The Tears, Keane and The Cure wow Benicassim Festival in Spain

Spain | by Andrew Future | 07 August 2005

The 11th Benicassim Festival in Spain sees over 7,000 Brits flock to see The Tears, Keane and The Cure join Basements Jaxx, Oasis and many more at Europe´s best festival.

Las inglesas flock to FIB

Thousands of English music festival fans have flocked to the village of Benicassim for the 11th annual Benicassim Festival. Over 7,000 Brits - nearly a quarter of the total audience - have seen The Tears, Keane and The Cure wow on the Green Stage during over the last three nights.

The Tears opened proceedings on Thursday night with a set that sadly didn´t include any Suede material. Bernard Butler stole the show however, with Brett Anderson still a little bemused at having to catch the 8.30 train from Barcelona with the rest of the English crowd. They were supported by The Polyphonic Spree who put in a typically bombastic performance wearing blue and red robes.

Friday night saw Athlete kick off proceedings with quite a respectable crowd. Despite technical problems and their bassist forgetting his passport, their set, comprising mainly of songs from their new LP, ´Tourist´, proved quite a hit with the Spanish crowd. The Cure were in top form however. With a set comprising of many obscure tracks (as well as a few hits) they couldn´t fail to impress.

Robert Smith revealed in a press conference that the band are due to record a new LP this winter which will hopefully be released on his birthday next year. Smith will turn 47 on April 21 2006. Basement Jaxx followed with a quite astonishing set of hits before Doves set about their trademark northern soundscapes getting everyone in gear for Sunday night´s Oasis show.

Tonight has seen Keane put in a career defining set. Although it was much the same as their Glastonbury performance, tonight´s reception was extraordinary to say the least. VF will have exclusive on-stage photography online next week. Kaiser Chiefs took to the stage earlier in the evening for the early risers, with a myriad of top DJs spinning on long into the night. Rest assured VF will be keeping pace with full coverage online in the next couple of days.

Tomorrow night (Sunday) sees Nick Cave and Oasis headline, with a beach party to follow on Monday night.