Benicassim Festival Reviews 2008

44 comments on “Benicassim Festival Reviews 2008”

1. Friday was the best day…
   Vincent vincent and the Villains and The Rumble Strips were both awesome!
   then metromony were very good and babyshambles were amazing.
   hot chip rocked and had everyone on their feet dancing away to the bass.
   then Mika to finish off was top as well

2. I think there will be a lot of Brits who will feel like they’ve just spent a week with the french Foreign Legion. Those who stayed in hotels probably loved it but for those of us who endured the camp site they’ll probably have had no more than 3 hours sleep each night and shed a lot of weigh swletering in the heat. Dont get me wrong, once the festival started up and you were in the main arena it was great with Hot Chip, Justice and The National being personal highlights. But nothing could prepare us for the noise in the camp site which didnt let up til around 6am and by 8.30am the temperature in the tents became unbearable. the only place to take refuge was in a bar/restaurant.

   Editor – You Can book a Benicassim hotel via this site, lots are not far from the venue

3. What a great place… okay, as the guy above has mentioned I should imagine that the campers were going through hell in the heat. But we were in a hotel, and it couldn’t get much better!

   Highlights were Babyshambles, Hot Chip, Ractonteurs, Justice and there was some real magic in the Courteeners gig. As Morrisey was on the main stage at the same time, they really gave it loads, and we all gave it everything we had!!

   The other highlight was the Silent Disco, we stumbled into it on the first night and it wasn’t busy and live on Spanish radio, which meant we had a real good dance and lots of chance to talk to others in the times you’ve got your headphones off.

   The Spanish people were lovely, the weather was amazing, and the crowds of people that converge outside the venue trying to catch a gimpse of an act are all really friendly.

   Although the line up this year wasn’t that strong compared to previous years, and the focus was a lot more dance over indie the event itself is well worth going back to. just rememeber 1 thing – BOOK A HOTEL!

4. Definitely, by far… Leonard Cohen’s performance was something simply indescribable. I can just say that I had never experienced anything quite so beautiful and uplifting before. I fell like I’ve witnessed an event of historical and monumental importance. So, that’s my definite NO. 1!!! Also absolutely great were, in my opinion, Sigur Ros, My Bloody Valentine, Tricky, El Guincho, and Morente Omega (though I must say I much preferred the raw and simply expressed passion of the first part of the performance, which more on flamenco itself without any unnecessary rock infiltrations).

5. My two cents:

   Agree that it was pretty much impossible to get a proper sleep(-in) in the tents. However the good thing about the acts not starting til the evening was there was plenty of time to do that 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 Ros 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 Ros gig which was disappointing.

   ii) Raconteurs were bloody fantastic. Very bounceable stuff out of Jack White et al.

   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.

   v) Leonard Cohen – a true gent, highlight of the weekend. Hallelujah alone made the trip worthwhile. As did chilling out by the beach all day.

   Adios amigos

6. To all who booked a hotel, I must say you missed out on half the festival really. So I didnt get as much sleep as I wanted, but I did get to meet some wicked people, have some great nights pre-festival and it got me out of bed to go to the beach 😀
   I stayed in benicamp and had loads of shade so it wasnt even that hot, the beach wasn’t too far away, and we hardly used the shuttle buses as the walk was a very short distance.

   As for the music I was blown away. By far the best act was Battles on Thursday, such an energetic set and was full of people who completely appriciated them. Justice was also a wicked experience, as were Sigur Ros, My Bloody Valentine and the Raconteurs and Babyshambles. Biggest suprise for me was Leonard Cohen, only went because of my boyfriend, thought he was an amazing act. Slightly disappointed by Morrissey, but the only flaw was the crowd, not him, they were so lackluster!
   Many other good acts, made the week amazing, will definately go back again!

