Friday 11th until Sunday 13th September 2009 @ Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight
Featuring Performances From: Friendly Fires, Florence and the Machine, MGMT, Massive Attack, Lilly Allen, La Roux, Jack Penate, Major Lazer, Kraftwerk, DJ Yoda, Doves, Fleet Foxes, Elbow, DJ Derek

After its inaugural event of 2004 held host to a relatively small gathering of 6,000 people, Bestival has now grown to a capacity of 40,000 revellers, fuelled on booze, sunshine and this year a space themed fancy dress party. The annual event on the Isle of Wight has become the daddy of the increasingly popular boutique festival scene and is a fitting end to a packed summer festival season.

The event opened up on the Thursday but, after some panic stricken last minute ferry bookings and a journey which included a train, a hover boat and an open-top double-decker bus, we arrived early afternoon on the Friday just in time to enjoy a host of sets from Friendly Fires, Florence and the Machine and MGMT. Although the main stage was dogged by sound problems throughout the Friday, these staple bands of the 2009 festival season proved a hit with the youthful crowd with sets brimming with unbridled enthusiasm and, in the case of Friendly Fires, some very expressive dancing from frontman Ed Macfarlane.

Events came to a close on the main stage on the Friday with a sombre set from Massive Attack, the Bristol trip-hopers returning to the live arena after an absence of several years. Their trademark nonchalance and slow atmospherics failed to ignite the crowd and somewhat lulled the festivals enthusiastic party spirit, sending certain sectors of the crowd into a sleepy stupor.

After being lulled to an early night by Massive Attack on Friday, we woke on the Saturday to be greeted by tens of thousands of people in space themed fancy dress costumes and more glorious sunshine! Saturday is the day when Bestival really hits its stride with a fancy dress parade attended by a whopping 10,000 people and a line-up throughout the day to match the atmosphere of frivolous fun. Highlights of the day come from the current crop of pop starlets including Lilly Allen, La Roux, Jack Penate plus Diplo and Switch’s dancehall themed side-project, Major Lazer, who serve up a furious set of Jamaican dancehall and fidget house to send the crowd largely adorned in either homemade robot costumes or dressed as characters from Star Wars into a frenzy in the Big Top.

Proceedings on the main stage come to a close with a mesmerising set from German electro pioneers Kraftwerk, who, after almost forty years in the business, still look like a band from the future. Their headline set ended with an encore where the members were replaced by robots which prove to be unequivocally more enthusiastic than the real-life band members!

After spending the wee hours of the Saturday night watching DJ Yoda’s mind boggling blend of turntable wizardry and visuals, luckily for us the Sunday took a more relaxed approach with sets from Doves, Fleet Foxes and Elbow providing the perfect soundtrack to relaxing in the sun. There were still plenty of thrills to be had though for the pleasure seekers still adorned in fancy dress, and we head over to the Arcadia field to watch Bristol’s very own DJ Derek spinning some classic reggae before watching the huge bonfire and fireworks display that celebrated the end of the festival. Until next year, au revoir!

www.bestival.net

Sean Griffiths