“Beach Break is pretty much the first festival of the Summer really, init”
-Example (main stage 2010)
As far as festival experiences go, this has been my first. Instead of using the Media Crew’s special camping area (with its own toilets and showers might I add!) we opted to set up the tent in one of the general camping spaces to see what it was really like living amongst the masses of students that have made the trip from across the UK for the 5 days of festive fun. Pembrey Country Park in Wales was the setting with the beach near by. I was praying the sun was going to come out and stay for the duration after travelling from a cloudy Portsmouth. The weather didn’t disappoint by the way, on the second day it turned out to be the beginning of one of the hottest weeks, well done to Beach Break Live!
Monday was really about setting up camp with minimal activities and no headliners. Food wise, there was more than the expected burgers and chips, hot dogs and ice cream. I was pleasantly surprised by the range of noms, including Fresh Sushi, Pizza Express, Mexican food, Spanish Churros, Pancakes and Paninis, cafes, organic burgers and sausages, beverages, vegetarian delights and more. A few favourite shout outs go to the Mexican burritos and dulux strawberry and ice cream pancake. For a meal it looked like on average to cost about a fiver, but the portions are enough to fill up a plate.
In the main arena a range of stalls can be seen selling fancy dress, jewellery, ethical clothing, vintage wear (dresses for a fiver!), body paints, holistic therapies, mobile phone charging and camping gear, as well as fun and games. The atmosphere in the park was brought alive with stunning decorations from the Big Waves Flags (8 metres high), vintage fun fair, giant deck chairs, graffiti artists and this years themed dressing up…Musical Legends! (although it soon turned out that anything goes; grannies, banana costumes, smurfs and Amy Winehouse outfits were amongst the crowds).
Music wise I found myself mainly at the Deuce Soundsystem, which was made up to look like a giant ghetto blaster near one of the entrances. The rig was so loud and powerful I could even hear it from my tent! London based club night Beat Redemption was sandwiched inbetween two funfair rides, The Residential Dance Motor Home had an array of djs playing everything from house to dubstep, The Record Shop hosting bands as well as the huge Merlin tent amongst others.
In contrast to the Dell main stage and the Merlin dance tent, BBL had an interesting range of smaller venues and hide outs for the non ravers, including the chilled out space of the Chai Wallah bar with it’s own stage for bands and djs, quality food and drinks, herbal shots and Shisha (for those who caught Leeds based ska/raggae band The Gentleman’s Dub Club on the last night, how f**king good were they?). The Moustache Bar hosted a range of entertainment with comedy, poetry, djs and bands and of course, moustache and beard painting for the brave. On the beach it felt nice to walk on proper sand and not the nasty pebbles you’d find on the Portsmouth seafront. The water was clear and I could even spot some sea life (cute titchy crabs). Volley ball, Beach Olympics, sand crafting from the Dirty Beach artists and acoustic bands on stage provided the entertainment and activities during the day.
Pompey’s very own DJ SDM performed at the Deuce Soundsystem open air venue on Monday evening and the massive Merlin Tent on Tuesday playing dubstep and grime. I managed to catch DJ/producer Lung, Plastician and Breakage on the Deuce stage, Subfocus (dj set), Annie Mac, Mistajam, Zinc, and Jack Beats packing out the Merlin dance tent late into the evening. The mighty Dell main stage had Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip (lots of swearing, naughty boys! but put on a wicked show), Example, Vampire Weekend, Elle Goulding (dragged everyone from their tents to the main arena), Beardyman and Calvin Harris. Chase and Status (live) ended the main stage performances on a high on Thurday night and I could literally feel the hairs on my arms stand up, the vibe was electric.
On a personal note by the third day I’d given up caring what I looked like, I hadn’t even used half of what I brought with me (make-up and clothing) and all I really wanted to eat was ice cream and suck on ice lollies to compensate for the incredible heat Wales was having. I’d been to the beach every day since Tuesday and not only do I have a wicked tan but I’m nursing a few burn patches on my arms. I also ended up squatting in bushes for a pee or into a cup to avoid smelling and looking at the crap and shit in most of the portaloos (best thing to do is go for your daily poo in the morning just after the loos get cleaned). With the use of (one of the best inventions ever) baby wipes I hadn’t had a shower since Monday morning (broken showers on site plus long queues = can’t be arsed). Nothing got nicked from our tent (although we had valuables in the car instead) and the students were more interested in having a good time rather than causing ruckus behaviour.
Beach Break Live caters mainly for students (£74 for early bird, £89 usually) while non-students can enjoy the festival for £109 (Portsmouth coach and return is £49).
Nothing will ever make you appreciate the importance of using a clean lavatory, a shower that works and your own bed, but for what it’s worth (and aside from all the moaning that happened with the lack of showering), Beach Break Live was an awesome experience, roll on BBL 2011!
Supporting
