In Focus

05 December 2008 04:39 BST

Camp Bestival - the inthenews review

A festival aimed at yummy mummies and freaky daddies is how organiser Rob da Bank described Bestival's little sister, Camp Bestival.

A place where 30-something couples, who yearned to escape a world of nappies and school runs, could let their hair down for a weekend without worrying about who was going to look after the kids.

The inaugural festival had a very simple premise, a bit for the children and a bit for the adults, and it was clearly very appealing as over 10,000 people descended onto the spectacular grounds of Lulworth Castle in Dorset for the weekend.

On Friday night the crowds were wowed by guitar legend Chuck Berry headlining, an act of such colossal stature that almost every subsequent act during the weekend felt obliged to make reference to him at some stage in their set.

The festival really kicked into gear though on the Saturday when the true appeal of the weekend became evident. The organisers had decided to help induce as much fun as possible by declaring a fancy dress theme for the day, Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter's tea party. The sight of fully grown men in dresses and children dressed as white rabbits perfectly summed up the twin appeal of Camp Bestival.

On the main stage, King Creosote entertained early on with his folksy and mellow tunes, nursing those with sore heads from the night before back into the swing of things. Following him came festival veteran and folk 'legend' Billy Bragg. It was of note that Bragg drew one of the biggest crowds of the weekend and New England had the crowding singing louder than during any other song performed by any other act, surely an indication of the age and the type of crowd present at the festival.

In marked contrast, next-big-things the Black Kids followed Bragg to a much smaller and more subdued crowd. However, it's impossible not to be caught up in the Florida five-piece's bouncy and funky tunes and it wasn't long before people were back up and jumping around again, especially when I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance blasted out in brilliant sunshine.

Away from the main stage, the Laughter Library tent was hosted by MC Scroobius Pip for the afternoon with an array of poets reading their work, of which Glastonbury's resident poet A F Harold proved a considerable hit with his simple comedic poems delivered in an almost apologetic style.

Around the site there was almost too much for the children to do with live jousting competitions, bouncy castles, dress-up tents, Punch and Judy shows and as fortune would have it, Lulworth Castle just happened to have a petting zoo in its grounds for all to enjoy.

In the evening, the dance tent kicked into gear with the Queens of Noize living up to their name and providing a welcome outlet for those at the festival not just for the sake of their or anyone else's children.

The Flaming Lips headlined the main stage as the last act on Saturday night in what would be inevitably be a slightly disappointing set. Visually, you can not fault the American band for sheer energy and effort, beginning their set with Wayne Coyne rolling down the steps of Lulworth Castle towards the stage in a massive inflatable ball. Their stage performance was hugely impressive with a completely out-there light show. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots was a particular highlight, perfectly capturing the mood as the sun set and the moon rose above the stage. Whilst the set continued to be visually captivating, it was apparent that the younger legs began tiring considerably as it went on and Coyne's continual request to the crowd to make some noise perhaps highlighted the wavering attention of some. The set was a little self-indulgent and an attempt to get the crowd involved in an anti-Bush political song fell on deaf ears. As a whole, however, the Flaming Lips were inoffensive and probably a perfectly act to headline Camp Bestival.

Later, the Laughter Library and the Balearic Bollywood Bar were rammed as people searched for a continuation of the nights' activities. Ian Stone and Andrew Maxwell were particularly favourites in the comedy tent while DJ Yoda kept campers dancing until the wee hours.

On Sunday, thankfully the organisers decided to start the music earlier than scheduled meaning it was possible to enjoy bands in the afternoon sun. Another symbol of the slow pace/chilled vibe at Camp Bestival was the sight of groups of people sitting in front on the main stage reading the Sunday Times and rocking their push chairs back and forth while the bands played.

Ladyhawke was an absolute triumph early on, arriving on stage without even a "hello". Pip Browne performed a fantastic set with a combination of the Kiwi singer-guitarist's sweet Cyndi Lauper-esque vocals backed by the jamming and catchy playing of her band. Pretty much silent between songs, Browne admitted her obvious awkwardness on stage by claiming "I'm not to good at talking between songs" before staring at her keyboard and playing some bum notes. Her stage presence obviously needed some improvement, but her voice and guitar playing, especially on My Delirium, were fantastic.

By the end of Ladyhawke's set the crowd had swelled noticeably just in time for arguably the best act of the weekend. The fact that Beardyman managed to achieve that accolade is even more impressive considering he plays no instruments. The UK beatbox champion completely wowed the crowds with his utterly brilliant skills and had the masses bouncing and jumping almost as much as Rob Da Bank managed during his set on the Saturday night. Free-styling and sampling the sound engineer's awkward forced sentences into the mike, Beardyman was unreal and pretty much stole the show.

It was unfortunate then that heralded newcomers Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong followed the extraordinary one-man band that is Beardyman. Again arriving without a single murmur to the crowd the young band set about banging and playing their instruments as hard as possible before Joe Lean (Joe Beamont) flounced his way onto stage apparently expecting the crowd to run towards him and fall at his feet. Instead there was a very subdued reaction to the band with the older audience not quite on board or ready for what was on offer. One crowd member nearby was heard to exclaim: "How old are they?!" while leafing through the News Review of a certain weekend newspaper.

In their defence, after a decidedly shaky start Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong eventually found their feet and by the time they got round to performing pervious single Lonely Buoy they were well on their way to a half-decent set. The principle problem appeared to be a failure to accept the event at which they were playing and to what kind of audience. Their too-cool-for-school attitude unfortunately looked a little immature and amateurish, a shame as the band clearly has talent in the bucket-full.

Sunday night's headliner Kate Nash by all accounts went down well with those remaining at Lulworth. A proportion of the festival-goers decided to call it a day at some point during the day though as children began to flag and the office on Monday morning began calling.

It is fair to say then that the festival was a complete success and if there was anyone present not enjoying themselves they were hard to spot. There were the obvious teething problems associated with an event catering to thousands of people, especially one in its maiden year. Subsequent mutterings about toilet shortages appear to be a tad harsh and went completely unnoticed by this reviewer. Camp Bestival did exactly what it set out to do and achieved it with commendable ease. There wasn't a child to see who wasn't enjoying themselves or an adult not soaking up the glorious weather, great music and plentiful cider tents.

The festival will undoubtedly be back next year and will only grow from strength to strength. Perhaps next time, though, there might be someone a little edgier headlining one of the nights for those not yet ready to embrace family life.

Richard James