Virgin was the first mobile phone company to sense there could be an opportunity to grab a sponsorship deal during the festival season. Whilst others have followed suit, Virgin is miles ahead. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the V Festival. A landmark celebration brings with it a few concerns. The main one is - Can it live up to it's hype? Luckily for promoters, metropolis music and all who were involved the answer was a big fat yes! However the question we were asking ourselves was could we pull a good review out of the bag the morning after despite losing our car and having our review caps on after a few hours sleep. The answer to this question is down to you, or lovely readers. Here's our rundown from the weekend,
SATURDAY
With four stages to choose from after the gates opened just after noon we were spoilt for choice. The Stands opened the V stage whilst Tom Vek, Tara Blaise and Coutermine kicked off the proceedings on the Channel 4, JJB/ Puma and Volvic stages respectively. ABLE2UK however opened our first complimentary bottle of Carling inside the posh Virgin Mobile Lounge. The premiere hospitality enclosure at the site was fit for a king, well maybe that's a slight exaggeration but celebrities such as Calum Best, Saskia and Maxwell from this years Big Brother and ex housemate Jade, Abi Titmarsh rubbed shoulders with Girls Aloud and various other famous faces. Every guest was treated to the all day Bar-B-Q and free drinks and could rest their weary feet on the plastic, but very comfy chairs which weren't only placed around the VIP area, but scattered around the site! Of course, the music was the main reason we attended, so after a few refreshments we wandered out to the main arenas.
Disabled access had improved from last year, a wristband for those who needed the platform kept away unwanted able bodied (Whatever that statement means!) members of the public and the space was larger than previous years. Each stage had a viewing platform.
Happy that all could view the next mission was to check out the bands. The Magic Numbers made their debut at the festival and were given an extremely warm welcome. Their laid back hazy style was the perfect relaxing therapy after putting up tents and when they played 'Forever Lost' you would had thought they had been around for years. Well, of course if we are judging be their individually ages - they have, but for a relevantly new band they are truly professional and when they embark on their first tour take a loved one to snuggle into, or failing that just someone you've been trying to cop off with for ages! If your other half is living miles away the next act on the Channel 4 stage may have touched a few heart strings, KT Turnstall was with her long distance relationship warning, 'Other Side Of The World' reminded us that they don't work. Although she failed to point out that they make it easier to sleep around without being caught! Luckily she wasn't the only person to know all the words as a technical sound hitch made all the mics go quiet. Fortunely the crowd managed to drown out the sound from Jet playing on the V stage behind and KT managed to end her set gracefully.
The Bravery told us they had made a 'Stupid Mistake'. Could that had been playing at a major festival with only one hit out their belt? Luckily Maroon 5 had more song familiar to the listener ear and made an extremely good attempt seeing as they are suited for smaller venues. Although it was the fantastic Kaiser Chiefs who once again stole the day, their above average album is only a taster to their live performance. For goodness sake, catch them on the forthcoming NME Tour.
For us to review The Streets could be compared to a vegetarian reviewing a veal burger! For some reason we just can't sink are music inspired teeth into Mike Skinner's dribble. The tuneless rubbish either means we are becoming boring old journalists ready to work at 'Classic Rock' magazine or maybe, just maybe our assistant has a poor music taste. Sadly for us, we are edging near the former conclusion as a field of jumping fans, most of those not even resembling a 'Chav' loved it. We will agree though that the band do take a new approach to their lyrics and sound and after packing out Brixton Academy the night before they must be doing something right. Their track record from all their festival appearance have earned them nothing but praise. Which is more which can be said for the headline act.
It's June 2004 and two brothers have just walked off stage at Glastonbury knowing full well they had played poorly. Tonight Liam and Noel are given the opportunity to redeem Oasis as one of the worlds biggest bands.Even though it wasn't their best ever performance they managed to pull it off and Liam's banter was heard clearly as opposed to previous Oasis concerts this year, so we manage to hear Liam's low opinion of Pete Doherty after he bailed out of their tour this Summer. Over at the Channel 4 stage The Chemical Brothers delighted their fans with their energetic boost of adrenaline we have come to expect from them. Both pair of brothers gave the promoters reason to smile as the tenth anniversary was being given all the reason to be celebrated with style.
It was indeed a celebration backstage that night when we managed to catch the exclusive staff party held in the production compound. Backstge a second artist bar showed SKY Sports for those wishing to catch up with the football and a TV studio captured the many highlights for those unfortunate who weren't able to buy a ticket.
SUNDAY
Rooster. Do we like them or not? As a boyband they are pretty bloody good, as a rock band however they are awful. Do they know which category they fall in. Should a band member confess about his sexuality a few years down the line to gain publicity for his dying existence in the column of tabloids or should he waffle on about politics and educate the world around to his way of thinking? We pondered on these burning questions backstage at the Strongbow Rooms for a good minute after watching them open the V Stage on Sunday. Although after a taste of the finest cider an apple tree can produce we forgot all about them and in a few months time, despite our rave reviews earlier this year, you will too!
Another alcoholic beverage came from Barcardi which is now familiar to festivals as mud is in campsites. The refreshing drink comes complete with a B Bar which is always lively no matter what time of day you visit. The VIP bar backstage is always propped up by a ABLE2 journalist and is always a favorite area. Other non music entertainment attractions were the Nintendo DS tent, a small market selling the normal festival wares and a late night cinema sponsored by SKY Movies.
Two top acts and one novelty Idlewild, Joss Stone and Tony Christie all gave fantastic performances on the V Stage. Whilst Billie Piper told us in the Virgin Mobile area some spoilers about the next Dr. Who series. A Christmas special will show the 'old' Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) asleep for most of the episode, when he wakes the new Doctor (David Tennent) will start his quest battling against various monsters. More celebrities raising a pint to Virgin Mobile over the weekend included members of Hollyoaks and Jessica Simpson.
Back to the music and over at the Channel 4 stage OC lovers were singing along to the theme tune thanks to Phantom Planet. At the V Stage was a band who have had enough good press from us over the past few months, Athlete. Now, Embrace. We think they are incredible, although lead singer, Danny doesn't offer any variety for us die hard festival goers. He insists that we jump to his tune, he teaches us how to jump without our feet leaving the ground and tells us how marvelous it looks - at every bloody gig! Hopefully the four months between now and the Christmas tour he will have a new 'script' for us. Still, the set was a V high standard!
Um, Dizzee Rascal. Previously we admitted our dislike towards the Streets. One of the many reasons is the draining one tone monologue of the lyrics. With Dizzee we haven't a bloody clue what the hell he was going on about. We understood he's a Rascal, a Dizzee Rascal and we say 'Ho' when he says 'Yeah', but apart from that we are a bit lost. Trouble is, he wasn't badd - that's with a double 'd' but if you are the wrong side of 30 you wouldn't understand. Which reminds us, going back to Danny from Embrace with his bloody jumping and down the cheeky sod made a remark about us oldies over 30. He's no spring chicken himself and another thing, at least Dizzzzeeee keeps it real. So Danny stop giving us elders beef, alllrrrigght?
Imagine being Sharleen Spiteri you are in a marvelous band yet you are billed alongside the biggest dance act and one of today's largest bands. Sadly Texas went unnoticed this weekend and The Prodigy and Scissor Sisters, who teamed up with another headline band , Franz Ferdinand ended the weekend is true V style. The organisers are now working towards the next ten years and we will be there all the year. Despite how old we may be!
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