No Time Zone. No Jet Lag. Living The FIB Time Warp.

Can we turn back time? Can we live as a thirty-something in our fifties? Can we travel across six time zones without jet lag? Five days ago my answer would have been no. But now? It’s a yes.

I just returned from five days in Valencia, Spain. Benicassim to be specific – thanks to the Valencia Tourist Board. But their kind invitation gave me more than a trip to Spain. It gave me a new sense of the possible.

Fan watching Vampire Weekend at The FIB

The focus of my visit was The FIB – Festival Internacional de Benicassim – four days of pop, rock, rap…. A huge draw for the Brits as well as the Spanish, this festival taught me that time can lose all meaning. Stimulated by the music as well as the scene, I never felt jet lagged. I survived on very few hours a night. To bed by 3am (or 4) and, of course, up early to take in local attractions including a solo day trip to the city of Valencia.

The FIB, Benicassim
Kids screamed. Music pulsed. At times my clothes literally shook from the bass notes. From 6pm to 6am, from July 15^th to 18^th, The FIB offered up some of the hottest bands in Europe in a four day party. There were other travel and music bloggers on this trip. Press passes in hand, we went to the pit in front of the stage to catch pictures of the various bands including Vampire Weekend, The Specials, The Prodigy, Dizzee Rascal, and the Gorillaz.

But, of course, I also took off solo to explore The FIB my way.

Solo I found my highlight of The FIB
By taking off solo, I was free to explore as I wanted. And, naturally, I ended up with an experience that no one else had.

The Sunday Drivers in their last performance at The FIB 2010

I tripped over it really. Wandering off to the far stage (there were three), I stood at the back for a while and listened to a band. I had no idea who they were but they were singing in English and
they were great! I made my way towards the front. Then to the very front. And listened to their whole performance. It wasn’t long before I was desperate to know who I was listening to.

But, being considerate of the crowd that were totally with the band, I held back until the end. Then, I turned around and started asking people: Ingles? Habla inglés?

I found a small group of four who told me the story. I was listening to The Sunday Drivers. But this wasn’t just any performance of The Sunday Drivers – a wildly popular Spanish band. It was their farewell show. This is why they were the only band I saw that did encores. And, at the end, family and friends poured onto the stage for hugs in celebration. It was a scene.

I had an absolutely fantastic time in Benicassim. I’ll write more about the day excursions but truly, what I have taken most from this trip is an extraordinary awareness of the possible. That time is indeed relative – relative to what you are doing. If you’re having a great time, the hour , time zones, jet lag… mean nothing.

These two girls were having a blast dancing to the Pinker Tones.

The Gorillaz were fantastic live!!!

Dizzee Rascal

Rockin' out to The Specials

Johnny Rotten (Lydon) and Public Image Ltd at The FIB

Not all the kids of The FIB were young.

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