7. I agree, the camping was a big part of the festival for me, met lots of great people which we wouldn’t have done in a hotel – makes up for the lack of sleep. Tricky, Mika, Leonard Cohen prob the best for me, Justice was sooo packed I couldnt enjoy it which is a pity cos that’s what most of my crowd were waiting for. Great times, side effects still lingering… 😛

8. Amazing!!!! I’ve never laughed so much. The campsite was a little harsh but i do believe it added to the experience. For those who were in benicamp i dont know how you did it!! My highlight was Erol Alkan, oh my god what a set! The best i’ve heard for years. Booka Shade played a stormer as well. Roll on next year!!! Thank you Benicassim!! I’m still smiling now!!

9. What an amazing festival! Stayed at ‘fibcamp’- great showers with mountain views (washing hair was like a timotei advert!) bogs cleaned every night, and lovely fig (i think!) orchard to camp amongst and hang shady canopy from. Met amazing people on campsite, drunk warm 3 euro ‘ravini’ (Spanish cheapo vermouth) and played cards and drinking games every night before the music action commenced.

   also had heard prior to festival that benicamp was s’posed to be the best, but take my word for it, fib camp was perfect!

   musical highlights for me- leonard cohen- when he said ‘thank you friends’ at the end, it really got me!, new york dolls, hot chip, morrissey, roshin murphy (think ive spelt that wrong) and richard hawley, love him.

   like others have said, heat sweltering and unbearable in tent, but beach gorgeous although daily walk there slightly traumatic, and i got burnt to a crisp, my fault entirely. got gauzed and bandaged up in the medico tent though, they were v nice.

   loved the silent disco, loved the 5 euro crepes, loved the chill out ‘smoker lounge’ although dont smoke, it had things to lounge on, luxury! but hated the overpriced drinks.

   so friendly. great line up and brill atmosphere.

10. can only just remember rumble strips and gnarls barkley! but i know i had fun at the rest of it!!!! everyone was friendly on the campsite made loads of new friends cant remember anyones name though! loved every minute of it and miss it already

11. Had an amazing time!! We camped in ‘campfib’ which I thought had good facilities compared to other festivals I’ve been too. There was plenty of showers, the toilets were clean and the atmosphere was brilliant! Met so many people! We weren’t in the shade and admittedly it is quite unbearble to be in your tent once awake but then you can just bimble on down to the beach and chill out!!! The music is on until 8 so for those who like a good sleep then i guess campfib is not the best spot because it’s very loud. Didn’t go to bed last night as left festival site at 8 only to find the bongoes had started at the camp site!!

    Do you not miss something by staying in the hotel anyone? I’d be worried that I’d just end up spending the whole day in bed!

    Personal highlights have to be Sigur Ros, Hot Chip (though I was dancing so hard I lost my passport) and Leanard Cohen- Suzanne made me shed a tear.

    Really miss it!

12. Brilliant festival.
    I had Access all area ticket and was best ever. Watched loads of bands from the crowd and from side stage. Met The raconteurs and ting things, justice, calvin harris and tons more. Really were class

    The raconteurs were the band of the weekend. Really impressed. Camping was cool (not temperature wise) . Beech and aqua world were very good. All in all a great festival.

13. we stayed in a hotel, the intur orange and that was definitely the way to go! you need a bit of luxury after 4-5 days of festival attendance. very friendly by the pool during the day and it made us enjoy the festival even more. saw some great acts but would like to see a few bigger names next year. highlights were justice and raconteurs. very friendly crowd though and chilled out people.

14. Glad I was there, glad when it was over, I stopped on campfib. My feet had blisters on blisters, there was nowhere to go to cool off, the beer tent was overcrowded and dirty but the toilets were the best festival toilets I’ve seen.
    If I go again I’d want a better line up cos the 2007 lineup pissed on this years from a great height. I’m glad we hired a car cos the 2 mile walk into town or to the beach was too much.
    If I come back I wont be camping again, not in that heat. Next year I wont be booking my tickets so early cos if I knew what the line up would be I wouldn’t have bothered.
    I think €2.50 for 1/2 a litre of water took the piss when you consider you need it to stop you dying.
    Actually, the more I think about it, the less I want to go back. Leonard Cohen was godlike tho, Mika can fuck off.

