I'm in Thailand but I typed this out before I left. I can't post the photos right now so I'll update hem at a later time.
So, the big Spain post. Let's get right to it then shall we?
Tuesday
I had to leave the flat at 4:30 am to get the Thameslink to Luton. Took Easyjet and saw Ben's friends Kat and Martin on the plane so I traveled with them on the trains to Barcelona after that. I trekked from Plaza Catalunya to our hostal which was off Las Ramblas closer to the harbor in the 100+ degree weather, my jeans and shirt were soaked by the time I reached my non-airconditioned room. After my shower I just started sweating profusely again which was a nightmare. I was on my own for most of the day so I just walked around the area first by the water.
(insert photo)
I took the easy route out of sounding like an idiot speaking in Spanish while by myself and ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. David and Bernie arrived sometime after 7:00 pm. We went for tapas on the other side of the water crossing this bridge.
(insert photo)
We went for drinks in an Irish pub which was playing VH2's top indie 500 which played videos I hadn't seen in years like The Seahorses' 'Blinded By the Sun' and Blur's 'Coffee & TV' (ok I've seen that recently but it's still sooo good.) We headed to Jamboree after that, danced to some hip hop and dropped many euros.
Wednesday
The next day I had some paella for lunch. We then headed to the Gothci cathedral which had scaffolding all over it:
(insert photo)
We took one of those tourist buses all over Barcelona which, although it looks dorky, was a really good idea because we covered a lot of ground. We went to the outside of some big museum to check out the views of the city.
(insert photo)
They have an egg also (sorry, I mean gherkin to the Londoners.)
(insert photo)
We passed by the Olympic stadiums as well.
(insert photo)
Then went into one of the houses (Casa Battla or something like that? Julie, help?) that Gaudi designed (I love him!!)
(insert photo)
At night David and I ate at a cafe and sat by the harbor where it was drunk men central.
(insert photo)
Thursday
The morning was a nightmare as practically all the trains to Benicassim were sold out. We finally managed to buy tickets for a slow regional train with a transfer which finally got us there. We walked about 30 mins+ with our stuff in the heat (no shade at all) to the campsite next to the festival (there are 3 in different parts of the town.) By the time we got there, there were hardly any spots left and we had to camp next to an ant-filled tree facing the sun. We walked 45 minutes to the beach but had fun in the Mediterranean so it was worth it after the complaining. We ate a really good Chinese dinner in the town and had some vodka Red Bulls after in some crowded plaza. Scissor Sisters went on at 3:00 am that night and D&B didn't have Thursday night tickets and I also wasn't able to meet up with Bernie's people or Dan M.'s people because they were already in the crowd when I arrived. So I watched the show by myself which was really good except for the drunk/drugged-up annoying Welsh press guy who kept spitting in my face when he talked.
(insert photo)
Friday
At our campsite they had communal showers which believe it or not were great. The water was cold (which we needed, although I'm wimpy and it took me a while to get under.) Everyone showered in their bathing suits and there was no wait. The port-o-potties did make me want to puke though. We went to the water park that day where we spent more time getting sleep in the shade rather than on the rides. At night the first band was Babyshambles around 6:40 pm. They were surprisingly present and surprisingly excellent. May I present to you Mr. Pete Doherty in the flesh:
(insert photo)
Next up were Ordinary Boys who were good. I'd seen them at Glastonbury and wasn't too impressed but they were better now, probably cause I recognized some of the songs (and Preston from Celebrity Big Brother of course too.)
(insert photo)
We caught the end of the Futureheads in time for 'Hounds of Love' and Man Ray.'
(insert photo)
Then came the Pixies who I was very nervous about watching in the middle of the crowd because I thought people were going to crush me to death. About 20 minutes through, the barrier broke in the middle and there was a half hour break in between their set. Although I'm not a Pixies fan this definitely was a mood killer.
(insert photo)
Next came The Strokes who were my favorite band of the festival. This is quite surprising (and refreshing) since the two times I've seen them (in 2001 and 2003) I thought they were pretty rubbish live, but they were on top form on Friday. 'Ize on the World' was the best.
(insert photo)
Saturday
Saturday was a fantastic day because we moved to a hotel! (I can handle camping, but not camping in 100+ degree heat.) We trekked once again with all our stuff into town and settled into our air conditioned room (still not sure how we managed to find one after only enquiring to about 4 hotels.) We headed down to the festival for Morrissey. Though, I shouldn't say headed as we were two songs late, so we actually ran from the gates to the stage and I probably emitted 16 gallons of sweat (as did the Mozzer.)
(insert photo)
I was with David for most of the festival, but I managed to meet up with Shiraz and Ellie and also with Ben, Dan M., Sam, et al in between sets so that's what I was probably doing next. The following band were The Kooks. Since the Pixies incident the night before, they'd put up a barrier enclosing about the first 20 rows of the crowd. We got inside the barrier and luckily about 10 rows back for The Kooks. This was the band I was most looking forward to seeing but they were just ok. They sounded exactly like the album (barring the improvised part of Naive which I've got on the following video.) I think that since they are still just starting off they'll get better in time.
