I have recently returned from my Spanish adventure to FIB so I thought I could dedicate a post or two to relay the tales of my travels. FIB is a music festival in Southern Spain, standing for Festival Internacional de Benicassim...or just Beni for short. The festival has only been going since 1995, so I would consider it to be the crazy, experimental teenager in the world of festivals (Glastonbury being the mother).
A four-day camping ticket gets you a whole week of camping in the exotic landscape of Benicassim, surrounded by mountains and the coast not too far away (although do not even try to peg down your tent, the ground is like concrete); and a pass to four days of live music. The line-up each year often features popular English and American bands that have global success, but Spanish bands also make an appearance. The Festival also offer showings of the arts, you can go see a movie, street theatre performances, a fashion show and art galleries. I thought this was a great characteristic of the Festival that others need to cotton onto, as it allowed you to have more of a holiday experience and an adventure of your week. This was especially important since the music didn't start until 7 ish in the evening, so you needed something to fill your day with, unless you were content with just basking in the sunshine (the majority went for this option).
The impression I gathered from my first time at FIB was that mainly the Brits invade this beautiful Spanish town for a week, listen to incredible music, drink a lot of alcohol, take a lot of drugs, get sunburnt, then leave. I don't mean this to sound disapproving, but I must admit I did feel a little embarrassed of being English in that environment. Obviously the locals benefit hugely from the amount of money being spent in their shops, restaurants and bars, but the standard Brits on Tour malarky was definitely not appreciated. If I'm honest, I didn't see very much kick off, but the boozin' and drugs didn't go unnoticed.
On Friday 14th July this year, Bob Dylan headlined the Main Stage, drawing in, what seemed like, the entire festival to his performance. As legendary as his music-making was, the "OMG" performances, for me, were by The Maccabees, and later by Bombay Bicycle Club. I had many a "hands-up-in-the-air-basking-in-the-atmosphere" moment, as did everyone else around me. I think that's what I love about festivals, the crowds of people singing every word with you, and the artist just completely overwhelmed by the fans appreciation of their music...it's blissful! Who needs a weeks worth supply of MDMA or whatever everyone else was on, when you can feel like that. Please excuse this offensively cheesy sentence, but music really was my drug all that week.
Have you ever been to FIB? What were your experiences of the week?
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