Evan & I have been to them all and always have a lovely time - this year being no exception. Every year is unique, yet always great fun, with different highs and lows - this post though is dedicated to the Sunday evening Castle Stage set.
After the chaos of the Castle Stage on the Saturday - Trolley terror; Sunday was an absolute joy. We arrived early to get a nice spot on the barriers and with my broken leg it was relatively easy to stand on the flat surface and have the barrier as support.
For some reason Sunday down the front is always one of my favorite times and we always seem to meet some lovely people; this year being no exception. It just seems really chilled and I suppose as it is all more or less over the pressure is somewhat off!
Hilly - Looking stunning!
We settled in and awaited for the stunningly beautiful Anne Marie; you may know from lead vocals on the Rudimental track Rumour Mill. What an absolute delight Anne Marie was, chatting in between tracks with funny anecdotes as to why she wrote them (and most us us have been there too!) and pleasantly chatting with the crowd, then blasting in with some awesome dance tracks including her hit Karate and current single Alarm; that got the crowd bouncing and warmed up nicely for the headliners. Perfectly scheduled for the Sunday and I hope she comes back as I am sure it is not the last we hear from her.
After a short break it was the moment I had been waiting for, in say 1989 I was a HUGE metal fan but I still liked Tears for Fears. In the 90's I still liked them but when I hit my 30s I really appreciated them and realised just how fantastic musically they were so they went on my dream 'must see live' list and never did I think I would get the chance.
THEN you start to worry that they might just look like your Dad up there and have that 'drunken uncle at a wedding' dance thing going on....
I didn't need to have worried;
Entering to the Lorde cover version of Everybody Wants to Rule the World (From the Hunger Games, Catching Fire) the instant they struck the first chord the set was on fire. Absolutely perfect vocals, if not better than the original.
The set list went through all the hits from the first album, some from the early 00's - highlights of mine being Change, Pale Shelter and of course Mad World all completely amazing. Backing vocals from the very Joplin-esque Carina Round, simply amazed with very bluesy soulful tones and just made a great set even better. Very 'floyd' tones to the tune Closest Thing to Heaven sent shivers down my spine.
I believe it was 26 years since they had played a festival and I sincerely hope it is not the last, coming back for an encore of Woman in Chains (My fave) and the very crowd pleasing and insanely good Shout, wrapped up the evening before the firework spectacular.
Definitely the best headline act Camp Bestival has had so far - Absolutely Sunday Best!
