To believe the reports about Benicassim Festival 2009 and you would be fooled into thinking the Apocalypse had descended for an evening. While this years event will be remembered notoriously for a freak windstorm, fire and evacuation, (though that combination did nearly rid society of Bianca Gascoigne), for those who actually attended the festival, that one night was a mere blip.
For those uninitiated, imagine V Festival, only replace the mud with a nearby beach, and the delights of Stafford or Chelmsford with a Spanish beach resort. Alas, a large visiting British contingent featuring chavs, overzealous teenagers and the odd Hollyoaks star will also be there but do not let that put you off. Brits may be the more populous delegation but there is often a healthy smattering of locals, Danish, Italians, Germans, Australians and French.
The Benicassim experience might as well be described as a beach holiday with a festival thrown in for good measure which would explain why the festival tends to sell out by the new year. With the whole shebang being in Spain there are additional costs to consider which mainly includes flights and a subsequent return trip to the festival site itself yet apart from the swimwear, sun lotion, passport and lack of welllies, you can keep the rucksack with its usual contents. Though forget the stove, with a high street a short walk away you should be more concerned with keeping your edibles cold instead. That’s right, thanks to the wonders of Spanish values, booze is ridiculously cheap. Cans of lager at half a euro, sangria in a carton and all your favourite spirits at bargain prices, there is even a Lidl. Yet if you fancy an altogether classier affair there are several restaurants and the odd Irish bar to peruse over the week.
As for the camping, there are two sites to choose from. Benicamp is the more popular yet only holds 6,000 people, what with it being bang in the middle of town and a short scarper to the beach yet consider that when you have to walk from the site for half an hour as dawn breaks. Campfib is the larger of the two with a 20,000 capacity and sits directly next to the festival site itself, which is ideal for the regular return trips to your tent. Each offers a bar, attendants and cold showers that are practically indispensable for that sweaty morning escape from your tent/sauna and evening return from the beach.
To make the most of Benicassim means attending when the campsites open on Monday. Considering that a guitar will not be strummed until Thursday evening, hear me out. This is a beach holiday so until Thursday you can sort your tan out while also checking out what the rest of the festival has to offer. From Monday to Thursday a daily show of short films could be found at the town’s petite cinema, with attendees asked to rate each one, followed by a thought-provoking feature film in the evening. Also from Monday was FIB Art which featured seven art installations across the site and on the beach with FIB Act as it‘s theatre counterpart which offered stimulating shows and performances throughout the week from eight theatre companies. FIB Danza offered the chance to discover all things dance from classical to Flamenco as demonstrated by both young and experienced dancers as well as choreographers. There was even a catwalk onsite with The Mustang Fashion Weekend showcasing cutting edge clothing trends from Europe’s top young designers.
Oh yeah, and there was eventually some music going on too. With headline sets from the NME friendly likes of Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and Kings of Leon (until the wind sabotaged their set) being the main attractions. Yet delve a little deeper into the line-up and rewards could be found smattered around the four stages in total. On the Fiberfib.com stage, aka second stage, were the likes of post-punk legends Gang of Four and dance-punk band Friendly Fires as well as Peter Doherty. Tucked away in the Vodafone FIB Club tent was Sweden’s answer to Santogold; Lykke Li and a DJ set from Four Tet. Upon checking the line-up, plaudits were instantly drawn to the guitar-based goodness but for many, the highlights were from those armed with just a mixing desk and headphones, notably 2ManyDJs and Laurent Garnier yet many an early morning was spent in Pista Pop to the likes of Adrian Le Freak and Muzikalia.
Benicassim. An alluring, eclectic line-up with sun, sea, sand and sangria included so leave your wellies at home.