The tans starting to fade, the sleep pattern is starting to normalise and work has been returned to but the memories of Benicassim still live large and the smile that the festival put on the R13 correspondent still remains.
In the past few years we've been vocal in our support of foreign festivals and how they offer greater variety and value for money than their UK equivalent and Benicassim has probably just proven itself to be the best that Europe has to offer. Four days of music and a campsite pass for nine days is the immediate argument for the success of the festival but its only the first of many.
Friday through to Sunday served up15 hours of festival mayhem and music per day with major names, up and coming bands and plenty of dance and electro outfits spread throughout the line-up to keep everyone partying until the sun was splitting the sky again.
With the Arctics, Muse, Kings of Leon and BRMC sharing Main Stage duties with old-school heroes like The Stooges, Devo and Dinosaur Jnr, guitar fans were well catered for and the Main Stage was the match for any line-up in the UK. Its getting harder to choose between the big festivals in the UK these days, theres a similarity that runs through them all, so if it's the big bands that make your day, why not mix it up with a sunshine break and come abroad to get your festival kicks.
Specific highlights included Iggy inducing another stage invasion, Rufus Wainwrights almighty set finale, The Horrors turning in a chaotic and destructive rock n roll set whilst Camera Obscura delivered the opposite, a peaceful and well mannered set. The Rapture thrilled a sweaty tent, Wilco pleaded to be adopted by Spain, The Pipettes claimed to have partied all week but still looked stunning and Who Made Who possibly stole the plaudits with a quickly rescheduled Main Stage show that gave everyone satisfaction. The reviews on the site tells all these stories and many, many more as Benicassim 2007 turned in countless highlights, much more than one site could possibly hope to convey but it was given a right go!
Aside from the sun, the constant partying, the proximity to beaches, the dance element to the early hours provides Benicassim its biggest selling point over its UK rivals. With T in The Parks tents and stages closing up before 11pm, the same time at Benicassim barely sees people hitting their stride and the night holds a lot more fun. If you're not a night-owl, it may be a struggle to get the best out of it but at least the option to carry on for as long as possible is available.
Financially, the beer, food and merchandise were priced at roughly the same as UK festivals and of course you have to actually get abroad in the first place but with budget flights and a bit of pre-planning (and as mentioned, the campsite pass is free for nine days), its possible to get to Benicassim and live it up for a price that isn't too different for what you would fork out on the full Glasto or Carling weekender. The plus point being you get a foreign holiday out of it and all that entails. By learning a little bit of the local lingo, it was fun to converse with other festival goers and make it seem as though you were making the effort. Learning little words or phrases like por favour, dos cerveza, bonita or el burro isn't much to ask and it leaves a better impression on the people you meet but not that the atmosphere was a problem. With the exception of Jamie Ts set, it was by far the most laid-back festival this writer had been at and it was really easy to relax and chill out during the evening.
The only problem was that people were a bit too relaxed and sometimes moving between tents was a bit slow because of the amount of people sitting around or wandering aimlessly. With a site that is nowhere near the size of Glasto, it was never too far a walk between arenas but after some Main Stage acts, things got a little congested.
When you consider that's the only concern or complaint arising from the entire holiday you have to say that Benicassim really turned up trumps as a festival. Foreign festivals really do offer so much more than their UK equivalent and if you have the time and means to get abroad to one, R13 can't recommend them highly enough and Benicassim has certainly done enough to warrant serious consideration for 2008.