Bestival, the last festival of the season, situated in the picturesque Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight, was where many of the dbe crewdem (old and new) decided to regroup and see what Rob da Bank had to offer this year. Martyn Woollam casts a hazy mind back to review our favourite UK festival...
Thursday
The 5am wakeup call on the Thursday morning for few of us was very unwelcoming, but up we got, full of spirit, and made our way to the ferry port with perhaps the most overloaded car there...
After several hours (and many a cider) of putting up tents for our 20ish strong crew, we were settled and ready for a weekend of incredibly varied music and more than likely some outrageous shenanigans.
First up was a nice acoustic set from The La’s on the main stage to warm us up and get us into the real Bestival spirit.
Now fully ready for a parteh, we moved onto the incredible Red Bull Music Academy Stage – an excellent new addition to Bestival this year - which was really pumping out some decibels, as well as a great light show to match.
As we arrived at the stage it was Timo Garcia playing, but he was then to be outshone by firstly Braiden, who played a great mixture of electronica, both funky and futuristic. Following him was Thursday night’s headliner in our eyes – Pearson Sound, and he did not fail to please, with his set not failing to make the crowd move, with some tremendous bass driven music and some mindblowingly good 2-step.
Musically, there was very little else on the Thursday to see, so after a little walk around the rest of the site, many of us retired back to camp for a few more drinks...
Friday
Friday morning we all surfaced relatively early after very little sleep, feeling pretty sorry for ourselves. After a few cans, we decided to head in as it was lovely and sunny. First stop was the RBMA where we caught Andreya Triana; who’s beautiful voice soothing our delicate heads, finishing on Lost Where I Belong...
After this, we all headed over to the main stage to see Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, along with his tribute band perform his last ever UK gig... and what a show he put on, proving how many hits the band had. A fantastic sing along set full of happiness.
Following on from Brian Wilson, upstepped Public Enemy. Now if I’m honest, this isn’t really my bag, but they absolutely smashed it. Personal favourite being:
Following on from PE, we headed over to our first Big Top experience of the weekend for Breakage, with his new Live show. I sense that had this set been later in the evening it would have gone off, but due to it still being relatively early, it all seemed a bit much. This said, it was a great performance, and one that I’d like to see again.
Following on from Breakage, it was again over to the RBMA stage for what was my Friday highlight. The Numbers boys (AKA Jackmaster, Deadboy and Spencer) b2b Oneman, though Deadboy was nowhere to be seen. It was a set full of Hudson Mohawke and Rustie blends, and a set that really excited us of what is to come within electronic music. Biggest track was undoubtedly this banger from Rustie.
Since Bestival, this Rustie album really is one to look out for. Big big tings!!!!
After such a great set, it was time for a walk in the woods. An area where you can get lost in the maze, stumble around for hours, and always manage to find something new. At this point a very well known member of the dbe fam got told to “chill out and listen to the ambience” by none other than Rob da Bank himself after setting his sights on an empty pair of decks and requesting Spandau Ballet...
This was the last of it for most of us that night, and we all headed back to camp, chatted shit for a while, laughed at our mates in a state and tried to get our heads down...
Saturday
For those of you that have been Bestival, you will know that fancy dress is a huge part of the Saturday, with this year’s theme being Popstars, Rockstars and Divas. Within our ranks we had Kraftwerk (3 out of 4) ...
We had Abba..
And even Katy Perry(s), Lady Gaga, and Kylie...
PJ & Duncan alongside Diana Ross (Annie Mac)....
Musically, the day provided us with lots of little gems, some expected, some not.
It seemed apt, that with everybody dressed up and looking ridiculous that the first port of call for the day was of course... The Village People. They reeled of their tracks with all the fun and frolics that you would think go along with such a band, and the obvious highlight being the YMCA. Watching a field of around 15,000 doing the actions really was a sight to behold.
A-Trak absolutely blew the Big Top to bits with an excellent mixture of electro and house new and old, combined with his incredible turntablist skills, really got lots of hyped ready for what sure to be another great day.
After another brief stint in the woods, it was time for David Rodigan...though many of us didn’t make it that far. A large part of us were sidetracked by the tiny Sunday Best Records tent, only holding around 10-15 people, which was playing a great selection of everything from Dan Le Sac to Fleetwood Mac. 2 hours after going in to see what was going on, we left. It is little things like this tent why we all love Bestival, as it is not solely about the music, just having good fun with great people.
After our musical mishap of missing Ramjam, it was back to RBMA to catch the end of Congo Natty, and sure enough he absolutely smashed it, plenty of softer Dub and Reggae, combined with lots of Jungle - a great performance overall.
Next up was Krafty Kuts, who of course completely smashed it. Meanwhile in the Big Top, Primal Scream were performing Screamadelica to a packed out tent, and The Cure held a huge crowd at the main stage.
After Krafty, it was over to the Bollywood tent to see Claude Von Stroke close out the Saturday night with a bang.
Just as he finished, the heavens opened, and it was a frantic dash back to the campsite to hide in our tents...
Sunday...a day that proved highly emotional, for all the right reasons.
We all woke on the Sunday slightly later than the rest, all with hazy memories of what had really happened in the past 24 hours, and our heads pounding. Though there was no time to be feeling sorry for ourselves, as Psychemagik were on nice and early. We headed down, and they definitely didn’t disappoint. In no time at all (thanks to a jug of Pimms or two, and some spirit filled Watermelons), we were once again all dancing like idiots, with massive grins on our drunk little faces as the sun was scorching outside. The set came to a brilliant, emotional end with none other than there remix of Fleetwood Macs “Everywhere”.
There was little else that we wanted to see for the next few hours, so we all spent the next few hours in the woods, chilling, having fun, and being general nuisances. Soaking up what would be our last day in our own little paradise.
But then... it was the time we had all been waiting for. The one, the only, Greg Wilson! The Rizlab stage blew us all away with its impeccable sound, but it was Gregs REELS OF STEEL show that took us on an emotional journey right from the start. Truly incredible.
This was my absolute highlight of the festival. You can catch the set on Gregs soundcloud account – www.soundcloud.com/gregwilson
After this, it was again back to the woods...this time not to get lost and be ridiculous, but to catch Tom Middleton playing an ambient set. This set was filled with what can only be described as ambient Drum n Bass and Dubstep, and was a great set, in magical surroundings.
Then it was off to the fireworks where many a “Happy Bestival Hug” was given out, with a soundtrack on Queen, Fleetwood Mac and Elton John.
For a few of us, that was enough and we went back to the tent, for a few others it was time to go and see Fatboy Slim, Paul Kalkbrenner and Derrick Carter, all of whom did not disappoint.
We all went to bed, whilst what seemed a mini storm was occurring outside, but happy at what a fucking great weekend we’d all had.
Same again next year. Peace out.
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