What is it with holiday parks these days? Once the preserve of families looking for a cheap and easy beach break, now they are being taken over by party animals. Bang Face Weekender, dubbed as "Neo-rave Armageddon", took over Pontin's Camber Sands from Friday, April 25th to Sunday, April 27th for the second dance music event at one of the venues this year (following Bloc Weekend at the Great Yarmouth site in March). Taking its cue from the London club night of the same name, the promise of mild paced reggae and dubstep through to techno and acid as well as the crazier stylings of jungle, breakcore and gabber is enough to send most modest ravers into meltdown at just the thought. For the Bang Face Hard Crew in attendance, it was more like euphoric hysteria.
Arriving with the sun joined by a giant, inflatable smiley in the sky above Pontin's there were few other giveaways that activities out of the norm would be occurring from Friday to Monday morning on a mild April weekend... save for a distinct lack of anyone under the age of 18. As chalets filled and excitement took hold during the day, there was a vague pounding sound coming from the usual on-site pub venue The Queen Vic but all ears were tuned into the opening ceremony at 8pm. An optional theme of "commemorating" the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 (Bang Face loves its fancy dress excuses), the main Bang Room had boiler suits, flesh eaten humans and other weird and wacky costumes amongst the crowd for the kick off. However, the initial half-hour sets from Glowstyx (AKA Bong-Ra) and DMX Krew was a weak fanfare for the event as a series of classics were dished up, including the first of many plays of The Prodigy's "Outta Space" throughout the weekend. Then Normski took to the stage...
The floor already littered with hats, glowsticks and all manner of inflatables there was no turning back.
The presenter of BBC2's Dance Energy in the early 90s probably wouldn't have been recognised by much of the crowd given those over 25 must have been in the minority, yet his call to action including the unforgettable phrase "It's not about the music, it's all about the drugs" was enough to suggest the party was about to really start. The floor already littered with hats, glowsticks and all manner of inflatables there was no turning back. Canadians Knifehandchop and Bogdan Raczynski then took to their laptops for the first sets as the rave commenced in earnest. Throughout the weekend the Bang Room was rarely less than energetic but Friday's "Utopia" night featured a major heavyweight of the breakcore scene — Venetian Snares. His relentless assault was one of the most talked about sets, laying down the gauntlet to all who followed. The Panacea did his best when closing the stage with some neo-rave techno but couldn't quite elicit the same level of craziness from the rabble.
Away from all this in the other main music arena, the Face Room, there was a more considered approach to the programming. Techno legend Juan Atkins was joined by UR founder Mad Mike Banks for a Model 500 live show, their methodical electro and techno putting Karl Bartos at Bloc Weekender to shame. Normski was down the front to see Atkins pose away as he lapped up the attention. Bass-electro act Modeselektor almost blew the speakers with their set while Radioactive Man was another highlight. Of course, this would all be enough for one night out, however as Bang Face Weekender headed into its "Meltdown" Saturday, the fall out was obviously going to be far-reaching.
By the time most people could rise and face another night of neo-rave armageddon, the Pontin's staff must have been wondering where all the guests had gone. Those with energy to get to the Face Room in the afternoon had the pleasure of the imported Aba Shant-I Soundsystem for a three-hour session of reggae and dub to clam everyone down. It was an impressive wall of sound as you would expect from the Notting Hill Carnival regulars and they shook the Pontin's foundations to a dangerous degree. As the ravers made their way back to the dancefloors in the evening, Tigerbeat6's Kid606 bashed out techno and his more mashed up classics in the Bang Room which kicked things off nicely. Phil Hartnoll got the opportunity to DJ but the former Orbital man's set which was basically a load of songs he used to perform live with his brother Paul. Not the most inspiring effort, but a trip down memory lane I suppose. Fresher music was heard in the Face Room where hyperdub chief Kode 9 was dishing up dubstep, Plaid made a rare live appearance and Mike Dred got his acid out along with The Doubtful Guest. The Bang Room's main attraction for the Saturday was Altern-8 as they continued the theme of turning back the clock with their 90s rave anthems then the DJ Producer piled on the gabber. Sadly the energy levels seen on Friday were never replicated, although Bang Face supremo Saint Acid managed to get dancers on stage for the last set of the evening. Over in the Queen Vic Ceephax made a late appearance to play one song... the Rocky theme. It was time for bed.
A mass, playful glowstick fight broke out.
When Sunday chalked round, "Survival" proved an apt title. Victorian time-traveling music performers Vexkiddy's theatrics, Beardyman's beatboxing and the infamous Squarepusher was about all I could handle, and the latter's closing performance was a pleasure as he whipped out his bass guitar to jam away over his laptop's drill and bass. A mass, playful glowstick fight broke out as he finished his set, something that had been brewing for the last hour as ravers collected the freebies thrown onto the dancefloor, before Saint Acid thanked everyone for the efforts. It was with much reluctance the crowd filtered back to their chalets or to see Camber Sands beach one last time, yet it gave the opportunity for a much-needed pause for reflection.
Bloc Weekend is perhaps the closest comparison that can be made with the Bang Face Weekender, and while Bang Face certainly aims to offer an excuse to have a full on party over the former's underground influences, there are perhaps a few lessons to be learnt. The lack of a 24 hour music venue would have been nice to help entertain the early risers and it was way too hot in the main room as fans failed to cool the sauna conditions. A lack of a visible noticeboard to inform of line-up changes also proved to be frustrating for many as a few artists either couldn't play or moved days completely without warning. But these are minor niggles for an event run smoothly and efficiently with no sign of an angry face among the crowd, staff or security. Like Bloc's residency at Great Yarmouth, the Bang Face Weekender is another example of how dance festivals at holiday park seem an obvious match given those in fields tend to need tented arenas anyway.
Sitting outside a chalet at 7am relaxing in the knowledge that a shower, bed and kitchen are all close by, as well as the safety that if it rains it won't really matter, make an attractive proposition when weighed up against a mudbath living on crisps and biscuits. They are also very much needed when you've been subjected to three day's worth of Bang Face parties. They aren't for the faint-hearted, but there will be many awaiting an announcement of next year's line-up ready to don fancy dress, wear silly hats and wave a free glowstick or two once more.
Republished August 2026.