Bestival: It’s in the name

Monday morning at Bestival provided one of those typically British end-of-summer moments. As 50,000 hung-over festival goers packed up, or, in many cases, abandoned, their tents and gazebos, a distinct air of conclusion could be felt in the rainy skies of Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight. The preceding four days could not have been in starker contrast, with intense sunshine ensuring unfortunate burns and tan lines all round, accompanying a barmy weekend of wide-ranged music and comedy. Not many people will argue with me when I say that there were some extraordinary performances at Bestival this year, not least from the 62-year-old soul legend Stevie Wonder, who produced such a hit-packed two hour set that it left many in a daze, including covers of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ and the Beatles’ ‘She Loves You’. This was, in fact, a trend at Bestival this year as the older generation of performers generated the loudest cheers, with the exception of Gary Numan, who decided the crowd would prefer to hear him reel off his new brand of heavy metal at the expense of his classics. Saturday’s headliners New Order, with 56 year old Bernard Sumner at the helm, captured the imagination with an immaculate delivery of their hits, combined with several Joy Division songs including the show-stopping ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, played to a backdrop of Ian Curtis with the words “forever Joy Division” displayed across the screen. Sister Sledge (of ‘We Are Family’ fame) and ever-present funk group Earth Wind & Fire also raised the proverbial roof despite a sizeable age gap with the Bestival audience. That is not to say that the current generation of indie bands delivered lacklustre performances. Two Door Cinema Club were as good a warm up for New Order as anyone could have hoped for, working the main stage crowd into a frenzy with a combination of new songs from recently released album Beacon, and well-known crowd pleasers from Tourist History. Friendly Fires also proved to be a massive hit late on Sunday evening for those brave enough to stand through lead singer Ed Macfarlane’s ridiculous dancing, as they raced through their unique brand of indietronica. Bestival organisers however did not prove to be the most popular of figures on Friday evening as an awkward clash between post-punk band, The Horrors, and minimalist three-piece, the XX, presented itself to the Bestival crowd. The contrast between these two performances could not have been greater, as the main stage crowd were rewarded with the XX’s only UK festival performance this summer, sending shivers down the spine of those watching. The Horrors however, blitzed their way through a 45 minute set, under a cloud of smoke created by their overly-exuberant spliff-smoking fans. Friday evening had already provided us with a clash between Mercury hopefuls Alt-J and psychedelic quartet Django Django. Alt-J, spurred on by an expectant crowd, overcame early nerves to show exactly why their album, An Awesome Wave, reached a peak position of 19 in the charts earlier this year. Friday night, however, was dominated by one woman and her band; Florence Welch owned the night with her humongous stage presence and extraordinary voice. From what I recall, she did not miss a single note, even on her recent number one ‘Spectrum’ which the crowd tried (and failed) to sing along to.

Although wildlife was the official theme of Bestival 2012 (and impeccably observed by the majority), curator Rob Da Bank had clearly placed an emphasis on dance and electronic music in his lineup to go with the usual indie and rock acts. Friday evening in the Big Top was a prime example of this, as a rousing DJ set from Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe was followed by London DJ SBTRKT and concluded by Belgian duo 2manydjs, by which time the crowd had been pounded from all sides by irrepressible bass for 3 hours. Saturday evening followed a similar trend as a rousing rendition of ‘Pon De Floor’ by Major Lazer was followed by many peoples’ highlight of the weekend, as Justice taught a lesson in how to work a crowd into an absolute frenzy, accompanied by a quite incredible stage setup and lighting. By the time they reached their encore, the crowd was so large many stood outside the tent to catch a glance of the duo.

I like to think of Bestival as a quirky festival. It likes to do things a bit differently to other festivals, as shown by the annual fancy dress theme. You’re surrounded by people who have a common passion for a certain kind of music (not always the case at R&L). The one thing Reading does have in its favour, however, is location- who ever thought it would be a good idea to host a festival on an island? I would recommend Bestival to anyone who goes to a festival for the music and is not put off by the queues.