JACKS Abroad: FIB Benicássim Festival – Day One 18/07/2019

FIB Benicássim is a quarter of a century old and JACKS are at the Spanish east coast festival to join the celebrations.

FIB Benicássim kicked off with Fontaines D.C., Marina, Action Bronson and Fatboy Slim taking over the Carrefour Stage.

This year was different to previous FIB instalments, with only fifteen artists performing and two stages open to festival-goers. Raising the curtains on our FIB 2019 experience were Dublin’s own Fontaines D.C.

It was a rip-roaring start to Benicàssim’s 25th anniversary. The Dublin outfit had a sense of confidence about them, they knew they could win this crowd over and have them in the palm of their hands.

Showcasing their electric debut album, tracks like ‘Too Real’, ‘Liberty Belle’ and ‘Television Screen’ created pandemonium amongst the crowd.

Guitarist Carlos O’Connell, climbed on top of the speakers and frontman Grian Chatten’s frantic behaviour as he paced around the stage and then attacked his mic added to the intensity of the set.

They left the stage after a furious rendition of ‘Boys in the Better Land’, leaving Irish attenders vying for more. While those waiting for the more tame performance of Marina, who was to follow the ‘Big’ band, were relieved.

Given how thin the opening day line up was, Fontaines’ adrenaline-pumping set more than made up for it.

As mentioned, Marina was next to take to the temporary main stage. While we may have took a less than subtle dig at the difference in style, Marina still brought the party to Benicássim.

Marina lit up the festival with a glittering show, bringing out the big hitters. She had the audience dancing along to every beat as she joyfully sung and danced across the stage.

Encouraging everyone to get involved, it was an inclusive set that got every person dancing, laughing and having fun. While her close friend, Lana Del Rey headlines on day two, Marina showed she could emulate the ‘Summertime’ singer as a potential headliner too someday.

A year on from releasing Politics of Living, Kodaline joined FIB’s opening day line-up. On Irish shores, the band could release a single of dead-air and it would soar to the top spot of the charts. So put them in a festival packed with sun-burnt Irish fans and expect an electric atmosphere.

The heart-aching rock-ballads soared through the Spanish town and pulled everyone together for a beautiful set and big singalongs.

Confetti rained down upon the crowd and Irish flags floated throughout, making an away day feel like a show in the 3Arena back in Dublin.

Festivals are always prone to unexpected hiccups and unfortunately that was the case for Action Bronson after Kodaline.

The New York rapper was setback 45 minute before taking to the stage and when his MC tried to get things started, he was swiftly disrupted with the sound dropping.

About 10 minutes later, finally Action Bronson could get started and while he launched into a breakup song. Emphasising on how his ex is a bitch, you couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the same way about whoever was responsible for the setback.

His set was cutback considerably and while he made sure the audience got a performance, there was a sense of frustration throughout. A quick goodbye was issued at the end of the final song, followed by his mic being slammed into the ground.

You couldn’t help but feel sorry for him as it clearly wasn’t his fault for the major disruption, which dampened the mood massively.

Day one came to an end with legendary DJ Fatboy Slim taking the audience through a whirlwind of hits.

Norman Cooks was in top form as he sung into cameras to enhance the trippy visuals he organised, while lasers beamed high into the sky. The infamous hits such as ‘Praise You’, ‘Right Here, Right Now’ and ‘Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat’ sent the crowd into a frenzy.

It was a stunning headline performance from the veteran DJ but the Carrefour Stage suffered multiple setbacks for Fontaines D.C. and Action Bronson most notably.

However, festival fans also suffered with toilets having no place to wash hands and men using a walls labelled as urinals, resulting in piss seeping across the ground.

Day one had mostly ups but the downs weighed heavily on the Opening day of FIB’s big birthday celebration weekend.

Find out what went down on days two, three and four by clicking on the links below.

Day two featuring The Big Moon, Lana Del Rey and Gorgon City – Click here.

Day three featuring Blossoms and Kings of Leon – Click here.

Day four, featuring George Ezra and Franz Ferdinand – Click here.

Check out the full gallery below from day one at FIB Benicassim.