Relentless Energy Drink in association with Vans Boardmasters 2011 went off with another great year of music and action sports.
We made the long trek down to Newquay after the usual nightmare of trying to organize several people to be in the same place at the same time with all the right gear – for some reason, and I’m sure this is some kind of curse, it all falls apart every time Rogue goes to cover an event.
I’ll save you the painful details, we made it down there on wednesday and got right down to checking out the scene and having some fun. We camped at Smugglers Haven again, with some trepidation, last year that place was insane, crazier than the festival itself but this year there was a different vibe on site, waaaay more chilled but still loads of drinking going on – brilliant!
The Watergate festival site didn’t kick off til friday so everything was happening down at Fistral. There was some serious skills hitting the vert and mini ramp and the waves held out long enough to host the surf comp (click here for the results). There was loads of energy on site during the day and, well, anyone who’s been out in Newquay at night knows how insane that place can get. Our plan was to save it for the weekend, no hope of that.
Newton Faulkner’s set at the sold out Beach Bar blew the crowd away, even Radio 1 was getting in on the action with Fearne Cotton broadcasting her show live from the event.
Friday rolled around in a blur of surf, skate, (some) sun and Rattler – a lethal local cider – time to hit the music part of the festival at Watergate. The constant drizzle dampened the atmosphere through the afternoon and I was afraid the weekend was going to be a washout, fortunately I was proven wrong.
We went to the Vans stage feeling the need to hear some rock music, it seemed to fit with the rain and caught the Bangers thrashing away, never hear of them before but those guys know how to write a song, solid rock. So far so good. We wandered into the Tuaca Electric Garden to grab another drink. Benji Boko was on the vinyl and threw down my favorite mix of the weekend – Mario Brothers theme tune into the the from Fresh Prince, slamming!
Eliza Doolittle brought the sunshine on the main stage, belting out ‘Pack Up’ to a soaking crowd who soaked up the good vibes, putting a smile on our faces and lyrics on our lips. The Klaxtons headlines the main stage with some impressive samples announcing the set, but when they kicked in it did take a while for themselves to deliver.
Saturday was even better. Zane Lowe owned the stage and the crowd with his mixes that are becoming the stuff of legend, Jaguar Skills were ridiculous, the crowd was so big there was a surge and security had to pull back the fences to prevent a crush! Fat Boy Slim was everything we were expecting, showing the new school acts how to do it, much like Leftfield did last year.
As ever there was a weekend of carnage, one of the guys fractured his hand jumping around to Zane Lowe. The surf conditions and lack of sun could have put a downer on the weekend but with so many good acts and athletes performing, it was impossible not to have a good time. Roll on 2012.
Gillan Williams
