Line up additions to Benicassim

Heineken Fiberfib at Benicassim, the most famous of the summer festivals in Spain, announced additions to the growing line up today - Echo and the Bunnymen, Hot Chip and Ellie Goulding are amongst the new names - the festival takes place from the 15 - 18 July and the line up is now - Vampire Weekend + Leftfield + Dizzee Rascal + The Cribs + Echo and the Bunnymen + Foals + Four Tet (live) + Hot Chip + Ian Brown + Ilegales + Klaxons + Mumford and sons + PiL + The Specials + Sr Chinarro + Benga + Calvin Harris + The Courteeners + Cut Copy + Dirty Projectors + Ellie Goulding + Jonston + Magnetic Man + Scratch + Perverts + Skream + Southern Arts Society + The Temper Trap + Triángulo de Amor Bizarro + Two door Cinema Club + Yacht & the Straight Gaze + Yuksek.
For travel and general information and more news as we get it, click on the headline, or go to twitter.com/thisisfib

Let's clear up a few things about Fib Benicassim

A longer summary is on its way but we would like to clear up a few facts about last weekends events at Benicassim. There was no hurricane. The festival was not cancelled. On Friday night there were horrific winds. There was a fire in a field across from the festival site but it was under control and put out within half an hour. The winds were so strong that the site was evacuated for the safety of everyone attending. The organisation did all they could to get everything in order for the next day, and things ran pretty smoothly the rest of the weekend, considering the fact that the kind of weather that hit Benicassim on day 2 of the festival was completely unprecedented.
Perhaps the only thing that could have been bettered was the information given out by the organisation, as it was unclear when the bands from Friday would be playing if they could reschedule them at all, but general feedback is that everyone had a pretty good time considering! There are several reports flying around the internet that it was all a disaster, mainly fuelled by Oasis' technical problems onstage on the Thursday, but by all accounts this has been happening during their whole tour. We also have heard reports of hundreds and hundreds of passports being stolen, but the British Consulate Press office in Madrid have confirmed directly to us that they have issued around 160 emergency passports around that weekend - from Barcelona down to Alicante, so could be anything from 1 to 160 in Benicassim only.
....And we can only begin to wonder what Bianca Gascoigne got up to between Friday and yesterday - if you're one of the boys she hitched to Calais with we would love to hear from you!

fib Benicassim, day 2. what a fibbing disaster!

photos from gtvone photography
fib, day 2. what a fibbing disaster!
Getting here later than we wanted, what with me Lolita, just giving up my job, and Anita doing a long day at the bank, we arrived to catch the beginning of Paul Weller, and were evacuated within the hour.
Quick resumen, as i am trying to catch 5000 concerts at the same time, whilst anita is catching up with twitter friends (we luuuuuuuuurve our twitter! http://twitter.com/thisisfib!) and childhood boyfriends (yes, you read right!); Friday night, was the worst night of our lives. Starting with a fire just outsite the festival site in some old vineyards, that got so big the organisers canceled the concerts on the escenario verde, the sky getting smokier and smokier, the press and vip stands being blocked off, security and organisation people screaming at each other via walkie talkies (how does a walkie talkie make you look sooo big and important?!) the next thing we know, the wind has picked up, the fib grounds are a sandstorm disaster, people are wearing their sunglasses to protect their eyeballs, and within half an hour, the green stage is falling down. 200,000 fibers come to a standstill, security guards have been called in to hold up the walls - no music, no screens, and no news. Apart from god knows who from FIB organisation, coming on every once in a while to tell us they are doing their best to sort everything out and they will be with us soon....
And then we were told to leave the grounds. all those people leaving at the same time, in a hurricane-like wind storm, 70KM/20degrees, which felt like -10 and a not a very happy, slightly tipsy and confused bunch of people. Directed towards benicassim town. All in all, we spent 4 hours trying to get a taxi, eventually getting home at 5am, after waiting 4 hours for someone to pick us up.
Got in to bed.
And now its Saturday. And saturday is brill. No Lily Allen, she has a tummy bug (or a 2 day hangover), no Kings of Leon from yesterday (which is crap as they have tried to re-schedule most bands that didnt play yesterday), but the vibe is AMAZING. It feels like every other year, people have got over the hump from last night, Maximo Park were fabby, Elbow got the crowd moving and us covered in goosebumps, and we are now about to meet up to watch Peaches strut her sexy stuff. More from us tomorrow, after the press Vs. artists football match which has been moved til tomorrow, (do join us for a midday paella and beer, its at 12 at the polideportivo in Benicassim!)
Lots of love kiddys, missing those that aren't here with us.
Lolita (and Anita, if i ever find her!)
Ps. 2manydjs 2 hour set tonight at 2am, i am soooo excited i could cry!

