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Bestival 2006

Friday 8th to Sunday 10th September 2006
Robin Hill Countryside Adventure Park, Downend, Nr Arreton, Isle of Wight.. PO30 2NU, England MAP
£95 w/e with camping (non-Island residents), or £40 for any day

The final day of Bestival is the hottest and, perhaps, the most enjoyable, with a handful of acts on the Main Stage worth skipping the hijinks to see. Tuung serve as the afternoon soundtrack playing lilting folk that soothes the head. They chuck in a Bloc Party cover (which song eludes me), and it’s a top primer for Guilty Pleasures DJ set following on from them. Called Guilty Pleasures for a reason, it’s 80’s pop all the way, from George Michael to Paul Simon to MJ to Madonna... everyone’s dancing, still.

The Young Knives go down far better at Bestival than they did back at June’s wholly different Wireless festival. The wily three-piece’s jokes go down a treat and songs sound exciting in the environment. They’ve also reworked their set, putting the big three singles (“She’s Attracted To”, “Here Comes The Rumourmill” and “Weekends & Bleaks Days”) in a satisfying trio at the end, making the whole thing a far more effective build up to a rocking climax.

There’s nothing like a bit of classic pop-punk to get the afternoon rolling, meaning The Stranglers set goes down a treat (having said that, it’s hard to find anything that doesn’t go down a treat here this weekend). “No More Heroes” and “Golden Brown” line up against their curious needs to cover “Walk On By” and “You’ve Really Got Me Going” and when they kick out the jams with “Peaches” everyone struts along to its swinging hook-beat.

Hot Chip, Bestival stalwarts having played all three years, perform electropop next, which isn’t quite as dancey as you might expect. Still, no sign of a frown anywhere so who’s to complain? By the time they finish off with the most addictive song of the year, “Over & Over” saying Bestival is brilliant has become such a cliché that it’s not even worth saying.

It’s Devendra Banhart that is the surprise hit of the day, feeding off the buoyant atmosphere to make the most memorable set of the weekend. The solo acoustic shows are a thing of the past, today he’s up on his feet with a live band backing him, playing dreamy country and rambling folk that’s blissful and idyllic against the beautiful Bestival backdrop. Mid-set he invites a member of the crowd on stage to perform one of their own songs and a timid teenager from Brighton willingly obliges. Despite the lad overcome with fear, he surprises everyone with a really rather charming love song and the moment of band/crowd interaction epitomises the shared space and general sense of equality that Bestival exhumes.

Sunday night’s headliners the Scissor Sisters are determined to round off the party in style, and knock out hits from their first album with energy and exuberance. The new material sounds a bit weak but we’re not here to criticise, and everywhere you look people are embracing and cheering and jumping one last time.

However, it’s over in the Rock N Roll tent that the real festival climax takes place as The Long Blondes take their luxurious glamour rock to the crowd in a way that makes everyone fall in love with them. No one really knows what’s going on by this point, but everyone’s happy and that’s what matters. From hereon it’s a case of scooting around the various late night disco tents and dancing until the wee hours, making the weekend last for as long as possible.

Bestival 2006 – a great experience that produces great memories but crap reviews. Consider this patchy run down a reflection of my own involvement in the whole charade, and get all excited about your own love-in with the festival in 2007. Adieu.