15. The atmosphere matched the weather: AWESOME!
    Happy vibes, ppl chilling, some great acts like HOT CHIP AND MIKA!!!!!!!- His set was unreal, welldone mate!
    Deffo be back next year…only down side- the concentration camp showers! Fix that up, have a few free water fountains for ppl as it is a necessity and it would be the greatest festival on earth! Muy Bien Benicassim, estamos encantados!!

16. I wish people would stop complaining about things! Your at a festival in spain surely you knew that you wouldn’t be able to get a decent shower and that the heat would be unbearable as for blisters get some decent footwear surely if you have some common sense you would know that there is gonna be a lot of walking! I thought the line up was really good the ting ting’s were amazing, Mika also put on a really good show and for people moaning about the line up – just remember the organisers go to alot of work to ensure that the locals and the tourists both enjoy the music. so if you are gonna moan about the line up and the heat maybe try going to a festival a bit closer to home!

17. Yeah, I don’t quite see what all the complaints about the campsite are about. So the noise didn’t let up until about six in the morning? That could have something to do with the fact that the dj’s didn’t finish until eight in the morning. And as for the heat, I can assure you that it was pretty mild this year- we even had a couple of overcast days and some rain!

    And if you stayed in Benicamp- well, more fool you. I’ve no idea how the idea got around on the forums that this was the place to go, but I remember it being a very distant sh*thole full of ageing f*ckups who should have stopped taking the drugs years ago.

    The price of the water is f**king ridiculous though. Fair enough (almost) in the arena, because obviously the cheapest drink can’t cost less than one ticket, but to charge 2.50 for 1.5 litres of water in the campsite when it costs 29 cents for 2 litres in the supermercado is just taking the (very yellow) piss.

    Anyway, as for the music: Leonard Cohen. Best. Gig. Ever.

18. Cannot believe nobody has mentioned Death Cab for Cutie who will simply amazing. Other highlights were My Blody Valentine, Roisin Murphy, Moz, The National and also American Music Club.

    Still trying to get over lack of sleep…..

19. Ola!

    One word…immense!

    This was my first year at the festival and i will definately be going back next year!

    Granted, the lineup wasnt the best ever but even this had its plus points as it gave me a chance to see bands which i would have never have thought about seeing had the lineup been better.

    The vibe in the campsite was awesome, met some quality people, and had some great laughs!

    The only downside from the whole weekend had to be the drive back to sunny Somerset!! But after looking back i can say this was definately worth it.

    Bands of the weekend Hotchip and Raconteurs!

    Looking forward to next year already!

    Adios!

20. Sigur Ros…soaring emotional and simply a thing of beauty

    Hot Chip…bit too knowing and Anglicized, a disappointment versus the albums…but maybe I disliked their fans more than them……

    My Bloody Valentine….perhaps not quite what they were at their peak when they still talked to one another but still incredible live and on record.. one of the greatest bands ever….

    Roisin Murphy…wonderful, kooky (and the best thing ever to come out of Arklow since the Dublin train)…vocally amazing live and with fantastic poise/style live…

    Mika…yawnnn (it was 330 am)

    American Music Club…Eiztel is simply a genius

    Tricky..disappointing, tried way to hard and a sense that he is still trading on past not current glories

    The Raconteurs..amazing, amazing…even the dodgy bits on the 2nd album sounded better live.

    The National..absolutely fantastic…Matt Berninger’s voice is even better live than on record.

    Leonard Cohen….only saw first 10 mins as it clashed with Death Cab, but he has so much charisma live and still a wonderful voice.

    Death Cab…most anticipated and yet didn’t disappoint – they were my personal highlight of the weekend by a country mile….having loved Plans and Transatlanticism I was finding it hard to get to grips with some parts of Narrow Roads..but it all made sense live and although I already was a massive fan, they blew me away live.

