So, if you’ve been following my Twitter feed then you’ll know I went to Bestival over the weekend. It was my first ‘proper’ music festival – I went to a few small ones when I was young, but nothing like this – so I was pretty excited.

It was great experience, a festival I’ll definitely go to again in the future – credit to the organisers. Traffic on the way there was a bit hectic (took about ten hours end to end), involving lots of queues for the ferry, shuttle bus, site entry etc. I avoided all this on the way back by travelling at 6am, which made for a much nicer journey.

Anyway, that’s not the interesting part. What is though, of course, is who I went to see!

Thursday

Santigold – the one song I saw was very good, I thought I’d missed her, but she did a set on the wrong stage or something.

Friday

Cut Copy – really good. Didn’t play their best (imo) songs but it was good anyway.

Brian Wilson – didn’t know who he was, didn’t really know the songs. My friends who did said that he was a little bit limp on stage. I dunno.

Public Enemy – I couldn’t understand half of what they were saying due to lack of sleep and a mild headache, but their set was pretty good. Their constant self-referencing got a bit annoying, though. Their backing made me want to see Janelle Monáe again (man, that was a good gig).

Chromeo – they played all their best songs and it was great.

Mogwai – Having only heard a couple of their songs, they blew me away. Loved the accompanying visuals.

Unfortunately I missed Fenech Soler, Sbtrkt and Mount Kimbie for some reason (didn’t even know they were on. Didn’t want to pay the £8 programme charge though). Didn’t see much on Friday for some reasons involving alcohol.

Saturday

Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip – caught the end of their set. Still didn’t like their music.

Katy B – she was a bit ‘meh.’ Being live didn’t seem to change much so it was a little disappointing.

The Village People – they were, of course, great. I want to be a macho man.

Paloma Faith – had a bit of time to kill so stuck around for this. I’ve never listened to her stuff, but I really enjoyed her set, particularly the new tracks. The massive paper-maché model of her standing creepily behind me probably added to it.

Crystal Castles – I love them, but their set was really disappointing. They only played 5-6 songs and left before their slot was due to finish. Hardly any ( II ) either (though I did like Excuse me for the first time ever). At the end, Alice just walked off without looking at the crowd, though Ethan did do a thankyou wave. Alice is a bitch. I love your music, but it’s just not on.

PJ Harvey – started off a little slow, and I was right at the front, but when I started enjoying the tracks my friends wanted to leave so I didn’t see the rest.

The Cure – left after the first hour and a half (lol, the set was way too long) because everytime we tried to sit down by the fence some idiot either walked over us or dropped their drink on my shoes. It probably would have been better if I’d known more than three songs (only one of which was played) and hadn’t been standing all day. My friend who loves The Cure loved their set however, so they must have been doing something right.

SL2 – I don’t even remember this part, but I think it was good.

Sunday

Kelis – the first thing she said was “I’m not here for you, I’m here just for me” spoiled it a bit, but it picked up around 4th of July and Milkshake. I liked how she turned it into a ‘Kelis mix’ thing, so her DJ played other artists’ songs between Kelis’s.

Nosaj Thing (I think) – someone I know told me to go to see them so I did, but I don’t think they came on when they were meant to. I have a picture of who did turn up, so when I get a better internet connection I can find out. Whoever I did see was alright, three guys doing some minimal electronic stuff. The progressions were a bit slow and samey for my liking, though.

The Maccabees – Knew nothing about this band, but they were really, really good. I liked how their songs didn’t use the same old structures, made it a bit interesting.

Robyn – amazing show. There were no breaks in the set, and her band was excellent. The crowd loved it.

Bjork – Absolutely brilliant, AND I was right near the front. It was about half Biophilia, half back catalogue. I loved every single song she did, and how she reinterpreted them on stage with the choir she had – Cosmogony, Virus, Eruption, Hyperballad, Mouth’s Cradle, Isobel, etc. I teared up during Jóga. The videos accompanying some of the songs were great (Virus in particular) – just like Mogwai’s, they added a lot to the performance. I also loved how she said thankyou (or “sinkyou”) after every song, and how she casually noted “these songs maybe weren’t made for a festival, but who cares, it’s a Sunday, and we’re here.” Can’t wait for her new album, and I’m really, really happy I decided to get my ticket and got to see her perform.

After that there was the closing ceremony – fireworks, streamers, smoke filled bubbles and little paper hearts everywhere. There were some – how can I put this – “big bubble men” with massive balloons for heads – the drunk guy in the crowd next to me thought it was an abduction and promptly pegged it (on a related note, earlier on in the day there was a guy complaining that he was too paranoid to take psychotropics, which amused me slightly).

Yeah. Brilliant festival, and I don’t regret the fact I’m going to be living on beans for the next month in order to pay for it. I’m definitely going again next year.