thisisfib - on twitter and tumblr

Anita Darling and Lolita Devine will be your eyes and ears and FIB Benicassim this year, they'll be tweeting from now on here and tumblring photos here and writing here - gonna be fun! We also have coming, over the weekend a guide to visitors to FIB and a forum here
FIB management say that tickets are now sold out and that they have now finalised the line up with the heroes of Spanish indie rock, Los Planetas, as the crown jewel of what is without doubt the most important programme of Spanish bands in FIB's history, and with Tom Tom Club, the perfect ending for this summer party.

ThisisValencia Community - ALL NEW SITE, JOIN NOW!

Our readers wishes have been granted today and a thisisvalencia community site is born!
Join today for forums, classifieds, photos (yours and ours!) ValenciaWiki, Valencia events calendar and all you need to know about Benicassim (and a way to connect with people who are coming) here

Festival Season has officially begun!

The Sun is shining cheerily this month in Valencia's bright blue skies, and thoughts inevitably turn to the scorcher of a Summer we are expecting to break free of Spring any minute now.
Skimpy dresses, microshorts, gladiator sandals and colourful Wayfarers are the order of the day and we want candy. Candy for our ears, yes indeed, bring on some outdoor dancing at a Music Festival near you...

What with "La Crisis" and all, it has to be said that the festies, are fewer and further between lately, but this weekend kickstarts festival season of a handful of really high quality events promising to be well worth the parting with of euros.
Back a second year, SOS4.8, this Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd of May in Murcia, brings Babyshambles, Duffy, Underworld, Duffy, Russian Red, The Prodigy and more to España for a two day tunefest for what they call the Festival Internacional de Acción Artística (Int'l Festival of Artistic Action) and its not all about the music either - this is a 48 hour stint of all kinds of artistic activities, to incite you to reflect on politics, science, philosophy and of course, the economy, with exhibitions, conferences and performances running alongside the concerts to blow your mind while you rock it out. Check it out here: sos

This weekend also may offer something to appeal to the more hardcore at heart. If this applies to you, you may like to take yourself off to Villarobledo for the XIV edition of Viña Rock. Moshpit action is guaranteed but also the best Spanish and Valencian music around, from flamenco fusion, rap and hip hop to rock and heavy metal. lineup is here and the tickets are pretty cheap for a three day event.

I myself am already scheming plotting and planning for July- FIB (Festival Internacional de Benicassim) is also back again for their fifteenth year of a week of beachside fun in the sun. Fashion, art, drama and music music music comprise a lineup that gets stronger and more diverse as the years fly by. Headlining this year we have Oasis, Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand and The Killers headline the four days, in that order, but it tends to be the names in the slightly smaller print underneath that float my boat. My girl Lily Allen (I think we'd make excellent friends, I've always said so) will be playing on the Saturday and we ladies at thisisvalencia (and the boys, go on admit it!) can't wait to clock her enviable wardrobe - Chanel, anyone? - and sing along to her songs from her amazing new album It's Not You It's Me under the stars.
2ManyDJs, also making an appearance this weekend at SOS always guarantee a wicked time and we will expected an impressive setlist of their brilliant bootlegs, mashups and remixes, clearing our FIB Agenda for them without fail. The DJs and the electronic music generally forms quite a large part of the lineup to the festival and I am particularly excited about the recent announcement of Steve Aoki's addition to thangs. I am surely not the only one who has joined the dots here and made the connection, but Aoki being at the Valencian Community's hippest event of the year must definitely mean he will be accompanied by party photographer and fun-seeker extraordinaire, best buddy Mark Hunter, a.k.a. the cobra snake . I have always kept a watchful eye out for him and his lens at Benicassim, it is, of course, our very own Coachella, and this year I am willing to put money on his showing up.
The last time I saw Peaches onstage at FIB she was sporting a strap-on and a 70s pornstar moustache so she is sure to entertain too and her backstage ensembles always make for brilliant photos (read - thigh-high silver boots and fishnets in 40º heat.)
To be frank though, despite all of the exciting new acts confirmed, when Kings Of Leon were announced back in they had me hook, line and sinker, those Morán boys. My obsession with the Followill brothers has escalated this year into something unhealthy. Don't fret though, dear reader, I am not the sort to plaster my walls with Kings of Leon posters to plant with a snog before bed, nor do I know all of their personal details by heart including birthdays, favourite colours and preferred nightcaps, I am simply captivated by the vocals (oh, Caleb, what a voice!) and lyrics. And their live performance is something spectacular - can't wait for them to grace the Heineken Green Stage with their presence. click here, tickets are still available!


