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Bestival 2007

Friday 7th to Sunday 9th September 2007
Robin Hill Country Park, Downend, Nr Arreton, Isle of Wight.. PO30 2NU, England MAP
£115 w/e with camping - SOLD OUT

After a lengthy lie-in nursing the previous night’s hangovers, the first act of the day we get up for is Beastie Boys afternoon ‘Gala Instrumental Performance’ on the main stage. If you weren’t already aware, their latest album was a lyric-less funk fest completely at odds to their older material, so it was only right that they presented it in a show of its own so as not to disrupt the flow of the fast paced hip-hop experience of the night before.

But this being a Beastie Boys gig, they don’t just stop at playing the new material they’ve advertised it as being, dedicating around half the set to new, fully live arrangements of classic songs – thus we get ‘Root Down’ and ‘Sure Shot’ played on up-right bass and keyboards and it’s a joy to behold. Once again they close the show with ‘Sabotage’, the sight of a field full of people bouncing up and down to this mega hit in broad daylight being truly astonishing.

Next up it’s Kate Nash, who draws a huge crowd. She plays a set of pleasant if not wholly life-changing piano ditties, that’s held up mid-way when her eye is caught by an ambitious fancy dress reveller wearing a humongous candy love heart outfit bearing the words ‘Kiss Me Kate’. She’s temporarily flustered but the show goes on, the next distraction being when members of the crowd decide to throw lemons at her during the line – you guessed it – about lemons in her chart-busting single ‘Foundations’. All in all, good show.

Next up it’s Chap-Chav concoction Man Like Me playing their weird-out electro rap over at the House Of Bamboo. It’s scenester posturing at its very best, the likes of ‘Oh My Gosh’ and ‘Doughnut’ offering lo-fi synth sounds that’s even being watched by a wildly dancing Suggs.


By the time Gossip take the stage the sun has gone down and everyone’s ready to dance. Beth Ditto is on wild form, clambering about the stage and crowd with the energy of Power Ranger. It’s great fun to watch, but there’s no denying they’re a one song band elevated on a cloud of controversy. If it wasn’t for the fact Ditto is such a captivating perform, they’d flop big time – as it is, they continue to soar.

Finally, ex-Moloko singer Roisin Murphy brings the festival to a close over on the Big Top, where her sexy and seductive electro-pop pounds through the ears of the dancing crowds. She’s got enough outfit changes to send Alison Goldfrapp running for the ferry port, and she dances with same dominatrix demure.

Waiting for our early 3.30 am ferry back to the main land, it all seems like it’s been over too soon. For four years running now, Bestival has been the undisputed highlight of the festival calendar. With each year it grows a little more, so my advice is to get in there early and experience it before it gets too big and some of that magic is lost