The festival was the success it deserved to be. As well as the awesome Jersey bands, it bought over some of the biggest names in music at the moment. A special mention also needs to go to Cole Parker, the compere for the evening; a top comedian on the UK circuit and for BBC 6music. Cole also hosts the monthly Comedy Store at the Royal Hotel and although only on stage for 20 minutes, he had enthusiasm of a scale needed to introduce the bands. The Subways The first band on was one of the two highlights of the evening for me. The Subways are absolutely awesome, a great live band that can fill the largest of stages with their presence. In fact you could have put them in a massive field and they would still have filled it.  | | The Subways |
The chemistry between uber rock chick Mary-Charlotte Cooper and potential rock legend Billy Lunn is more than obvious, the boyfriend-girlfriend duo hit the right parts at the right time and really feed off each other's enthusiasm. There was jumping, running, dancing and a lot of beer but they were all the better for it. Josh Morgan, the bands ever energetic drummer didn’t let the side down either, playing like it was the last gig he would ever play and really meaning every beat. Chatting to the band afterwards it was obvious these guys really have their heads stuck on, despite the fact that they are possibly one of the biggest live bands around at the moment and in massive demand. Their music is pure rock with a punk feel, they play it with an energy, that if bottled could revive people from the dead. This is a band that although very young will go a very long way. With songs like "Rock 'n' Roll Queen" and "at1am" I’m sure we will hear a LOT more from The Subways in the future. The Open Liverpool band ‘The Open’ are a great guitar band with a melodic undercurrent, provided masterfully by Alan Dutton on keys and an almost psychic musical connection between the other band members, their guitars are as one in merging a thrashing guitar rock with an almost classical melody.  | | The Open |
Fresh from Reading, Leeds and Cardiff the band were finely tuned and open to offer something special to the mass of people ready to receive it. Playing an awesome set of sweeping guitar songs with a ‘I love what I do’ attitude, The Open gave Jersey just what it was looking for. With regular guitar changes adding to the performance this was a band that requires more than just listening to. These are guys you have to watch, soak in the sound and make the noise that only comes after waiting a long time to go to the toilet, a sort of ahhhh sound. They are a band that deserves respect for song writing, performance and musical ability. Their sound demands loyalty, their set wills you to listen and they love every bit of everything they do, and they gave a mention to good old Jim Bergerac. Delays Southampton band Delays are in a word 'incredible', they play a style of music that is part indie, part pop but the kind of pop that deserves to be listened to.  | | Delays |
As well as describing themselves as' the saviours of pop' this quietly spoken but lively band also want to form a new sound ‘Solent Beat’ and they are on their way to achieving this with debut album ‘Faded Seaside Glamour’. Lead singer Greg Gilbert's sensational raspy falsetto voice fuses perfectly with their clear melodic sound that can both break hearts and heal wounds in one move. Their performance was no less than outstanding, they played a set that sounded better than their CD and looked every bit the part of saviours of pop, but with a raspy rock edge. This is another band that is all about the music, they love what they do, they love what they play and they love it when other people listen. When I spoke to Aaron Gilbert last week, he said he still finds it strange that people are buying their CDs and actually listening to their music. This level-headed, laid back attitude screamed through in their live set. Razorlight Needing no introduction, NME darlings Razorlight have taken the music industry and the UK by storm in just a few months with a selection of incredible songs, a debut album that is great from start to finish and Jonny Borrell as their frontman. Not only did the band own the stage but they also owned the bit in front of it, the bit behind it and everybody within about a half mile radius of it, including the cows in the next field, in fact I think I saw daisy trying to buy a Razorlight t-shirt just after the set.  | | Razorlight |
I mentioned two highlights of the day and Razorlight were without a doubt the stars of the show, they could have been booked as the headline band. They out excelled The Thrills on both performance and music and they had the crowd jumping the barrier forcing 8 security guards to get in line. Jonny jumped off the stage more than once running up to the crowd sharing the love, he shakes, rattles, roles and does everything you would expect from a super star with more energy than Mick Jagger in his hey day. Performance aside the music was as incredible as the show, Razorlight could just stand there and play and it would still have the crowd screaming for more. For a band that has only been in the public eye for about a year, to have full command of a capacity festival crowd who knew all their songs well enough to sing along, is more than impressive. When they played "Golden Touch" the whole island seemed to jump up and scream, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trinity actually shook with the reaction to Razorlight’s signature tune. More than this both "To The Sea" and "In The City" were enough to almost cause mass hysteria. The Thrills The final band to take to the stage was the headline act, The Thrills, fresh from a day jet-skiing in St Ouen, the band played a set to be proud of.  | | The Thrills |
Slightly upstaged by the mighty Razorlight but still a force to be reckoned with, Ireland's answer to a 21st Century Beach Boys, The Thrills mix awesome guitar rock with the type of melodies only the Irish seem able to pull off with success. The performance was everything you would expect from a band with a multi-million pound record company behind them, competent, great sounding and energetic. They mixed songs from massive hit album "So Much for the City" including "One Horse Town" and "Big Sur", with tracks from their new album "Lets Bottle Bohemia" including the obvious hit "Whatever Happened to Corey Haim". Dance Tent I didn’t get in to the dance tent but reports from people that did seem to put a massive emphasis on the Scratch Perverts set. If you went in why not use the form at the bottom of this page to let us know what you thought... The whole festival was an great success with a capacity crowd by about 5pm, excellent food and toilets that compared to other festivals where absolute shrines to the gods of bog. Well done to Warren Holt and Warren le Sueur and anyone else involved in setting up what will hopefully become the highlight of the Jersey calendar, every year.
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