Bestival Review Novella: Part 1

Well, Will Nixon, our London-based triplew.me correspondent decided to file what can only described as a mini novel about Bestival. Our Editor, Paul, has decided in his wisdom and all-knowingness to reproduce the whole thing here, as well as the picture galleries to break it up a bit. Read on!

A couple of hours in, and already I could tell that the hastily thrown-together tea-matching angle I worked for the Bestival preview was foolishly ambitious and weakly contrived. With ten arenas, more than 300 acts, plenty of additional sideshows to savour and around 50,000 other Bestival-goers to contend with, not even the most devoted tea connoisseur (which I am not) would waste precious time queuing for a cup of tea.

After a straightforward journey from Waterloo station, my companions and I had joined a large, festive group waiting for the ferry at the Southampton pier. We boarded with what seemed to be about a thousand Bestival-ready punters and one tour-bus-load of senior citizens, who appeared slightly bemused by the swarm of boisterous youngsters that I’m sure wasn’t mentioned in the tour brochure. We entered the sprawling Bestival campsite as darkness descended, and headed to a tent already set-up by an advance group we had sent in the early morning. With my feet aching from more than four hours of standing around in my wellington boots, I forwent the opening night entertainment in favour of saving my strength for the coming days, and went to bed.

DAY 1

Friday morning began in pleasant, overcast style - and my excitement began to brew as I looked out over the giant campsite and its residents in the light of day. The festival site was packed with quirky sideshows, display and decorations in addition to interesting, well-priced food-stalls, bars and the various stages were diverse and unique. The two biggest venues, the Main Stage and the Big Top, pretty much explain themselves - while the smaller stages were clearly designed with an emphasis on giving each one its own distinct flavour. In addition to the obligatory Rock’n’Roll Stage and dance-driven Bollywood Tent, there was the Plugged in Solar-Powered Bestival Bandstand for lesser-known and unsigned acts, the Cocktails and Dreams karaoke bar that featured a guest appearance from none other than Vanilla Ice himself and many others. A particular highlight was The Spider - a 15m high, 40 tonne sculpture-come-stage, with a huge, flame-spewing turret and an incredible sideline performance by the Lords of Lightning (youtube them - they’re amazing!).

My first must-see act on Friday was Neon Indian. They played in the early afternoon at Sailor Jerry’s Ink City, a themed stage based around a tattoo studio featuring the art of famed tattooist Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins (including the obligatory sponge-on appliqué tattoos, that I’m told should’ve been called “semi-permanent” rather than “temporary”). Neon Indian took the stage about half an hour late and were rather disappointing, with Alan Palomo’s weak vocals letting down an otherwise interesting electronic set.

Delphic played the Big Top in the early evening, although unfortunately my poor timekeeping and over-enthusiastic exploration of the Bestival site meant that I only arrived in time to catch the last few songs from the edge of the packed venue - What I did see was thumping dance-rock of the best quality, leaving me kicking myself for missing the rest of the set and making a mental note to keep an eye out for upcoming Delphic gigs in London.

The xx also played the Big Top; perhaps an odd choice as the much dancier Simian Mobile Disco played the Main Stage at the same time. The xx’s set was solid if a little predictable, consisting of a studio-perfect renditions of a selection of tracks from their 2010 Mercury Prize-winning album. I wouldn’t go as far as to say the xx are an underwhelming live act, but there were times when I wished they had added some more sound or given a little more energy. Then again, I suppose that if they did, they wouldn’t be the xx.

My Friday highlight was Hot Chip, who played the penultimate live slot on the Main Stage. Hot Chip were impressive - playing a fluid, polished set, albeit without core member Joe Goddard who was absent in-the-flesh due to the recent birth of his child, but made a rather eerie video appearance on the big-screen. They played all their up-tempo hits, ending with a fantastic rendition of Ready for the Floor; my only disappointment was the omission of Made in the Dark’s Wrestlers.

At the conclusion of Hot Chip’s set, what must have been the vast majority of Bestival-goers crowded into the main stage’s natural amphitheatre while Zane Lowe provided one of the oldest-skool DJ sets of classic dancefloor fillers I’ve heard for a long time. The Main Stage’s Friday closing act was Dizzee Rascal - you can say what you like about the young Godfather of grime, but he is an undeniable master of the art of crowd-pleasing. He clearly loves being on the stage, and - unlike so many other underground smash-hit artists - he’s a consummate professional, and it’s obvious that he’s there for no other reason than to get people moving. And move they did - by the time the encore rendition of Bonkers reached its frenzied climax accompanied by streamers, lasers and confetti explosions, the Isle of Wight itself was almost shaking.

Click on the thumbnails to expand...(Photo Credit: Colin Friend (all)) READ ON AFTER THE GALLERY FOR THE REST OF WILL'S REVIEW.

I finished my Friday night with Crystal Fighters, playing the Rock’n’Roll Stage following an empty slot due to a last-minute no-show by Toro y Moi. The Spanish electro-Basquers played a pounding, strident set deserving of its 2:15am timeslot, but I’d like to see them again in a more acoustically forgiving venue.

DAY 2

Saturday morning began with typical British drizzle, interspersed with a few heavier downpours. Fortunately the rain dried up by midday or so, and did little to dampen the spirit of Bestival’s famed dress-up day. I must admit I was a little sceptical of the numerous obsessively positive reviews I’d heard about Bestival’s world-record breaking costume party - but having experienced it first-hand, I am a convert. There’s nothing quite like wandering through a festival site populated by literally thousands of fantastical characters, including St George and his dragons, dozens of Oompa-Loompas, at least two platoons of green toy army men, hundreds of fairies and one walking, talking washing machine. I was even lucky enough to bump into Stewie Griffin - he’s much taller in person.

The bands also got into the spirit - generating at least one vintage moment when Marcus Mumford introducing his band’s brass backline with a hilariously dead-pan “and on horns, we’ve got the cast of Michael Jackson’s Thriller”. And, much like an everyday fancy-dress party, the fact that everybody is in costume creates a more convivial atmosphere than you’d get at your average festival.

The perfect act for this atmosphere was Mumford and Sons, who turned out to be one of my surprise highlights of the festival. Based on the large crowd that turned out, and the fact that the majority knew all the words, I would predict (rather reluctantly) that Mumford and Sons will be playing late-night closing sets at festivals next year, rather than the sunset slots that their music is made for. But on Bestival Saturday, the West London quartet’s sing-along brand of anthemic folk was the perfect accompaniment to sundown in the pristine Isle of Wight evening.

The classic art-rock sounds of Roxy Music were surprisingly popular given the fairly young Bestival crowd - although the fact that their slot was sandwiched between Mumford and Sons and the Flaming Lips may have swelled the numbers. For me it was a convenient drinks and dinner break, so I only caught the final numbers of their set, but was impressed enough with Bryan Ferry’s 64-year-old voice to sing along loudly with their popular rendition of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy.

Watch out for Part 2 of Will's Bestival Review later this week...