Benicassim FIB Festival: Review/Guide
Benicassim 15th-22nd July
When booking my week in Benicassim, I was promised “festival
paradise” – a combination of the both the music festival experience and the
typical summer holiday. It had a lot to live up to, and a lot to make up for
after destroying my once healthy bank balance. So, where to begin? The first
thing I think that is important to make clear is that the holiday I embarked on
may be completely different to someone staying on a different site, or perhaps
even the tent next door. However, (SPOILER ALERT) after all the hype, and after
the demoralizing sight of tumble weed rolling through my bank account, I don’t
think I have ever made a better call than: “how about Benicassim this year?”
Let’s get transport out of the way. There’s various ways of
getting there, none of them are overly appealing. We flew from Manchester to
Girona (a place I had not heard of previously and Microsoft Word does not
recognize), which was the best and cheapest option after leaving the booking so
late. We spent the night in a half decent hotel in Girona and then got a cab (which
seemed to be playing the Superbad soundtrack) back to the airport where the
EUFest coach was waiting to take us to Benicassim.
After the gruelling four and half hour journey, the coach
rolled into Benicassim. The organization
at the entrance wasn’t the best as there wasn’t much help and any help we could
find came from Spanish people who knew a little English; when dragging our bags
around, drenched in sweat, it would have been nice to know if we were going in
the right direction at times. However, once we managed to get our entry bands
and whatnot, we were not disappointed with Villacamp.
I definitely would recommend paying the extra €90 for
Villacamp. I didn’t visit the Campfest site (this area comes free with the
ticket), but it sounded like anarchy. You could tell the Campfest inhabitants
from a mile off as they were the people passed out in random patches of shade
around Benicassim town. In Villacamp, the jungle of palm trees provided
adequate shade from the sun, however I found that the tent became unbearably
like a slowly heating oven between 9 and 10 each day. The showers were
separated into curtained-off cubicles so you could enjoy your daily icy shower
in peace; most of them also stayed in a decent condition for the entire week,
which was a nice surprise.
The toilets also remained clean throughout, and after the
primitive hole-in-the-ground style Leeds Festival toilets they seemed pretty
classy. However, they’re not your only choice of toilets as, in contrast to
Leeds Fest, you get free roam of the town too, therefore meaning you can use
the facilities of the bars and restaurants you visit.
Other useful features of Villacamp included the phone
charging station, which was often busy but there was never too much of a wait,
as no-one really wanted to be hanging around charging their phones when there
is so much to do; the bar, which was quite pricy, but was useful for getting
hold of ice to chill your beers or mixer (€3 bought you 1 token which paid for
a pack of ice or a large water) and easy access to water for the dehydrated
hungover mornings. Don’t worry too much about hangovers, the sun seems to crush
them into smouldering ruin after a few hours.
During the day I would advise visiting the nearby waterpark
Aquarama if you have €23.50 to spend. It may seem a lot, but you can easily
spend the entire day there. The rides are an amazing wake up call, the queues
aren’t actually too bad for most of them (queuing will get on your nerves after
a few visits to either the supermarket or one of the few cash machines), it
seems the queues are based more on the length of time it takes to travel them
than the actual popularity of the ride, as the exhilarating Twisters tended to
have smaller lines than the slower dingy rides. The huge, near-vertical
Kamikazes were well worth the €23.50 alone for low league adrenaline junkies,
the tallest of which felt like free fall and resulted in a few scrapes and
scratches for my team. Beware sufferers of vertigo! The waterpark is also a
good place to relax, with the choice of sun or shade depending on your possible
sunburnt condition, and the food there is also as reasonably priced as anywhere
so it is very easy to spend the whole day there.
I can’t stress the important of comfy footwear enough. There’s
a lot of walking to he done, and after a few days of rubbing, blisters can
become a real burden. You’re better off talking broken in reliable shoes than
your new stylish shoes as they won’t look so great when they’re covered in
blood.