    Calvin Harris… not my thing but did exactly what it said on the tin and the UK crowd loved him.

    Richard Hawley….lovely lovely lovely. Oops fell asleep there again…

    Morente Omega con Lagartija Nick…bizarre…kinda Spanish flamenco meets louder aspects of PJ Harvey…as I said bizarre.

    Morrissey…always been a huge Smiths fan but somehow have never got around to seeing Moz live…the man is a wonderful entertainer…he told the mostly Spanish crowd that they were all squirrels but that in fact that was ok because he likes squirrels.. The Mrs thought she’d absolutely hate him but was instead totally won over by his charm. Preferred his solo stuff to Smiths numbers though… a bit like seeing Bono rehashing U2 without the other 3 members.

21. Ola!!

    First time to a festival ever… and wow!! it smacked me right in the arse!!
    I satyed in “campfib” and yes it was unbearabel in the heat.. ut what do you expect?? the cold showers were effing awesome!! Met some quality people.. our tent was mahoosive so had very many pre festival drinks and card playing… muchas fun!!

    Highlights were definaletly…JUSTICE, JUSTICE oh and JUSTICE!! Buckashade, Gnarls Barkley, Hot Chip, Radioslave, Josh Winks!!

    All in all a quality time!!

    Adios xx

22. OH MY GOD!!! What an amazing time!!! I’ve just got back and I'[m feeling sooo emotional…an episode of Heartbeat has just made me cry…what’s going on???? BENICASSIM!!! My first festival ever and I’m 40. Have never been that much into music and had a whole line up to check out over the four days but spent most of my time spinning off my tits in a field!!! Am I bothered? Naaah…..I had the best time of my life!!!The music was fantastico! Couldn’t tell you who it was though…..i did catch Morrisey….is it just me or was he a bit shit? His lyrics seemed crap and kept making me laugh…..wasn’t he singing something about ‘Life is A Pig Sty’?? He was seeming all very serious about himself. What a load of shit! Someone chuck him a KFC bargain bucket. might put a smile on his face! Actually, he should have had some of what I was having…he wouldn’t have STOPPED smiling!!!

23. And another thing….if anyone has found a blue and yellow flip flop could they please get in touch….Cheers x

24. Benicassim, we love you…

    My beautiful girlfriend and I stayed in Benicamp – right in the heart of the festival, not everyone’s bag as I can see from above, but if you want to truely ‘feel the fest’ this was the place to be. I have been to a few fests in my time, my girlfriend on the other hand was a virgin…ah herm. So we ignored the offers of hotels, appts, luxurious campsites, and went straight into the lions den. We arrived late Thursday evening and the site was already filling up nicely, but we got our spot and pitched away – Of which I must add, next year we will be taking a pneumatic drill and tent hooks that would penetrate the earths core to erect our tent – the ground was SOLID and bent all of our hooks…that’s where the bricks from the rocky site came in handy…improv!

    Thursday night was the warm up, a few DJ’s kicking around till 6am, Benicamp is not for the faint hearted as you can hear the music all night, we got by on copius amounts of Gordon’s Gin – worked like a treat! If you wanna party all night, and sleep on the beach all day … Benicamp is the place for you!

    The walk to the beach is a fair trek, we have the blisters, back and leg ache to prove it, next year I think they need to put more general public transport in place in the daytime, it simply was not good enough, those who were in Fibcamp near the beach would vouch for that although I believe there were buses in the evening to take them home, just nothing in the day to take us to the beach…not rocket science really.

    Onto the important stuff – the fest, what can I say! Thursday night most people landed and there was clearly ‘first night syndrome’ going on, as everybody was flying, of which I must say at least gave us something to take our minds off listening to Sigur Ros, I know some people think they’re cool, we however thought it sounded like a whale was being slaugtered on stage!

