16 replies to this topic

[st00ka]

I'm struggling to persuade my mates to come to FIB this year any hints or tips on how I can get them enthused?

Failing that.

Anyone done the festival on their lonesome before now?

[Festival_Fever]

st00ka, on Feb 22 2009, 05:43 PM, said:

I'm struggling to persuade my mates to come to FIB this year any hints or tips on how I can get them enthused?

Failing that.

Anyone done the festival on their lonesome before now?

Read this Beni 08 blog:

We are facing difficulties across the world, as the world banking system collapses before our very eyes, housing repossesions are at the highest for a generation, interest rates are shattered and the great british pound sterling is as about as valuable as the plastic cutlery and salt and pepper sachets i get for my lunchtime jacket potato at spitalfields market.

But all that means nothing, because no matter what state the economy is in, we live for festivals! where currency takes the form of knowing smiles and glances from strangers at a particular tune you both love, the community over the corporate... about the only thing that bears comparison is the level of taxation on relative fast moving consumerable goods. If you know what I mean!

So I thought I would provide you with my memoirs, not from exit festival but from Benicassim 2008, another highly recommended festival if you have not already experienced it.

Pre-Festival - After a warm-up leg in Barcelona, involving some textbook British sunburning, hostel partying and general shenagans any archetypal group of funseekes would be proud of, we set off on the train to Benicassim, which if you were on that train you will remember was a surreal mixture of confused catalans and the stereotypical flip-flop, cargo shorts, ray-bans and hat-wearing europeans ready to rampage through the spanish tundra.

Day 1- Arrival, beautifully pain-staking walk to the campsite, where my colleagues and I set about setting-up camp on what can only be described as barbeque-de-le-terra. Throw in a cheeky little snake into the mix and you have a couple of concerned folk weary of the 3 days ahead. However we soon settled and decided to take a shower in what felt like the temperature of an iceberg - Wonderful - that saved us all. The night passed fairly uneventful, I hadn't found my feet and my 'eye' wasn't on the game.

Day 2- Business picked up and so did the heat.... After a walk on the beach i felt a strange case of sun stroke coming on, which could only be cured by free pineapple fruit drinks that were being distributed throughout the city, don't get me wrong the drinks were awful yet were cool, thus it saved from what felt like certain death. The night, well, an early tip off led me to see a man about a dog and lets just say some tree-hugging, emotional mate-hugging, incomprehensibly rants, disgraceful dance moves and the sheer inability to do anything but feel 'the music' as they say will give a clear understanding of the positon. Couldn't tell you who played- didn't care

Day 3- Ratcheted up a knot for the final day. Highlight was Justice, those boys know how to do it proper, Some more tree hugging, complete inability to pull anything will again give a clear understanding of my state of mind.

Day 4- The tidy up, the post mortem of festivals are quite a scene, tent pegs nailed so hard into ground had made any tent packing nigh-on impossible, the burning hot ground and rocks which had caused some 'mild' discomfort in our 2 man tent, which was clearly a one man tent to begin yet housed 2 fully grown men and accompanying luggage and reached the temperature of a sauna by 9.30am in the morning. bearing in mind we were finshing at 6-7am give some indication that sleep deprivation was a welcomed free-drug.

And so we left, we saw some bands, met some people, lost our friends, found our friends, lost some drink tickets, found some drinks tickets, sweated, burnt, danced, stared, hugged, high-fived, kissed, ran, bounced, sung, rarely ate, exposed my naked body en masse evey day in the communal showers and dealt with some shady but fun characters.

What we didn't do is worry, fight, cause anxiety, think too seriously, work, get upset, depressed or wish we were anywhere else in the world.

That is what festivals are all about.

[st00ka]

Thank you for your very eloquent reply, the problem however is not that they are first timers but that they are old timers (not yet into their senior years) who have succomb to the lethargy plague.

[Festival_Fever]

st00ka, on Feb 23 2009, 01:53 PM, said:

Thank you for your very eloquent reply, the problem however is not that they are first timers but that they are old timers (not yet into their senior years) who have succomb to the lethargy plague.

Ha..

Your very welcome..

Ageing before their years, i'm hoping i don't get that way. I'm sure whether it be a drunken bet, a well scripted guilt trip or a trip down memory lane, I would like to see a resolution.

Keep me posted on progress.

[st00ka]

I have persuaded one friend so I am hoping for some kind of domino effect...

Also the most unlikely couple have expressed a desire to attend this years festival, they are the Sam Kay and Gail Trimble of my friends, I am not sure how they will cope with the long hours, the imbibing of much substances and the general mayhem that goes with the festival.  Who knows?  Maybe it will be a revelation and maybe I will find them in the dance tent  at six o'clock ripped to the tits on the last morning of festival after disappearing on the first evening.

[Festival_Fever]

st00ka, on Mar 3 2009, 03:41 PM, said:

I have persuaded one friend so I am hoping for some kind of domino effect...