If you can’t afford the waterpark entrance fee every day,
then a trip to the beach will be necessary at some point. We visited two areas
of the long open stretch of beach (call these areas Beach A and Beach B). Beach A was a trek into town and then down a
long stretch of road. I enjoyed this beach as it was relatively easy to find a
comfy place on the sand as it stretched out forward as well as left and right,
also the water was still and clear – it was an easy place to chill out after
the previous night’s antics. There was also a bar that sold a litre of San
Miguel for just €2.45 and ice cold Kopparberg for a more extortionate €5, but
either way, it was a great way to wind down before the long walk back. Beach B
was a lot closer (take a left when exiting Villacamp and follow the road) and
different to the previous. This beach was more tightly packed but the waves in
the sea were a good laugh and the Penguin fast food restaurant was a nice
change – this brings me on to food.
I had heard poor reviews of the food before the trip and
they were mostly justified. The majority of the food in the town was below
average and we found it difficult to find any good fresh food, one of the
restaurants actually seemed like a perfect candidate for Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. It wasn’t all bad though, as the food
in the arena was reasonably priced and actually really satisfying, the hotdogs
and kebabs were probably the best food I had all week. Another decent option
for food is buying supplies from the large supermarket and making yourself a
simple and filling sandwich to line your stomach for the night. While you’re
there I’d advise picking up a large bottle of vodka for €4 or a crate of beer
for little more than that; we found heavily drinking in the campsite was a good
shout as once you arrived in the arena you would be looking at spending €9 for
a large beer or a single vodka and coke.
The atmosphere within the arena was amazing. It’s hard to
pinpoint why, but it has a lot to do with the amount of friendly people you
would meet and the constant supply of brilliant live music. It was here where
the best memories were made, in the blissfully warm night, the air full an energy
that lives only in this kind of environment, creeping joyfully amongst friend,
stranger… And that one guy passed out in the foetal position. Here comes the
review section of this article.
Queens of the Stone Age
This was a tough decision as Queens clashed with Rudimental,
who seemed like a pretty perfect band for Benicassim (I did hear good comments
about them later) but my decision was justified immediately. After some
window-smashing production, Josh Homme and co opened with Feel Good Hit of the Summer, and here I was treated to my first
taste of the Fib main stage. The sound quality is unbelievable in comparison to
British festivals and this contributes to the atmosphere massively. It’s a bit
like the festival equivalent of DVD to Blu-Ray: the content is the same but it
jumps out at you that bit more. The crowd were straight up and bouncing for
this lyrically genius (“Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and
alcohol - C-C-C-C-Cocaine) track.
The rest of the show included a lot of tracks from the new
album … Like Clockwork , my favourite
of which was the groovy Smooth Sailing which
evokes a brilliant live reaction, probably more from its live sound than the
crowds knowledge of the song. Old favourite, Make It Wit Chu was a lot of fun, Homme using his dominating stage
presence to get the crowd singing the lyrics back to him before nailing a few
minutes of improvised guitar soloing. Queens finished with driving anthem Go With the Flow and Homme’s vocal
rendition of A Song for the Dead which opened, from what I am aware, the
festival’s first giant mosh pit.
Queens of the Stone Age left me and my non-Rudimental-going
friend on such a high and I immediately cited them as one of the best festival
bands I had ever seen. It was here I realized what an amazing weekend of music
I was in for.
Beady Eye
Friday night started for me with Liam Gallagher and the
Noel-less remainder of Oasis taking to the Main Stage. The arena wasn’t packed
out for Beady Eye (as it would be for Arctic Monkeys and The Killers), but it
seems Liam still has a fair following – or a crowd who just arrived expecting
their favourite Oasis songs, perhaps?
In my opinion, Beady Eye have stepped up their game with
their latest album, BE. Therefore I
was expecting a live show filled with this same ambition and positivity,
something that would propel the band away from the shadow of Oasis to some new
ground, where they can stand for themselves.
