To Benicassim we go!
Well, it looks like we are finally packed for our favourite time of year as we begin the countdown - in hours! - to FIB, Benicassim's 19 year old music festival we have come to love and adore and boy, are Lolita and I excited to be getting back on the @thisisfib horse together again! Things have been a bit hairy over the last few weeks with the twittersphere and social networks rife with rumours that the whole festival might have to be cancelled, which turned out not to be such huge rumours after all. But! Shares were sold and the day was saved. This weekend we shall find out just for how long...
When Vince Power's renowned reputation kicked things up a bit already in 2010 - it was the first time we'd seen fairground rides at any Spanish music festival, that's for sure - just one look at the 2013 lineup will tell you that post-Power era FIB looks very different indeed to its predecessors. Which despite the controversy, we don't believe to be a bad thing at all! Yes, you have your much-loved floppy haired, skinny jean clad boy bands of the indie scene like Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Killers, Beach House and Beady Eye, but this edition has some stellar signings that seem sure to catch the eye of a completely different kind of music fan - one a bit more street, a little bit more into dirty beats and quick-as-a-whip rap, and a very English one too, who will be walking on site to a roundup of some of the biggest names in UK garage, and international hip hop and R'n'B. 2011 brought Tinie Tempah, Plan B, The Streets, Chase and Status and Professor Green, and this year we have the now regular attendance of Dizzee Rascal, to whom we expect another enormous turnout on the Escenario Maravillas, Brighton cuties Rizzle Kicks, the incredible foursome Rudimental and the crudest female rapstar out there, Azealia Banks, whose live shows are reputedly off tha hook. Lolita and I like to consider ourselves FIB veterans, and in the true spirit of Girl Power we are always on the look-out for a new Diva to worship. Mourning the absence as we have for many years of Roisin Murphy, the absolute Queen of festival spectacle and glamour, a throne we hoped Florence (and her machine) would happily occupy last year before she got laryngitis, we are putting our bets on the aforementioned Ms Banks, and other contenders La Roux, on tonight, Aluna Francis of Alunageorge fame, and the effortlessly sexy rock chicks Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards, the duo behind Deap Vally.
As every girl and guy worth her salt knows, there is no better time of year for fashion than festival season, and we've been checking out Coachella, Big Weekend, and of course Glastonbury pics for inspiration, and have packed our best man repelling outfits. Mixing florals, stripes, denim and of course, this season's monochrome trend by the ton, I am just waiting for Lolita to pick me up in her little jeep so we can get this party started!!!
Is FIB Benicassim 2013 anything like your dream festival lineup? Who can you not bear to miss? Are the timetable clashes going to cause rifts between you and your mates?
Much summer love, see you on site!! xxx Anita D.