    Friday – SUPERB!!! Roisin Murphy was outstanding, one of the highlights of the fest for us, Mika followed and actually although I’m no Mika fan, it was warm pop music that couldn’t possibly fail to maintain the mood Roisin put us in!!

    Saturday – Not so good, I thought the Racenteurs dissapointed, the ting tings souned ok as did babyshambles but glad we stayed at our tent to listen to it!! Jose Gonzales excelled, and that was about it, we tried to stay up for Gnarls Barkley but failed and left for Benicamp…more Gin, pizza, listen to the DJ’s, and some other stuff I shall not mention in this review!!

    Sunday – BENICASSIM YOU MADE A SKOOLBOY ERROR!!!!! WHY would you put The Courteeners, Morrisey & Justice on at the same time…?? WHY??? So we got down early to watch Calvin Harris who rocked the tent big style, being from Manchester we decided to opt for Morrisey so we caught the first 20 mins of Justice who were outstanding, then went over to Morrisey….now, this may suprise fellow Mancs, I was horrified to hear him stutter/resent the fact he was from Manchester at the beginning – the place that made him, and to only play two of his old hits simply dissapointed [just like he did at V’06 where the crowd left half way through to go to see Razorlight], we should have stayed to watch Justice, then go and see the Courteeners – but we had seen them only 2 months previously back in Manchester. Still – the night is what you make it and we had a ball!!!

    We stayed on for two more nights afterwards, de-fested in a hotel and let all the eager beavers cram the train stations the morning after the fest… our journey back was cool!

    All in all, a top time was had, next year we may go for luxury – a hotel perhaps, but for the first time round we wouldn’t change a thing…well, maybe trade Morrisey for Justice…sacrilige!!!!

    People were friendly, weather was amazing, showers & Toilets acceptable…this fest is a must for everyone!!

    P.s the Restaurants left alot to be desired in Benicassim town – spag Bol looked like it was out of a Heinz tin….not cool, we wanted more traditional food, they wanted to turf out rubbish for profit…the teenagers seemed to enjoy it though!

    nNn x

25. Quality festival.
    Quality Beach.
    Nice orange grove to sleep in.
    Lidl (nuff said).
    Minor complaint however, did anyone notice how quiet it was? I was right at the front by the speakers during my bloody valentine who should have made my nose bleed with the volume and i didnt even feel slightly uncomfortable at any point which was a tad dissapointing. However they were shit so swings and roundabouts!
    Also, ive heard alot of people slagging off Morissey. I personally think he was the best act there by a long way and some indie slug slagging off the lyrics of one of the greatest lyricists of our time is slightly irritating. And they’re meant to make you laugh by the way and slagging someone off for their vegetarianism is just a tad naive.
    Beni was good though
    Bye bye

26. ‘nNn’ i think you have gotten fibcamp and camp beni confused there. Camp beni is by the beach and in the town, and fibcamp is by the festival.

    I stayed in both camps during the festival, and ive got to say that campbeni was 100times better than fibcamp.

    The first night (monday) we had to stay at fibcamp because when we arrived at campbeni it was already full up and finding a spot in the dark was impossible. But next day we found a spot in the afternoon so moved there because after experiencing fibcamp we knew that campbeni was miles better. And heres some reasons why i think that:

    . proper shower blocks with cubicles unlike fib.
    . proper toilet blocks with cubicles unlike fib.
    . only a 10minute walk to the beach, rather than the 2mile trek fibcampers had to endure
    . beach on the camp beni side was much better!
    . 5minute walk to the heart of the town for restaurants, bars, shops etc
    . 5minute walk to two supermarkets; lidl and consum.
    . shop located on the campsite, selling beach and general camping equipment unlike at fib
    . hot food available on campsite unlike at fib
    . the whole campsite was in shade due to being in a forest of trees
    . better atmosphere at night in my opinion
    . not right by the festival, so you could actually sleep in peace without the noise
    . a better, more attractive looking campsite that was covered in trees and palm trees. a real big factor this for me!