Liam’s voice was as expected, beneath album quality and
snarling out of key at times. However, his stage presence was unlike any other
lead singer I have ever seen; it could be called minimalistic. With just a look
over to the crowd, or a simple nod of the head over the compelling guitar bends
in Flick of the Finger, Liam could
draw a roar from the crowd. While the opening orchestral sounds of Shine a Light washed over the comfortably
warm night, he stood frozen in place, hands behind his back (as they were for
much of the performance) staring upwards, until the acoustic guitar began the
main section of the song; a moment as simple as this seems to carry a different
energy when it involves Liam Gallagher.
The crowd did get their Oasis flashback moments, as they did
in 2012 when Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds played this same stage, with
Beady Eye working a couple of tracks in here and there. Rock and Roll Star and Morning
Glory got a different reception to any of the Beady Eye songs, the impact of
the Oasis anthems added an extra dimension to the set, giving many a glimpse
(myself included) of what an Oasis show might be like.
Overall, the set was strong, with the bigger tracks from Different Gear, Still Speeding fitting
nicely in amongst the tracks from the new album and the Oasis covers. During
final track Wigwam, Liam distributed
handshakes to the fans along the front barrier while the rest of Beady Eye
played out the song – a great and memorable way to end the set. I heard some
negative reviews of the band from other Benicassim residents, but they tended
to be from people who watched the set from afar, putting more emphasis on Liam’s
voice. I found that closer to the front the atmosphere created by Gallagher
took away from his vocal weaknesses; this gave me hope that Beady Eye stick
around a bit longer, (there are of course strong rumours of a 2014 Oasis
reunion) as with one more strong album they could perhaps find that place away
from that titanic Oasis-shaped shadow that continues to haunt the Gallaghers.
Primal Scream
There’s nothing like a good ol’ fashioned over-the-top rock
band is there? Bobby Gillespie led out his troop of eccentrically dressed
musicians for some untypically euphoric Scottish rock. I was unsure what to
expect from the band, but had been told to go see them by a good few people, so
I waited at the main stage with an open mind.
I found that the band were full of surprises. Gillespie was
far from a sober condition, but this seemed to only benefit their performance
as his persona thrives off old school rock n’ roll energy; he led the crowd to
unified moments of clapping over the psychedelic piano riffs. The rest of the
band impressed me too, in particular guitarist Andrew Innes, who seemed like he
was plucked from the 80’s and dropped onstage.
I found that I knew a lot more Primal Scream songs than I
thought I did, and enjoyed the ones I didn’t too. Early tracks Movin’ On Up and Swastika Eyes were executed perfectly, both of which I had heard
extensively but did not associate with Primal Scream. The set lulled a bit
after the impactful Country Girl, it
included a lot of very similar sounding tracks (all good, just a little
repetitive after a while) but picked up again towards the end.
After a run in which contained Loaded, Rocks and Come
Together, Primal Scream exited and left myself and probably the majority of
the audience in a brilliant mood. Perhaps they weren’t the most enthralling
band of the weekend, but the perfect kind of band to experience in the
Benicassim environment.
The Arctic Monkeys
After a cracking return to the UK music scene at
Glastonbury, The Arctic Monkeys came out of the blocks sounding better than
ever. Alex Turner wearing his leather jacket, flanked by the suited up pairing
of Jamie Cook and Nick O’Malley, it seems the band have packed some LA style into
their luggage as well as their music. With a highly anticipated new album on
the way, their place on the festival circuit gave them the chance to rekindle
the emphatic flames of success that have engulfed their career since 2005. And
that’s just what they did.
In front of the giant
AM, they opened with brilliant new track Do
I Wanna Know (their best single release since Fluorescent Adolescent in my
opinion); Alex Turner, who was playing the song’s signature Vox 12 string
guitar, receiving both screams of lust from the girls and cheers of the deepest
respect from the guys, was the epitome of cool as his band’s new single was
received like an old favourite.
Then, the lights dropped to a dim ominous red and Brianstorm kicked in. Their live form
has not wavered since the Suck It and See
age, the songs still sound as tight and if anything Turner’s new (much
talked about) attitude adds to the band’s charm. He tried a little Spanish, and
when he received a muted response he added “Does that mean anything to you? Or
is everyone here English?” – which received a much louder cheer; Turner
accepted it and began Don’t Sit Down
‘Cause I Moved Your Chair.
