This year, Hippyshopper editor Abi Silvester decided to ditch the Glastonbury mud for sun, sangria and a great deal of dust at one of Spain’s newer festivals: Summercase, Madrid. Travelling from London by eco-friendly train, she explains how the trip was not your average festival bender.
There are all sorts of reasons to love European festivals, particularly those that take place in sunnier climes. Most importantly, no mud (I was more than happy to endure the dust storms instead), a built-in holiday somewhere foreign, and in my opinion, a better choice of bands – Spain is relatively big in the festival stakes, with Benicàssim proving an international success. The country still hosts fewer events than the UK however, meaning you get a good spread of big names at each festival and more bands for your money.

Summercase certainly didn’t disappoint on the bands front. Over its two-day run, it crammed in acts such as Arcade Fire, Jarvis Cocker, The Gossip, Lily Allen, PJ Harvey, the Flaming Lips, the Chemical Brothers, Bloc Party and dozens more. But what about the overall experience? Here’s where I felt it differed from the British festival scene.
One of the most noticeable differences was the decidedly un-British hours. Not wishing to burn, I was quite happy to arrive at the 8pm start, but not being made of particularly strong stuff I was gutted to have to miss some of my favourite bands who’d been billed for a 4am start – if you want to fit in sightseeing as well as rocking out on your foreign festival trip, you may want to wait until after the event has finished so you can nap in the daytime. I think the organisers had assumed that anyone wanting to see Felix da Housecat or the Chemical Brothers was going to be on chemicals, because they were both on stage in the wee small hours.
Another difference was the food. This was probably one of the least foodie festivals I’ve attended, which was mildly disappointing as I’ve come to see the veggie-burger van and big bowls of steaming pasta as part of the festival experience. That’s not to say there wasn’t food at Summercase – it was all just a bit regimented and rationed.
Along with the booze, you purchased a ticket on your way in that was valid for snacks of your choice: these consisted of chips, bocadillos (a ham or tortilla sandwich) hamburgers and not much else. A very simple system you’d think, but unfortunately the limited selection didn’t make the service any faster. Next year, it would be better if Summercase got in some concessions that specialise in food, as it clearly wasn’t their forté!
But the atmosphere was a definite plus point for Summercase, as the Mediterranean pace of life is very well suited to the festival environment. There was no noticeable excessive drunkenness or falling over, and a varied mix of nationalities gave it a very cosmopolitan feel. I’d definitely go again, and would recommend this festival to anyone who wants the music without the mud. [Abi Silvester]

Possibly related:

1. Festivals round-up: Latitude’s carbon-neutral DJ, Flaming Lips hit Indian Summer and Lounge On The Farm

2. Jarvis Cocker talking is still more interesting than most bands’ music

3. Jarvis Cocker: “BBC 6 Music is worth fighting for”

4. Festival News: Lovebox ticket mix-up, Sebastien Tellier charms Latitude audience, drugs seized at Summercase

5. The Kooks, Jarvis, Hot Chip - October sees the return of Oxjam. Guilt-free gigging ahoy!

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Monday July 30th, 2007 at 2:30 pm