(insert photo)
Third up were Franz Ferdinand for which we somehow managed to start off in the fifth row. They were excellent and the crowd loved them. They played tons of songs; here are some photos and a video of 'Take Me Out.'
(insert photo)
After Franz came Morning Runner. We watched them from the back with Bernie, Tony, Mark, and Chris.
(insert photo)
We did a bit of dancing later in one of the tents and got back to the hotel around 7:00 am. It was a very tiring festival!!
Sunday
Sunday was the great hunt for lunch food. We went to one restaurant that forgot about us for about 45 minutes. I left a euro for the bottle of water cause I felt bad completely stiffing them. When we passed by after scouring for other restaurants about 20 minutes later they still hadn't attended the table and therefore hadn't noticed we'd left!!! We finally ended up eating kebabs of all things on the corner by our hotel (we did the same on Monday too because they were THAT good.) Sunday's festival started off with Editors. I really love their new stuff (better than The Back Room) which I've said in a previous post.
(insert photo)
After that were Madness which I thought might be boring for me since I only know three of their songs. It was in fact really fun, everyone was skanking and there was a happy vibe in the audience. We left early though to get a good spot for WAS and missed 'Our House.'
(insert photo)
Next were We Are Scientists in the smaller tent who were up against Madness and Depeche Mode so I wasn't sure of how big of a crowd they would get. We got pretty close to the front (even though my photos suck.) The tent was crowded and it was the most enthusiastic audience I saw at the entire festival. It was cute how you could see how the band really appreciated the crowd cheers by the looks on their faces when they came out. (Hmmm, do they know that most of the audience was English and not Spanish?)
(insert photo)
New Song
So, the big Spain post. Let's get right to it then shall we?
Tuesday
I had to leave the flat at 4:30 am to get the Thameslink to Luton. Took Easyjet and saw Ben's friends Kat and Martin on the plane so I traveled with them on the trains to Barcelona after that. I trekked from Plaza Catalunya to our hostal which was off Las Ramblas closer to the harbor in the 100+ degree weather, my jeans and shirt were soaked by the time I reached my non-airconditioned room. After my shower I just started sweating profusely again which was a nightmare. I was on my own for most of the day so I just walked around the area first by the water.
(insert photo)
I took the easy route out of sounding like an idiot speaking in Spanish while by myself and ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. David and Bernie arrived sometime after 7:00 pm. We went for tapas on the other side of the water crossing this bridge.
(insert photo)
We went for drinks in an Irish pub which was playing VH2's top indie 500 which played videos I hadn't seen in years like The Seahorses' 'Blinded By the Sun' and Blur's 'Coffee & TV' (ok I've seen that recently but it's still sooo good.) We headed to Jamboree after that, danced to some hip hop and dropped many euros.
Wednesday
The next day I had some paella for lunch. We then headed to the Gothci cathedral which had scaffolding all over it:
(insert photo)
We took one of those tourist buses all over Barcelona which, although it looks dorky, was a really good idea because we covered a lot of ground. We went to the outside of some big museum to check out the views of the city.
(insert photo)
They have an egg also (sorry, I mean gherkin to the Londoners.)
(insert photo)
We passed by the Olympic stadiums as well.
(insert photo)
Then went into one of the houses (Casa Battla or something like that? Julie, help?) that Gaudi designed (I love him!!)
(insert photo)
At night David and I ate at a cafe and sat by the harbor where it was drunk men central.
(insert photo)
Thursday
The morning was a nightmare as practically all the trains to Benicassim were sold out. We finally managed to buy tickets for a slow regional train with a transfer which finally got us there. We walked about 30 mins+ with our stuff in the heat (no shade at all) to the campsite next to the festival (there are 3 in different parts of the town.) By the time we got there, there were hardly any spots left and we had to camp next to an ant-filled tree facing the sun. We walked 45 minutes to the beach but had fun in the Mediterranean so it was worth it after the complaining. We ate a really good Chinese dinner in the town and had some vodka Red Bulls after in some crowded plaza. Scissor Sisters went on at 3:00 am that night and D&B didn't have Thursday night tickets and I also wasn't able to meet up with Bernie's people or Dan M.'s people because they were already in the crowd when I arrived. So I watched the show by myself which was really good except for the drunk/drugged-up annoying Welsh press guy who kept spitting in my face when he talked.
(insert photo)
Friday
At our campsite they had communal showers which believe it or not were great. The water was cold (which we needed, although I'm wimpy and it took me a while to get under.) Everyone showered in their bathing suits and there was no wait. The port-o-potties did make me want to puke though. We went to the water park that day where we spent more time getting sleep in the shade rather than on the rides. At night the first band was Babyshambles around 6:40 pm. They were surprisingly present and surprisingly excellent. May I present to you Mr. Pete Doherty in the flesh:
(insert photo)
Next up were Ordinary Boys who were good. I'd seen them at Glastonbury and wasn't too impressed but they were better now, probably cause I recognized some of the songs (and Preston from Celebrity Big Brother of course too.)