Also the most unlikely couple have expressed a desire to attend this years festival, they are the Sam Kay and Gail Trimble of my friends, I am not sure how they will cope with the long hours, the imbibing of much substances and the general mayhem that goes with the festival.  Who knows?  Maybe it will be a revelation and maybe I will find them in the dance tent  at six o'clock ripped to the tits on the last morning of festival after disappearing on the first evening.

Hilarious..

[st00ka]

nardos, on Mar 7 2009, 04:27 PM, said:

Is going on your own a good idea cos i'm still not sure?!?!

I went to Sonar a couple of years back whilst travelling on my own and had a fantastic time and met some great people that I still keep in touch with now so you'll be fine.

[neillyrydell]

I know what you mean - I went a couple of years ago and it was a bit of a disaster - 3 guys and their birds, in hindsight isn't the best idea for a weekend of madness! Anyway because of this I feel I've got a bit of unfinished business with this festival but none of my mates seem interested anymore. This festival has bags of potential - the line up, the weather, the aquapark across the road from the entrance! Plenty of pubs and that nearby too, honestly it's gona be well better than T in the Park, who've decided to save money during the recession by cutting down on printing costs and booking the same f***ing line up again! Mark my words, if I have to go myself, I will be there. Even if that is a bit sad...

[st00ka]

neillyrydell, on Mar 10 2009, 03:09 PM, said:

I know what you mean - I went a couple of years ago and it was a bit of a disaster - 3 guys and their birds, in hindsight isn't the best idea for a weekend of madness! Anyway because of this I feel I've got a bit of unfinished business with this festival but none of my mates seem interested anymore. This festival has bags of potential - the line up, the weather, the aquapark across the road from the entrance! Plenty of pubs and that nearby too, honestly it's gona be well better than T in the Park, who've decided to save money during the recession by cutting down on printing costs and booking the same f***ing line up again! Mark my words, if I have to go myself, I will be there. Even if that is a bit sad...

I don't think it's sad at all, I got to the point where I realised that if I didn't do stuff on my own I'd be waiting forever for others.  Yeah it's cool if people want to come with you but just remember that you are heading to a place with about thirty odd thousand other people who have similar tastes so if you are an approachable type then its certainly not difficult to make new friends

[sproston_greeen]

st00ka, on Feb 22 2009, 05:43 PM, said:

I'm struggling to persuade my mates to come to FIB this year any hints or tips on how I can get them enthused?

Failing that.

Anyone done the festival on their lonesome before now?

nardos, on Mar 7 2009, 04:27 PM, said:

Is going on your own a good idea cos i'm still not sure?!?!

I went on my own 4 years ago and from that experience i've managed to persuade lots more people to go year in year out   It might not be as great as it would had your friends gone with you, but it will still be one of the best times of your life.

When you're with your friends you don't tend to mix as much, but when you're on your own you really have no other choice. So you make loads of new friends cos everyone is friendly. What will help you even more is if you learn a little bit of spanish to get you by, it also helps with the lovely young spanish ladies   So, go on your own, don't let your boring mates deprive you of a f**king fantastic week of sunshine and music  

[st00ka]

FIB this year for me seems to have gone from me travelling alone, to me travelling with two university challenge types, four hyperactive french ladies and now a stag do...

[andy_h]

st00ka, on Mar 10 2009, 05:28 PM, said:

I don't think it's sad at all, I got to the point where I realised that if I didn't do stuff on my own I'd be waiting forever for others.  Yeah it's cool if people want to come with you but just remember that you are heading to a place with about thirty odd thousand other people who have similar tastes so if you are an approachable type then its certainly not difficult to make new friends

I'm in exactly the same situation as you and it looks like I'll be heading over on my todd too.  Even though most of mates said they would go, none of them sorted anything out.  So I've just organised myself and told them what I'm upto.  They won't be stopping me from heading out there this year  

[oebs]

fair farkin play to the lot of you, may..may just end going on my lonesome aswell as it seems some of my mates are unable to pull there fingers out and actually book the bleedin tickets

[avi738]

Hi people! I'm going to benicassim for the first time this year and looks like i'll be all by myself too...the friend i'm travelling with is making a side trip to see her grandparents at exactly the same time beni is happening...I couldn't possibly come all that way and miss a wicked festival tho so i'm doing it alone! I say we have a loner pre-party somewhere on wednesday night...anyone down?

[wiz]

might be tempted by that, nothing wrong with meeting new comrades  

[st00ka]

wiz, on May 18 2009, 06:50 PM, said:

might be tempted by that, nothing wrong with meeting new comrades  

Well as I started the thread I think it would be very rude not to...

[avi738]

st00ka, on May 19 2009, 10:54 PM, said:

Well as I started the thread I think it would be very rude not to...

Excellent!! where and when should we start this fiesta!?