Jul 24, 2006
benicassim - the musical
[scene 1 - the dawning]
[set in bonterra camping ground - cue sound of birds singing]
the sounds of 'morning has broken' fills the air on the bus from valencia to benicassim. the kids are eager to get to the site. get set up. get into festival mode. get ready to rock. the good times are about to roll.
[scene 2 - pre festival, the way camping should be]
[set in bonterra camping ground - cue sound of bbq sizzling]
hammers are heard hitting pegs into the ground to secure tents. more and more festival goers are arriving and the atmosphere in the palatial camping grounds is getting more and more electric. the stars of the show spend their days by the sea or by the pool or by the sea. temperatures are soaring. pulses are quickening.
[scene 3 - many people many good times]
[set in bonterra camping ground - cue sound of beer flowing]
the festival finally comes around and all the new friends get together to get some practice in for the next 4/5 days of festival goodness. the bbq is in full swing. the laughter and chatting can be heard all around.
[scene 4 - fiber FIB - the rock version]
[set in FIB festival - cue sound of splash cymbals and G G A A#]
let the games begin! all the stars of the show head to the festival to allow their ears to be seduced by the amazingly talented bands on stage. they all rock out like there is no tomorrow. the greeting of rock sign and head nodding back and forward is quickly adopted by all. so many amazing bands to see, such as the strokes, we are scientists, the futureheads, the rakes, the kooks, franz ferdinand, scissor sisters, art brut, madness and morrissey. look at the people get lairy!
note: photo by andrea
[scene 5 - fiber FIB - the out of work porn star version]
[set in FIB festival - cue sound cheesy 70s/80s music]
the shorts were short. the glasses were circa 1981. the shirts was floral and rather loud. the moustache....
note: photo from sourina
[scene 6 - fiber FIB - the electro version]
[set in FIB festival - cue sound of blip blip blop boom]
there is rock n roll, but there is also blip n blob (aka electro music). so after the stars are finished 'moshing' they head to the dance tent to cut some shapes. again, acts such as 2 many djs (night versions) erol alkan, miss kitten and queens of noize make luff to their ears
photo from souria
[scene 7 - the aftermath]
[set in bonterra camping ground - cue sound of ..... silence]
so after the rock - after the roll - there is quite. knowing smiles are shared - all forms of liquor are avoided. friendships are formed. good times were had. tents are packed away. festival goers head to the stations.
good times were had.
photo by sourina
you can see more photos from benicassim here
roll credits
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Jul 16, 2006
and the magical mystery tour begins
6 rather pasty white types board a train for stanstead airport.
mr wood
mr noble
mr spiers
miss cuevas
miss ghafouri
mr wernej
they know good times are a mere 2 hour plane ride away. they are visibly bubbly and excitable (almost Chihuahua like). i wonder if they can sense the fear of the poor gentleman that they all decided to sit next to, surround if you will?
the flight goes according to plan - some would say even better. with 'ozzie mic' as pilot and telling them that they would be 'taking off, chucking a left, heading over the big river, over france and then into spain where it is bloody hot' [NB: yes, the pilot did actually talk like this. was brilliant]
so they arrive in spain to confirm 'ozzie mics' status as one the great minds in the world - it is bloody hot. 45 degrees of bloody hot.
the tone is set for the rest of the spainish adventure - laughs, heat and back sweat.
miss vananta joins the fold.
they are meet by miss cuevas' associate [olga for those in the know] and her posse [juan calos for those in the know] and whisked off to the palatial surroundings of 'mi casa grande'. the group are over whelmed. expecting to stay in a sweat-box-hostel, the intricate tiles and ornate ceilings of 'mi casa grande' are much more suitable surroundings.
the team, now complete with the arrival of mr harris and miss johnson, turn their collective attentions to the amazing food on offer (valenica being the home of paella after all) and the ice cold sangria - the holiday has now begun.
the team are flat out for the next few days - eating, sunning, drinking, swimming, napping, eating, sunning (see the pattern forming). in between these intensive sessions some of valenica's sites are taken in. The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias is something else.
With so many amazing buildings on the one site the team cannot help but go 'whoa, nice arts centre'.
the rest of the time spent in valencia the team spend trying to work out what is going on in planet spiers
the saga continues. more photos can be found here
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Jul 6, 2006
fresh young indie things
it has been a double header of indie treats at the luminaire over the last two nights, with one of the best venues in london not failing to deliver the goods again.
on tuesday night jamie t was in control of proceedings. he has been referred to as mike skinner (aka the streets) but with an acoustic guitar and i was pretty keen to see how his live performance stacked up. and blow away i was. his set consists of 50% man-with-guitar-singing and 50% man-with-band-singing and the sound in both forms was immense.
the crowd (with their collective age still a long way below mine) lapped up every note from the young mr t, they even treated him to a late stage violation.
wednesday night saw the pistolas headlining the backlash magazine party. i have a rather large love affair with this band and this affection grows and grows each time i see them. toe tapping/head nodding tracks. the MOST charismatic front man. and hot hot sound. makes for excellent viewing pleasure.
as always you can click here to see more photos from jamie t and then click here to see more spotted photos from the pistolas
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