. Their stylish rock musings and do-do-do’s got the most tired of us up on our feet and dancing for a solid hours set and even prompted an encore. The lads from Scotland were on form as usual and were a perfect precursor for the nights headliners, 2ManyDJs.
With a small hiatus between the two acts we loaded up on drinks and the like until the Belgians were ready to go. Unfortunately one of our friends had perhaps one too many drinks, resulting in her having a little 2 hour or so snooze just as 2ManyDJs came on. We carried her with us to a suitable clear area and proceeded to dance around her lifeless body until she returned from the land of slumber. I don’t need to tell you this made for some hilarious photos. Just like their show at Brixton 2 weeks previous 2ManyDJs provided the ultimate get up and shake your thang party selection. They posses the ability to mix anything – from Dolly Parton to Sepultura, MGMT to Justice. They banged out the hits with no time to waste and ended with a well-appreciated version of The Prodigy’s ‘Out of Space’. A great set to end a great night.
Once back at The G Spot our weary friend had awoken and was inhaling some chips and a kebab – breakfast of champions. The rest of us however, whilst dancing to 2ManyDJs, had inhaled a breathtaking amount of dust due to the dry ground so it was coughs and blocked noses all round. While some decided to call it a night us girls stayed, having been sucked in by The Orb.
The Orb was bright, sparkly and not easy to ignore - a dance stage tucked in a corner of the site, and in the wee hours of a Sunday morning it provided a refreshing change as the crowd in attendance were actually Spanish! With the headliners being from the UK and USA the majority of the crowd had usually been of British origin – only here or there did you hear a Spanish or French accent. It was nice to finally find a genuine Spanish representation at The Orb even if it was 4am on a Sunday morning. We faced a sea of smiling faces greeting ‘Hola!’ all the way and even leaning in for the 2-cheek European kiss now and then. It just goes to show who has the stamina and who knows how to party properly. Everyone was friendly, fun and ready to dance the night away. Everyone but our sleepy friend who was now wide-awake but had lost her shoes in the earlier commotions. Taking pity on her poor feet we decided to call it a night – or morning, as it were.
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