Posted by Danni Le Toullec on July 27, 2010
With the sun clinging to the horizon, the speakers started to shake and just like any young ’un celebrating their 16th birthday, FIB Heineken’s Benicassim was anything but sweet.
As crowds scoffed paella and guzzled Heinekens over four days, the young bloods of the festival (Kasbian, Temper Trap, Vampire Weekend, Foals, Hot Chip, Calvin Harris, Two Door Cinema Club) worked their magic. Yet the more enthralling acts were from those that have been kicking it for more than 10 or 20 years.
The Prodigy prevailed with one of the best performances of the festival. Boundless energy and manic antics left the crowd eating out of their hands. Instructed to “Get the f*** down”, more than 60,000 people crouched down before jumping into an explosive wave.
English rock legend Ian Brown’s hollow-cheeked swagger and marching dance moves were as seductive now as they were in the ‘80s, as he belted out The Stone Roses classic track ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ along with tracks from his 2009 album My Way. Goldfrapp lured people in with their synthy beats and anthem inspiring tracks like ‘Rocket’. Relentless in his delivery, Boys Noize flaunted a gritty, raw manipulation of sound that had people dancing for hours.
With the Spanish sun blaring down all day, campers scrambled for sleep wherever they could. Pockets of space were filled with narcoleptic ravers systematically sleeping off the debauchery of the night before.
Unknowingly to most, Monday morning crept in as Dizzee Rascal busted out the old-school running man dance moves in his Kobe Bryant Lakers singlet. He enticed the sweaty masses out of what little clothing they had with ‘Bonkers’ and ‘Holiday’. Lily Allen’s last minute no-show due to illness pulled Ellie Goulding onto one of the larger stages, a change that she handled beautifully. Foals gave fans a sneak peek at a few songs from their new album Total Life Forever.
At 1am, headliners Gorillaz squeezed more than ten people on their stage with special guests including De La Soul, The Clash’s Paul Simonon, Bobby Womack, Bootie Brown as well as the Syrian National Orchestra.
The set raked in one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, although some were quickly deterred by the chilled-out tunes and fled to the other stages to chase their buzz. Luckily, Midnight Juggernauts, Yuksek and Funkagenda were more than happy to keep them going.
spain, benicassim, dizzee rascal, ian brown, foals, midnight juggernauts, de la soul, goldfrapp