Matt's Review This was an awesome V festival weekend where I, and thousands of others were blown away by some absolutely stunning music. When the line-up was announced all that time ago for V's 10th birthday it was clear that only the biggest bands and coolest names were going to be allowed on the bill, and the weekend proved it. Let's face it, at £100+ for a weekend ticket with camping, it had to be good! Day One On entering the arena for Day One, that little buzz of hedonism grabs you... two whole days of sun-soaked fun, in a field full of like-minded people and some cracking bands. I didn't have to wait long for my first taste of the tuneage on offer. The Canadian MC K-Os was busy welding reggae and soul hooks to his hip-hop beats inside the JJB Puma tent, and it seemed pretty rude not to go and have a look. The tent was already steaming hot, with bodies gyrating to the groove of the music - all this at just ten past one?! Goodness knows what it would be like come the evening... The weather continued to be kind throughout the afternoon, and with plenty of stages on offer it was time for a wander round. There was everything from fairground rides to bungee jumps for those who weren't into the music and the multitude of food on offer was simply too tempting for some of us... (?!) Crooning Staffordshire's very own Tony Christie might have been a surprise addition to the line-up, but his feel-good selection of tracks went down surprisingly well. But to be honest, my tastes are a little more leftfield, and having sampled some of the main stage fare, I was off to hit the tents. The Ordinary Boys' fizzy ska-pop got the early evening crowd moving - tracks such as 'Boys will be Boys' recalling the jaunty, cheeky fun of Madness and the Jam-esque romp of 'Week In Week Out' stood out most of all. Satisfied with the Boys' raucous offerings, I went to check out Goldfrapp. Alison Goldfrapp's sultry vocals sent shivers down my spine, while the loops and fuzzes of her electronica tweaked the dancing muscles nicely. The stand out track was the aptly-named 'Train' which thundered along with a raunchy grind. Choice... The beauty of the music festival is that if you don't want to see a band, you just wander off and see one that you do! Saturday's selection was more of a pick and mix for me - which meant quite alot of walking between stages! This wasn't all bad as it gave me chance to check out the numerous food and merchandise stalls on offer. I was surprised to find a variety of culinary flavours - from paella and nachos to your usual burgers, chips and hot-dogs. What really reminds you that you're at a music festival though is the quality of the toilets. For gents, there were at least urinals, but for the ladies, there was no such easy option... | "I wasn't to be disappointed, as the boys from Braintree kicked off with the audio equivalent of a meaty right hook, delivering 'Their Law'" | | Matt Newsum describes the Prodigy's 'knockout' set |
After having a good wander round the site (and a eye-wateringly hot curry to boot) I made my way over to check out Franz Ferdinand. Their art-rock posings drew a massive crowd, but with one eye on the Prodigy's set which I needed to hot-foot it to, I didn't stick about for long; long enough however to catch the impressive 'Take Me Out' and the piston-tight pounding of 'Matinee'. Heavyweight They were good, but the heavyweight contest for me was the Scissor Sisters v The Prodigy. I'd tucked myself away in the latter's camp, and I was eagerly awaiting a titanic battle. I wasn't to be disappointed, as the boys from Braintree kicked off with the audio equivalent of a meaty right hook, delivering 'Their Law' from the classic 'Music for the Jilted Generation' album. This was quickly followed by a combo of big hitting punches, the heaving bass of 'Spitfire', the jump up craziness of 'Poison' and the intense trio of 'Breathe', 'Firestarter' and 'Voodoo People' were delivered with venom, as a hypnotised crowd swayed, on-the-ropes and blown away by the almighty power of a band returned to form. How else could they end the day, than with the victory dance of 'Out of Space'? The day had been long, the battle hard - but we were the winners after seeing that set. Tomorrow promised plenty... Day Two If The Prodigy had set the standards high, then at least Sunday's line-up was packed full of bands who could try and match it. Oasis were on the bill, though they weren't on my list of bands to see, surprisingly. After arriving around midday it was nice to be able to chill out and soak up some of the beautiful weather. I did get my backside moving though at around half one so I could catch the mighty Goldie Lookin' Chain in action. Some purists have slated them, but their quirkiness and mickey-taking attitude to hip-hop actually make for a decent listen. Tracks like 'Soapbar' and 'Guns Don't Kill People' took big pop hooks and stapled quirky raps