    The only advantage of Campfib i could tell is that its next to the festival so less travelling to there. However there were buses that picked you up and dropped you off for the fest so that wasnt too much of a problem.

    Great festival overall. Defo coming back next year!

27. Second year running and two totally different experiences. 2007 was about the drugs and the music, this year was about the music and the people. i was involved in a group pushing 50 or more, a big group is nice as you see familiar faces in the arena and in benicasim town.
    2007 beni was all about the music. the line up was far more impressive and was spread out throughout the night.
    2008 for me was more about seeing new bands and meeting new people.
    initially i was disappointed by the line up and probably wouldnt have gone if i had seen before i bought. BUT the first night: DJ SUPERMARKT was mindblowing on the main stage.
    HOT CHIP & JUSTICE were equally as good, heightened by the sweat, crushing crowd. AWESOME
    YELLE were the most fun to dance to and brought moods up. totallty tectonic! probably one of the best acts i saw
    LEONARD COHEN- made me cry. enough said. what a legend
    my friends raved abut el guincho which i sadly missed. i also am sad that i misses vincent, the rumble strips, babyshambles & the raconteures. all on too early as i was just waking up!

    am annoyed that i missed a lot of the extra stuff like short films and the arts as well.

    mika & the tings tings as headliners was a joke but people will always go for such an inredible experience.
    beni 2007- was amazing for the music & the totally new experience i had.
    beni 2008- was more about the people i was with and the experience that is F.I.B

    BENI MIX IT UP FOR 2009- bigger headliners & bring back the holograms!!

28. Had an absolutely wicked time – spent the majority of the time talking random sh1t to many other randoms both brits and spanyardos. Didn’t think too much of the line up but for me that’s not the major part of the festival – its all down to the people and apart from a few pretentious posers it was pretty fantastic. Did think some of the music was pretty poor though – especially that weird tent that played some of the cheesiest sh1t known to man but was absolutely brilliant because everyone was so out their nut that they were getting down to it big style. Loved My Morning Jacket, The Racoutours and The Kills – Morrisey a very big disapointment wish I’d seen Justice instead but ce la vie.

    Will definitely go again next year especially if the line up is better and will make note to self to have at least a couple of hours sleep per night – the one of the nights of the festival was a bit of a wash out for our crew!

    Until next year adios benicassim………..

29. After Reading festival last year, Benicassim was in no way too noisy! Definitely cleaner, although I was dissappointed to find a group behind me causing a HORRIFIC mess attracting flies, but we soon made them clean up! I found it easy to get to sleep whenever I wanted, though that might have been due to the aid of cheap Rioja!

    I also managed to stay in my tent until around 11am, without the foil -type stuff other people had on their tents. This was thanks to buying a 4-man tent with a porch only shared between myself and my boyfriend – and sleeping in next to nothing! I’d definitely recommend getting a larger tent than you need.

    The thing that bothered me most was the price of drinks in the arena and not being allowed to bring your own in, but little more is expected – how else are they to make money?

    The beach and several days of camping on either side of the festival made the experience feel more like a holiday, and proved well worth enduring the camping.

    The other main problem was the mass of queues for the loos, showers – EVERYTHING. Again, what could you expect?

    Overall a wonderful 9 days, would definitely recommend! Though if you’re looking for a festival that isn’t full to the brim of drunken brits – steer clear!

30. Overall had an awesome trip but i would say a lot of stealing was going on! 22 hours in valencia airport brap!

31. stayed on campfib and what an absolute corker of a time we had!!!
    never been to benni before but i expected no sleep and hot tents… come on people you are at a festival in spain what else would you expect?? defo going again next year and camping is an absolute must because of the constant partying and meeting of randomers. i agree the line up was pretty terrible, highlights though were hot chip, babyshambles, the national and THE COURTEENERS!!!! “you’re just like plastercene being moulded into a libertine dream….” amazing. Bring on 2009 even with the walks of death to the beach and the 6 euro large orange juice!Benicassim (camping!) is a must every year…..note to self to bring stereo and lots of batteries to block out bongo boy next year!!!