I presume once AM is
released in September, the Arctic Monkeys’ set will probably rely heavily on
the album tracks. For this show they played a good variety of songs from across
their four albums, including big singles like Teddy Picker and Crying
Lightning, album tracks such as Brick
by Brick and Old Yellow Bricks,
and they also included popular B-side Evil
Twin. This sweet cocktail of tunes verified the strength of the Arctic
Monkeys’ back catalogue.
I Bet That You Look
Good on the Dancefloor can seemingly lift the mood at any place at any
time. The Benicassim atmosphere cries out for these kind of big tracks, as they
create amazing festival moments – backed with a stunning light show and the
sound of the crowd backing each of Turner’s unforgettable lyrics – this was
definitely one of the highlights. The acoustic section added yet more variety
to the set. Beginning with Cornerstone
and then an acoustic/piano rendition of Whoever
You Say I Am, That’s Who I’m Not favourite Mardy Bum: this song showed the other, more gentle, side of
the Arctic Monkeys, the side the explored on 2011’s Suck it and See.
After further sing-alongs from Suck it and See and Fluorescent
Adolescent, Alex Turner posed the question to the crowd “R U Mine?” The band closed their initial
set with the AM teaser track, the
crowd cheered each insistently awesome guitar riff and sang along with the
Arctic Monkeys space choir (the high/low vocal harmonies sang by Cook, O’Malley
and Helders, the name was given by Turner in an interview with NME); the band
ended on a mountainous high.
The encore gave another promising glimpse of the September
2013 release. Mad Sounds is a
relatively simple song, but immediately likeable and catchy, it released a moment of pleasant
tranquillity and left me thinking that the best of the Arctic Monkeys could
still be yet to come.
I was then reminded once again of their electric history. When the Sun Goes Down is a brilliant asset
in their set, Turner rallying the crowd to their loudest cheer of the night
before drawling “he’s a scumbag don’t you know” and blasting through the rest
of the Monkeys anthem. The finale featured good friend of Alex’ s - Miles Kane,
who took over guitar duties while Turner took to the front of the stage,
microphone in hand, and sang, silhouetted against the strobes. The performance
had energy, quality and an incredible setlist: everything needed to be a
successful festival headliner. At this rate, the Arctic Monkeys will be
headlining festivals for decades.
Bastille
If there’s ever an example of a band who have found sudden,
huge success it is Bastille. This was the second time I had seen them this
year, Bastille packed out the Trident Senses stage, much different to the Muse
support slot which was a lot quieter.
Bastille are still finding their feet as a live band, that
is clear, but there is a lot of potential for them to make it as a respectable
festival inclusion. Dan Smith’s live voice is already unquestionable, as it
sounds remarkably similar to the album, but there is room for improvement in
his all round frontman persona. Songs such as Things We Lost in the Fire and Icarus
were performed to a tee, but lacked a little impact; in my opinion a
straight version of the album track doesn’t do them justice and perhaps
extended or reworking these songs would be a better fit. The more radio
friendly songs such as Flaws (a geeky
teenage love-letter to TV drama Twin
Peaks, Dan told the crowd) and Laura
Palma were highlights of the set, Smith leading the crowd in jumping when
applicable and feeling the love from the crowd with their loud and energetic
response.
After a cover of Rhythm
of the Night (remember, Bastille have just one album), which featured some
impressive drumming from both Smith and Chris Wood, they finished their set
with the breakthrough song Pompeii - as
one of 2013’s biggest songs, they were always going to save it for last. There
was no need to work the crowd on this one, they sang throughout, and Dan seemed
much more confident here – and why shouldn’t he be? Bastille have clearly hit a
winner with this one, and if they can find another few tracks of this quality
they will surely find themselves shooting up in the festival rankings. The set,
as a whole, was full of effort and consistency and did not disappoint the
Bastille fans – they now just need to find the live show to win over the
naysayers.