to them, which added to the visual spectacle of a group of grown men prancing around in oversized sportswear... well, you can imagine the vibe! My initial plan was to go and catch the Magic Numbers, but not for the first time that day, I was to miss out due to mass demand. Like a couple of bands such as the Kaiser Chiefs, their profile had grown bigger than the stage they were on, and as such it proved very difficult to get in for their set. Instead I ventured to try and get my phone charged - what a mission! The designated phone points didn't seem to have a compatible charger, so I had an awful long walk to find the one that fitted... I did eventually, not before missing The La's and the hotly-tipped Kooks though... Legendary... After finding myself some snap - a chicken curry - I went to see a band whom I had been looking forward to seeing for some time. Sonic Youth, those grandfathers of alt.rock, were coming onstage and I'd even managed to weedle my way to the front to get a close-up view. Now most bands who are third up on the bill would play a crowd-pleasing set, full of hits (come on this is the Youf?!) - but this is Sonic Youth and they can do pretty much what they want to. Thurston Moore's lazy drawl, Kim Gordon's chillingly effortless vocals, Lee Reinaldo's frenzied riffage; it all added up to a thrilling display - capped off by the fact they played my fave 'Youf song - the anthemic 'Mote' from "Goo". I could even forgive them their minute long faffing about with feedback after each song... Doves fly... The appearance of the Kaiser Chiefs on the C4 stage had drawn the vast majority of people, so finding my way to the Doves' performance was made all the more difficult by the hordes of people leaving that stage for elsewhere. The Doves were probably one of the most underrated bands at the whole festival. Seemingly genuinely happy to be there, a warm, pleasant set of uplifting indie rock was the reward for those plumping for them ahead of Maroon 5. A startlingly good version of 'Pounding' got the heads bobbing, while a tear-jerking 'Cedar Room' was emotive and passionate in equal measure. Experimenting... The mass exodus for Oasis was to be expected I guess, but that wasn't to deter the Chemical Brothers from working their rhythmic magic on the crowd. For those anticipating a 4/4 hammering of acid classics, this wasn't the night. The Bros' delivered trippy gems such as 'Surrender' and 'Star Guitar' with just a smattering of awesome, tower-block sized breaks (a la 'Galvanise' and 'Believe') to garnish. Standing there in the middle of the beautiful park, the strobe lights are flickering, lasers beaming out into the night's sky and shooting into the crowd, while the warm pulse of the music emanates from the massive sound system. And I'm thinking to myself - "Yes, this is bliss... This was V... I'll be back next year I'm sure." ************************** Paul T's Review Wow what an amazing weekend. I’ve been going to V now since 98 and this year was the most maxed out weekend of them all. For those of you that went you must surely agree that it was a fantastic line up, and a fantastic weekend. Band of the weekend? For me over the whole weekend, it was the Prodigy, headliners on the Channel 4 stage: an incredible performance and they sure got the crowd going.
I don’t think there was one person out there not jumping; you could feel the ground shake. Bring em back next year to the main stage! Overall, all the bands that I got to see I was lucky enough to get to the front - which in itself was an experience. Saturday...
Rooster - I caught the tail end of their performance, really great live.
And get this, I thought ‘what the hell, Tony Christie?' but dare I say he was quite good and as good as all the other blasts from the past such as artists from previous V years (like Elvis Costello from V02, Iggy Pop from V98 and the phenomenal James Brown from V99).
Others to mention from Saturday... Joss Stone - what a honey, and great all round if you know what I mean.
Athlete - back again after their first visit to V in 02 (what a cracking band).
A first for me, Franz Ferdinand - they’re wicked live and I’m looking forward to their new album.
El Presidente & The Hives both rocked. Sunday...
Still on a high from the day before and once again a great line up.
Goldie Lookin Chain centrally filled the main stage, some class lyrics.
Good Charlotte rocked and I managed to get my wallet signed by them... the best!!
Kaiser Chiefs had everyone rocking.
The Streets - not really my scene but they were worth seeing.
To top it all Oasis - class!! Wonderwall- epic track. Overall...
A fantastic weekend with loads of food, plenty to drink, dosh spent (it’s the only time I think anyone pays for chips at 3 quid a head!)
Free drinks from the Strongbow rooms - couldn’t fault that.
What a weekend and to top it all the weather couldn’t have been any better.
See you next year! | 