photo © 2009 thisisvalencia.com

A rare opportunity to see Rodrigo Leao in concert

Rodrigo Leão is one of Portugal's most important composers and performers,
he started his career by working with some of the most prominent Portuguese groups of the 80's and 90's; first playing keyboards with Sétima Legião, an ensemble that produced new visions for Portuguese modern pop and three years later, he became part of one of the most significant Portuguese musical projects of all time, Madredeus, again playing the keyboards.
In 1993 that he decided to record his first solo album, Ave Mundi Luminar. The album reflected numerous influences, from classical music to modern downbeat sounds, with vocals by Teresa Salgueiro, and with lyrics written in Latin, the album ultimately obtained significant success all across Europe. A year later, Leão decided to abandon Madredeus, and from then on he focused entirely on his solo career. Theatrum, his second album, was released in 1995, once again inspired by electronic sounds and world music. More than five years later, in 2000, he released Alma Mater, his third album, once more receiving considerable acclaim. His last album, CINEMA, released in 2004 went straight to number one in Portugal and also received critical acclaim throughout the world.
His short 3 date tour of Spain begins in Benicassim this Saturday 18 April and continues through to Zaragosa on Monday 20 April and ends in Logroño, capital of Rioja, on tuesday 22 April
tickets for the Benicassim show which begins at 22:30 this Saturday are 12€ and are available through www.telentrada.com/902.10.12.12
Teatre Municipal de Benicassim: 964300102

The FIB Heineken 09 Line-up Starts to Take Shape

Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon and Paul Weller are the first confirmed names for the line-up of the most exciting and excellent summer music festival in Spain. This is going to be a line-up that you definitely do not want to miss!
Here's a reminder that 4-day tickets are on sale at a special launch price of ₤140 until January 15th. Tickets include free camping between the 13th and 21st July.
For more information go to tickets.fiberfib.com

Anita & PJ Are Reporting Live From Benicassim

It's that time of the year again, Anita Darling is at Fib Benicassim reporting live for us from this great festival, click the link to see the news and the pics from Last night here
There will be a gallery of pics and the full diary later in the week here

Rodrigo Leao and Ludovico Einaudi on tour

Rodrigo
Ludovico

As if all the events in our newsletter (http://www.thisisvalencia.com/news6.html) weren't enough, Two virtuoso pianists and composers come together for a short spanish tour this month, you'll have to travel a bit to see them if you are based in Valencia, they are appearing in Murcia (Friday 05 May Teatro Guerra, Lorca 22.00) Alicante (Saturday 06 May, Palacio de Congresos de Alicante 21.00) and in Benicassim (Saturday 12 May Teatro Benicassim 22.30) but it will be well worth the journey.
Portuguese Rodrigo Leao is best known for forming Madredeus, the internationally famous group, and Italian Ludovico Einaudi, was recently nominated for a BIFA award for his soundtrack to the Shane Meadows film 'This is England'

tickets from ticktackticket.com, telentrada.com and fnac.es