32. Thus was my 3rd FIB after a year off in 2007, we camped in Bonet (I refuse to call it BeniCamp) and arrived early on Monday and had the pleasure of leading around 200 campers from the train to the campsite on Modnay morning!

    We were given a fantastic pitch on the site, oposite the top shower / toilet block and just down from the bar and had masses of space for our hammocks, welsh flag and to get to know the neighbours!

    Music wise, Thurs Sigur Ros and the naked guy in the mosh pit for Black Lips were highlights. Friday My Bloody Valentine just blew me away! The ten minutes sound explosion for Soon was like being inside an explosion!

    Saturday really surprised by My Moring Jacket as I’ve seen these live before and was somewhat dissapointed but this time they played with balls!!!

    Sunday was a tale of two halves for me, rushed up the arena to see The National only to almost collapse with heat stroke and spent the majority of their set in the medical tent!

    This disappointment was completely forgotten be the genius that is Leonard Cohen, what a set!!!. I’d like to thank the random girl that gave me a hug after seeing my crying like a little girl after Suzanne and Haleluagh!

    Already planning out trip for next year, only 11 and a half months to go!!!

33. HOT CHIP put on the best performance by far!

    Morrisey is such a hypocrite, I now despise that man. He complained about not liking Benicasim festival because it sold meat yet he was more than happy to perform at the festival in order to get his payslip, thus encouraging more people to come to the festival to come and see him, thus resulting in more meat being sold. They guy is stupid! He buzzes off himself so much its ridiculous, especially cos most of his tunes are not even good. He also treated the audience with contempt. Hes a dispicable excuse for a human being.

34. absolutly amazing!! without a doubt the best festival ive ever been to in my life!! amazing weather, amazing atmosphere, amazing beach! Camping was a little warm to say the least, but its to be expected!! U gotta check this out next year!

35. It was ace. I dont regret not staying in a hotel, went last year is well, you meet people from all round the world, and though the line up wasn’t as good as last year it was a wicked festival. The only thing I didn’t like was the amount of walking to get into town or the beach but theres plenty of time before the music starts. I thought that justice were amazing, new york dolls were good and morrisey, the raconteurs were good. As for not getting enough sleep i was so plastered every night that nothing stopped me falling asleep, its a festival for fuck sake, you can sleep when ya get home!

36. stayed in campfib….absolutely amazing!!! i can understand why people before me have said benicamp is better….its nearer the beach…and you’re right, the walk from campfib to the beach everyday is a killer…..but….i guarentee the walk from campfib to the beach is a hell of alot better than the walk from the arena back to benicamp when the festival is over. campfib was right next to the arena and was ace. if you didnt want to watch anyone for a few hours you could take a 5minute walk back to camp and get smashed before strolling back to the arena later….couldnt do that at benicamp!!! as for the sleepless nights…what do you expect??? the dj’s most nights didnt finish til 8am!!! and it wasnt that loud…..if you were wasted enough…it was fine!!! as for the heat….i slept outside most nights on a lilo….perfect!!!

    BRING ON BENI 2009

37. the best off the best
    iv been ibiza, global gathering and im going reading and ibiza again and i dont think any off them can beat benni i didnt even want to come home
    the first day i was like i want to go home but wen it started it was the nuts

38. What a great experience! The acts werent as good as other years although Justice blew us away, and a special mention to Erol Alken too whos set was awesome. We stayed in nearby Oropesa Del Mar through a company called DanespFib and definitely recommend it.

    Had the best of both worlds with the access to the campsites if wanted and air conditioned apartments with pools down the road for refugeeand coaches getting us to the festival quicker than mates staying in Benicassim walking. Lets hope for better acts next year as Im definitely going again.

