NEWS
EVENTS
Sun, sea and epic sounds at Benicassim 2012
Wednesday 18th July 2012 | Osh
Even though they’re some of the best in the world, British festivals are often synonymous with epic rainfall, mud and generally miserable weather. The antidote to this can be found in going abroad to seek out the sun we’re all so deprived of. Enter four-day music extravaganza Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, or as it’s better known, Benicassim. Fibers, as the festival-goers are called, can enjoy sun, sea and other local spots on the east coast of Spain for a week, making this not just a festival trip but pretty much a full blown holiday. So this month, Britons from all over the country flew into the usually quite Spanish town for cheeky spot of summertime revelling.
Not every major event goes without a hitch, and unfortunately Benicassim was struck with a few difficulties this year. First off, Florence + the Machine were forced to pull out when their lead singer, the ethereal Miss Welch, sustained a vocal injury. Posting on her Facebook page, Florence wrote: “Hello everyone, thank you so much for all your messages of support, yes it's true...it finally happened, I've lost my voice. I've sustained a vocal injury and been told I cannot sing for a week… I'm so sorry to all the fans, I was desperate to still perform, but was told without question not to, so as not to do permanent damage..x”
On top of this, Bat for Lashes were also forced to cancel due to travel difficulties, with both her usual tour bus and the replacement bus breaking down on the Spanish motorway. She described the situation as a “nightmare”. But the FIB organisers are more than prepared for a crisis and managed to pull the loose ends together, with At The Drive-In stepping up to replace Florence + the Machine as headliner. The change-over was well received, with the former making a triumphant return to a European stage after over a decade. Most of the songs on their set were taken from their classic album Relationship of Command, which was a real crowd-pleaser.
New Order dedicated their set to Ian Curtis, who would have celebrated his birthday on the night they played, closing with the classic Love Will Tear Us Apart. Bernard Sumner said, "Nobody remembers the date he was born, everybody remembers the day he died. I think that is very sad to celebrate the day Ian died. It's so much better to celebrate the day he was born!" And it seems the crowd were more than happy to join in the celebratory, excited atmosphere whipped up by the band. Noel Gallagher and his High Flying birds also banged out a couple of tunes from former band, Oasis, with renditions of Don’t Look Back in Anger and Half the World Away.
Bringing in some new material off of their upcoming albums were acts like The Vaccines, Dizzee Rascal and Katy B, whose set at Benicassim is being praised as one of the best of the weekend and her unreleased songs Hot Like Fire and What You Came For tipped to be massive hits. Indie darlings, Bombay Bicycle Club and The Maccabees lived up to expectations with the former doing right by the dreamy songs we came to love them for, and the latter mixing up well-known hits and newer tracks with their usual heart-warming humility and flawlessness.
This being just a snapshot of the amazing talent that graced the Spanish coast recently, it’s pretty obvious that Benicassim pulls in impressive and exciting musical acts year after year. Lounge by the sea or try go-karting during the day before getting ready for a night-time of moshing safe from the scorching heat, through till the early morning hours. People who went this year are still buzzing; those who didn’t should get booking for next year ASAP. As Dizzee said mid-flow onstage, “When you get Brits abroad, there’s trouble”. And it’s the kind of trouble you definitely wouldn’t want to miss out on.
For more information go to http://fiberfib.com/
Angie Moneke @angiejudeLDN
