Benicassim Festival 2008: Some reflections

It may have been pretty much impossible to get a proper sleep(-in) in the tents, as curled up underneath a sheet of polystyrene is not the best place to be when tempertures climb into their thirties first thing in the morning. However the good thing about the Festival Internacional de Benicassim was that acts not starting til the evening was there was plenty of time to catch up with the kip at the beach during the day.

Saying that, the walk to the beach was a hell of a trek and the shuttle buses that were advertised between the venue and the town seemed few and far between. We rented bikes which were very handy. Wouldn’t have liked to have been in Benicamp though - it seemed that before the festival many people had the impression from various internet forums that this was the best place, and indeed it filled up by Monday. From what I heard it was short of facilities and I wouldn’t have fancied the walk back there after the concert each night.

Had a great time, not sure if I would come back though, it would depend on the line-up really. It is a great idea though having the concerts start in the evening as it means your days are completely free. There was plenty in Benicassim to do, by plenty I mean the beach or the water park, which is fine by me.

Onto the music:

i) Sigur Rós were very good on the Thursday night. However, there seemed to be too many people in the crowd where we were acting up to the Brits Abroad Chelsea Dagger-loving stereotype, many of them acting way too rowdy for a Sigur Rós gig which was disappointing.

ii) Raconteurs were bloody fantastic. Very bounce-along-toable stuff out of the charisma-filled Jack White and his Nashville band. Old school rock and roll as it should be.

iii) Hot Chip were amazing. I was also amazed when I heard from my friend that soon after their set I gave him my pint, mumbled something to the effect of NO MORE and ran off. Next thing I could remember was waking up on the tarmac very close to where we had watched them at 6.30 - bear in mind they finished playing at midnight and Josh Wink and others were pounding out the choons 50 metres from me.

iv) Calvin Harris - did exactly what a very good dance artist should do, that is get the crowd hopping, not a beat was out of place.

v) Leonard Cohen - a true gent, highlight of the weekend. Very humble man, thanked all the members of his band individually, also repeatedly told us how it was a privilege to play for us. Pete Doherty, The Zutons, Amy Winehouse and others could learn from his refreshingly gracious attitude. Hallelujah alone made the trip worthwhile. As did chilling out by the beach all day, of course!

¡Adios amigos!