Jake Bugg
My memories of Jake are a little vaguer than the rest, but
only through the over-consumption of alcohol – my drunken mind has managed to cling
on to the set, vague as it might be, and that alone is a credit to Mr Bugg
.
Putting an acoustic solo act on such a large stage was a
brave move from the Benicassim boardroom, but Bugg packed the place out and played
his combination of rock, blues and folk with a near-arrogant conviction from
the get-go. Along with a backing band, he played through a set which was
fuelled almost entirely by his debut album, the album that hit number one back
in October of last year. And the songs certainly hold up live.
Bugg doesn’t say much between songs and he doesn’t make much
effort to work the crowd either, but somehow his standalone talent and intelligent
gritty song writing held different value. He looked indifferent, bored almost,
through much of the set, but that seems to a trait of Jake’s fuck the world persona. Set highlights
included a sprightly Two Fingers sing-along,
which took place under the steadily darkening Spanish sky (his early time slot
presented him this natural light show) and a solo rendition of the brilliant Broken, where Bugg played without
gimmicks or any notable light show; after the song received a cheer worthy to
match the emotion it carries, a kink appeared in Jake’s self-assured armour,
showing his appreciation with a single modest nod.
The atmosphere was somewhat relaxed for Bugg, as it is
difficult in any venue for an acoustic act to rouse an audience to dance, or
jump, or do any of the other things that measure where the act might rank on
the old Atmosphere Scale. But this likeable Nottingham lad’s gifted song-writing
thrusts great festival moments straight at you, moments that last in the memory
(over an amount of vodka, it seems) and, as Lightning
Bolt finally struck, Benicassim tallied another win for music.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
I discovered the creation of Peter Hayes and Robert Levon
Been through simple word of mouth – a social network that gets neglected these
days. The band was first suggested to me by a friend, and then I again by
others; there was a lot of respect for BRMC throughout the campsite.
They didn’t draw as big a crowd as its previous occupant,
Jake Bugg, but by the time the band arrived onstage a respectable fan base had assembled
for the show. And we were treated. BRMC’s set was filled with crunchy rock
riffs, effortless swagger and guitar solos. Both front men held their own, taking
vocals, riffs and solos in turns; their chemistry is something that can only
come from playing music together for 15 years.
They played a lot of tracks from their new album Specter at the Feast, but it was the
older songs that stirred the crowd the most. Aint No Easy Way was a folk-rock stomper, Robert banging a tambourine
for the first portion of the song before striking a trademark pose, with his
feet together and guitar pointing skywards, only lowering it when the light
show hit overdrive and his partner in rock Peter Hayes finished with his harmonica.
During set-closer Spread Your Love,
Levon Been hopped down to crowd level and (after a brief word with security) he
jumped up on the barrier for the duration of the song, urging the crowd to sing
along as he was mobbed by fans.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s set flew by for
me, despite lacking knowledge on the band and not knowing all but one of their songs.
I hope to see them again at some point – and next time I’ll definitely be more
educated on the California rockers.
The Killers
This was my third time seeing The Killers now, including the
rescheduled Manchester gig in February (just before I began my reviews). They
have been amongst my favourite bands since their emergence in 2004 and I have
enjoyed each stage of The Killers: their original indie-synth form, their
glam-rock days in Sam’s Town, the
neon-tinged Day and Age and the
Springsteen-esc, anthem-packed Battle
Born. Through all their incarnations, they have built up quite a set list,
one which recently graced Wembley Stadium; the show was probably the greatest
moment in their illustrious career thus far, check out Wembley Song.
So coming off the back of a huge year, The Killers arrived
in Benicassim two years after their previous appearance. They began with a
genius opener: Mr Brightside is not
only a song to get a crowd pumping but it is also a song that wheedled out the
real Killers fans from the people who sadly think that it is their only song (I actually heard some misguided soul
on the coach saying “I only want to see Mr
Brightside”); I don’t know if anyone did leave at this point, but if they
did they missed one hell of a performance.