39. If you cant get to sleep back at camp….you diddnt party hard enough!!!

    I satyed in benicamp… it was ideal. There were two supermarkets a stones throw away, we were 10/15 min walk to the beach, but in such nice weather walking isnt a problem.

    The busses to and from the venue were like every five minutes or less they were clean, new, air conditioned coaches.

    The venue its self was amazing JUSTICE made my festival, the energy was tangible!

    The spanish were lovely apart from the theiving cow that robbed all my money (pick pocketed) pretending she was collecting for charity.
    I literally had the time of my life in Beni and im going again next year.

40. i cant belive everyone is moaninga bout no sleep its a festival ur not supposed to sleep i camped for the whole festival its just 4 days of getting messy and thats exactly what i did and will be doing the same next year. grow some balls !

41. My third year running at Benicassim, I learnt on my second trip that the lineup looks less impressive as the years roll by, however I also learnt that it really doesnt matter. Benicassim is as much about seeing new (to me at least) music as it is about seeing the Big name headliners.

    Camped on camp Fib again this year, and found for those complaining about the heat…it was positively chilly compared to the previous 2 years!

    The daytimes tend to zip by and theres plenty that can be done in and out of the suns baking heat. For the first time this year we got the car and headed into the mountains, found a fantastic shadey wood overlooking the town from about 5000ft up and spent the afternoon getting the best sleep Ive ever experienced in the town.

    Music wise, I was a bit crap this year, I managed to miss half the people I wanted to see! Babyshambles gave a good gig, as they did last time they played, they had been promoted to the mainstage this time though. By far the biggest highlight, and the act I wasnt going to miss was Leonard Cohen, I grew up listening to his voice on my parents casettes in the car. He was simply amazing, graceful, and modest beyond belief, a true gent and a true legend. The rest of my group were a couple of years younger than me, and had never heard of Leonard prior to the event… They all loved him, “he is one swarve motherfucker” being a favourite quote from one of my mates.

    Downsides for me was going to see Morrisey when I should have left him to his millitant vegitarianism and gone and partied away at Justice like the rest of the world… Yeah he is tallented and a bit of a legend in his own right, but I couldnt help feeling being lectured on the fact Im an omnivore was less “fun” than dancing like an ass at justice.

    All in all a great weekend that nearly didnt happen at all for me (the morning I was due to fly out I ended up in A&E after a stupidly fast mountain bike crash-ended up doing the festival with a duff wrist, a painfull back, a smashed face and a good amount of amnesia….Brilliant!)

42. 9 days of benicassim left me dirty, slightly on the smelly side, missing warm showers, in need of a comfy bed and british cool air.

    But at the same time, 9 days of benicassim was fantastic!!
    From waterparks to random people you meet, from Justice giving one of the best performances I have ever seen (and probably sweated the most ever too) to being up front for Babyshambles and the Raconteurs. To my friends that jumped over a flaming piano naked and had to go home early, to the random people that pitched in the middle of our tent circle.

    Benicassim truly is a fantastic festival. Yes it has lots of brits there, but make no mistake about it, this is not a british festival. There are elements I hated at the time – like my opening paragraph explained – but looking back now I laugh. The festival was fantastic and if the lineup was good in 09…I’d do it all over again…

43. Well what can i say, im a massive fan of this festival!!

    Always camped on bonnie, yes you miss sleep but you get used to that and it SO much more fun on camp, Bonnie maddness in the night and the pre-event warm up @ bonnie is where to be…..

    Highlights for me the warm up at bonnie camp and the beach parties!! Skinny dipping at the beach, s3x on the beach 🙂

    Music Hot Chip, Tings Tings, Justice, Booka Shade!!!! (really impressed with them) Erol Elkin (how eva u spell it , was very good!) Raconteurs where great too. I did watch DJ Supermarket, but in such a mess was jus melting into the grass for whole set….

    All in all, the line up wasnt was strong in 2008, but my god by far the best festival I did that yr once again!!

44. just wondering if there any water sports near by? e.g banana boats etc

    could someone help me out. x

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.