(insert photo)
We caught the end of the Futureheads in time for 'Hounds of Love' and Man Ray.'
(insert photo)
Then came the Pixies who I was very nervous about watching in the middle of the crowd because I thought people were going to crush me to death. About 20 minutes through, the barrier broke in the middle and there was a half hour break in between their set. Although I'm not a Pixies fan this definitely was a mood killer.
(insert photo)
Next came The Strokes who were my favorite band of the festival. This is quite surprising (and refreshing) since the two times I've seen them (in 2001 and 2003) I thought they were pretty rubbish live, but they were on top form on Friday. 'Ize on the World' was the best.
(insert photo)
Saturday
Saturday was a fantastic day because we moved to a hotel! (I can handle camping, but not camping in 100+ degree heat.) We trekked once again with all our stuff into town and settled into our air conditioned room (still not sure how we managed to find one after only enquiring to about 4 hotels.) We headed down to the festival for Morrissey. Though, I shouldn't say headed as we were two songs late, so we actually ran from the gates to the stage and I probably emitted 16 gallons of sweat (as did the Mozzer.)
(insert photo)
I was with David for most of the festival, but I managed to meet up with Shiraz and Ellie and also with Ben, Dan M., Sam, et al in between sets so that's what I was probably doing next. The following band were The Kooks. Since the Pixies incident the night before, they'd put up a barrier enclosing about the first 20 rows of the crowd. We got inside the barrier and luckily about 10 rows back for The Kooks. This was the band I was most looking forward to seeing but they were just ok. They sounded exactly like the album (barring the improvised part of Naive which I've got on the following video.) I think that since they are still just starting off they'll get better in time.
(insert photo)
Third up were Franz Ferdinand for which we somehow managed to start off in the fifth row. They were excellent and the crowd loved them. They played tons of songs; here are some photos and a video of 'Take Me Out.'
(insert photo)
After Franz came Morning Runner. We watched them from the back with Bernie, Tony, Mark, and Chris.
(insert photo)
We did a bit of dancing later in one of the tents and got back to the hotel around 7:00 am. It was a very tiring festival!!
Sunday
Sunday was the great hunt for lunch food. We went to one restaurant that forgot about us for about 45 minutes. I left a euro for the bottle of water cause I felt bad completely stiffing them. When we passed by after scouring for other restaurants about 20 minutes later they still hadn't attended the table and therefore hadn't noticed we'd left!!! We finally ended up eating kebabs of all things on the corner by our hotel (we did the same on Monday too because they were THAT good.) Sunday's festival started off with Editors. I really love their new stuff (better than The Back Room) which I've said in a previous post.
(insert photo)
After that were Madness which I thought might be boring for me since I only know three of their songs. It was in fact really fun, everyone was skanking and there was a happy vibe in the audience. We left early though to get a good spot for WAS and missed 'Our House.'
(insert photo)
Next were We Are Scientists in the smaller tent who were up against Madness and Depeche Mode so I wasn't sure of how big of a crowd they would get. We got pretty close to the front (even though my photos suck.) The tent was crowded and it was the most enthusiastic audience I saw at the entire festival. It was cute how you could see how the band really appreciated the crowd cheers by the looks on their faces when they came out. (Hmmm, do they know that most of the audience was English and not Spanish?)
(insert photo)
New Song
'Textbook'
Only knowing a few of their songs, we stayed for Art Brut and passed up Depeche Mode since Ryan's seen AB 204,720 times and I wanted to see what it was all about. They were very entertaining, and Eddie Argos' "name every band on the program including the ones it seemed he never heard of followed by Top of the Pops!" was hysterical. I think my conclusion of Art Brut is that they are a modern Pulp - good music with singers who can't sing but with good lyrics and are good at entertaining the crowd. Keith Murray of We Are Scientists joined them also and did the AB rendition of 'The Great Escape' which I've got here.
We sat on the ground for Placebo towards the back but then moved to the grass by the screen and laid down for a nap instead.
(insert obligatory Placebo photo)
David and I headed to the Silent Disco for a bit. Basically there were 2 DJs playing different music, you've got headphones on where you can switch the channel, and you dance. Except no one can hear the music but those with the headphones on so it looks really funny for outside people looking in. Check out half the people singing 'Whoomp! There It Is' (terrible DJ) vs. those singing 'Dare' (also a pretty bad DJ.)
(insert photo)
We sat for the end of DeUs but I didn't pay much attention, and got up for the final act of the festival which were The Rakes. I was dead tired and they played '22 Grand Job' first so it was hard for me to stay awake during the set even though I like them.
(insert photo)
And that's my wrap up of Spain. I've only been in Thailand for 4 days and I think it'll take me a year to write the recap, but so far so great!