The momentum continued with Spaceman, Brandon Flowers sounding better than ever and commanding
the stage in his own unique way. He then asked for a little help in The Way It Was: the crowd counted the
song in and he then pressed them to sing the lyrics back to him in an expertly
extended breakdown, by the end of which a whole portion of the crowd were
bouncing. And bouncing to an album track from their most recent album, might I
add – that’s no easy feat. The sound on the main stage may have contributed to
the amazing atmosphere, and (in this last review) I have to thank Benicassim
for that.
Brandon, on the lightning bolt fronted synthesiser now, hinted
at the next song, with the recognizable opening notes of Smile Like You Mean It. The Hot
Fuss songs were scattered through the set in a well calculated way. The cover
of Joy Division’s Shadowplay has
become a regular in The Killers’ set; it now features an incredible laser
lightshow which escalates to a frantic peak. The brilliant production continued
through Miss Atomic Bomb. After the
first chorus, an explosion blew behind the band and the stage became the scene
of post-nuclear war, with flames licking up on the screen and white lights
spinning off in random directions. Brandon showed off his new and improved
voice here (he had singing lessons before recording Battle Born) as he hit a note which actually seems quite trivial
and background on the album, but seeing him nailing it live is something else.
I still get frustrated by crowds singing “are we dancers”,
but I think that’s just me? Nonetheless Human
is a real jewel of a live track. The lasers returned with a vengeance, with
its dance beat and keyboards, they find a real home in the track. However, I
think Human’s strengths come from
Keuning’s guitar parts; they excel on stage and push their way to the forefront,
in the chorus they especially shine.
After “the
rattlesnake” Somebody Told Me and Flowers’
bass number For Reasons Unknown,
Brandon introduced the band – Keuning with a Brian May style solo, Ronnie
Vannucci Jr. with a gut-busting drum solo and Mark Stoermer with a flourish of
the bass (his best moment was saved for later) – and the band sprang into an
extended version of From Here On Out.
Flowers thank the crowd before A Dustland Fairytale began, a song that holds deeper personal meaning
to him, and he therefore never fails to sing with emotion; he held his fist to
the sky as he delivered the line “and the decades disappear like sinking ships,
we persevere, God gives us hope”, a woman in a white dress whirled away on the
screen: a rather haunting image to accompany the powerful second half of the
song.
It was Battle Born’s
lead single Runaways that hit me as
one of the strongest moments of the set. Brandon’s delivery of this track was
truly incredible, not just the various power notes from the chest (“we can’t
wait ‘till tomorrow”) but the little vocal riffs he added here and there: my
favourite of these was the final “we all just runaway” (check the video), which
gave me some chills that will last long in the memory. And soon after, we were
left to chant “I got soul but I’m not a soldier” until the band was satisfied
with the volume and All These Things I’ve
Done’s concluding chorus brought
with it an explosion of lightning bolt confetti.
The encore was short but sweet, beginning with Mark Stoermer’s
big moment when the band left him to solo the bass line in Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, a great song to have left at this later
stage of the set. Then, finally, When You
Were Young was selected to bring the festival to a close: with its wall of
falling sparks and closing detonation of fireworks, they could not have chosen
better.
Ending where I started, I have seen the Killers three times
now, and this third time was the pick of the bunch! The Sunday headline slot
could not have been better suited for the band, as their feel-good, epic
performance was the perfect end to an amazing weekend of music. As possibly the
strongest act of Benicassim (with their main competition coming from The Arctic
Monkeys in my opinion), the band showed their credentials as one of the world’s
best live bands.
Afterword
So that’s the end of the longest and most in depth review I
have written to date. I found it difficult finding much out about Benicassim
last year, but hopefully there’s enough in here to help you out if you’re
thinking of booking it for the 20th anniversary in 2014! If there’s
any questions you have, then don’t be afraid to contact me.
Email: T.Whitham@edu.salford.ac.uk
Twitter: @TomAlexWhitham
PS: I do not work for the FIB promotional company, it really
was just that great. Hopefully see you next year!
