TribFest Bahrain

Twice a year the Rugby Club in Bahrain gets taken over. Taken over by Elton John, Lady Gaga, Robbie Williams, Freddie Mercury, and many more. This is a day of fun and enjoyment for families, couples, groups of friends, or just people on their own. This is TribFest Bahrain and we were there to experience it.

 

First Port of Calls at the Concert

We decided on going to the concert at about 1500PM as its a long day if there earlier. As we entered the Rugby Club, we could hear Stevie Wonder blasting out ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’. If you didn’t know any better you would think it was the real deal on the stage. We gave our tickets, had our bags searched. They took away my crisps! And in we went.

The first port of call was to the ticket stand. When buying anything from the many food stalls or bars in the place you don’t use cash. Everything is purchased with tickets. You buy a book of tickets which has coupons of different values on them. This is a good and bad thing. Good because there is no messing waiting for change. But bad as you always have tickets left over which are only valid for that day.

 

Food and Drink

We got our tickets and made our way over to one of the stands where we found a seat. We settled ourselves here for the afternoon and evening. From this vantage point we had a good view of everything, and also were in close proximity to the toilets and food stalls. The food stalls are of a good variety and never too busy. Pizza stalls, burger stalls, shawarma stands, stalls selling pork products, they were all here. And the prices are not a rip off.

On the grounds there are two temporary bars set up. We opted to buy a bucket of Somersby Cider so we wouldn’t have to keep running to the bar. Five bottles in a bucket filled with ice, very refreshing! The only complaint of the day however came at the bar. The staff were either not used to working in a bar, or could not understand the orders. There did not seem to be any senior monitoring them or to help them out. Maybe it was just the area I was going to but everyone that got served before me had problems there. However, it is a minor complaint and didn’t affect the whole day.

 

The Venue

The venue is basically a stage which is erected on the rugby pitch. All around during the day people have erected shades and tents to keep the sun off. But come sunset they are all taken down again. People have beanbags, folding seats, whatever they can bring to make themselves comfortable. As the day goes on, people start to move more towards the stage area. Obviously the alcohol has started to kick in and the dancing genes have come to the fore! There is security there but to be honest is never needed. There are a lot of families in the day, who drift away in the early evening. The whole venue and organisation is well done and very suitable for the concert.

 

The Acts

So to the acts. As mentioned Stevie Wonder was the first act we saw. He was just finishing and as we sat down to our drinks he asked for somebody to come on stage to help him off. They take the impersonations right down to the last detail! He looked like him, sounded like him, and even pretended he had no vision to make the act seem totally realistic.

After Stevie, we were treated to Elton John. Again the act was perfect.  You really believe that the singers themselves are on the stage! We got to see Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Britpop which is a compilation of the ’90s pop genre, and many more. Stand out acts included Freddie Mercury and Robbie Williams.

We got chatting to Robbie Williams and he gave us a great insight into the life of a tribute artist. It always amazes us to see how these guys and girls sound exactly like the real deal, and with a change of clothes and hair styling how they totally look like the artist they are impersonating. Some of them are not just impersonating one artist. Robbie informed us he was also Gary Barlow. Yet when you see the acts you would never imagine it was the same person.

 

The End of the Concert

At the end of the concert, we decided we would leave just before the final act ended. As always this was a good idea. There were plenty of taxis waiting outside for us. Give it another thirty minutes and you could be stuck waiting for ages for one. We got back to the hotel in around a half an hour, and after our long tough day of eating, drinking, and entertaining ourselves, it was off to bed!

 

Conclusion

TribFest is a good day out in Bahrain. Its enjoyable, the acts are good, the food and drink is plentiful, and everybody is on good behaviour. Whether you decide to go there as a family or just a few mates, you will fit in nicely and be able to have a good time. If you are in Bahrain around the times of year it happens, its definitely recommended to go and see what it is all about.

 

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