The International Festival de Benicassim is over, and we’re back in a grisly ill-weathered England – craving sunshine, and the return of destroyed brain cells…

Muse, closed the Fib festival with great space rock aplomb – the soaring nature of the trio combined with their spectacular video projections that included giant marching robots and melted acid-like views from the stage – proved to be amazing.

The eclectic array of music accros the four days/ nights saw great perfomances from bands that anywhere else wouldn’t share the same billing.

From the brilliant live noise of !!! to the Human League via Dinosaur Jr and Wilco – not to mention the variety and slew of dance acts that kept Benicassim partying till the very late hours of the morning – there was so much on offer for music fans of any ilk.

Fischerspooner and U.N.K.L.E both were great live night offerings – Fischer especially – dancing in his short shorts, looking like Ozzy Osbourne and flanked by dancers in 80s style jogging outfits.

By day, festival goers headed in droves to the local beach to sleep off their hangovers, preparing for the following evening’s entertainment with more san miguel and a splash in the breaking waves of the sea.

Our highlights of the festival though were seeing the chaotically brilliant stage invasion during Iggy Pop and the Stooges opening night set, and the amazingly cramped but electric tent when the Klaxonsfinally made the stage – four hours after they were originally due to play.

Annoying for them – they jetted straight off to the south of France straight after the show – and Uncut heard on the plane on the way home last night that Klaxon Jamie Reynolds has broken his leg in two places – OUCH! – stagediving into the crowd at their massive show with Kasabian somewhere near Neme. Apparently they’re a bit worried about their headlining performance at this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals; taking place next month. We think he should wheel himself out in a wheelchair and plaster cast. The wheels could be decorated with those neon bike wheel spokes they used to give out free in Frosties cereal packets in the late 80s…

Other highlights were the amazing Wilco and the Arctic Monkeys – performing the best gig I’ve seen them do, ever.

The Arctics’ biggest headline show in the UK to date this coming weekend (July 28) at Old Trafford should be something truly special going by what they did at Fib.

Of the ‘revival’ bands on offer, the B-52s were top fun, with ‘Love Shack’ going down a treat with the dancing crowd, and Devo were absolutely great too – a vision of yellow boiler suits and dapper red hard hats.

Can’t wait for next year’s festival – festivals by the beach – what a fantastico idea!

What did you think of the festival? Statistics say that at least 45% of the festivals tickets were sold to fans in the UK – was the festival a good holiday? Getting a tan, tapas and watching bands in tents that cover you in mist – what were your favourite moments? What’s the best Spanish phrase you’ve managed to pick up? Do you think Muse are aliens, come to conquer the Earth before getting back in their spaceship? Did you make it to the Aquapark or Go-Karting – we tried but couldn’t fit it in…

Let us know here, we want to know what else was going on this weekend…

For our reports from Benicassim – check out our festival blog here: www.www.uncut.co.uk/festivals

Pic credit: Guy Eppel