Music Festivals - the rationale
So on the basis that you are not reading a review of a cabbage festival, no doubt you will read on in relief. However there may be some who have never attended a music festival for whom this may still seem a closed book (or whatever the electronic equivalent - "switched off kindle" just doesn't have the same ring does it?), so let me explain why this might be a worthwhile exercise. It was something in my mind given I had taken along my friend's 15 year old (see Chemical Brothers entry on an earlier blog page for more on same subject) and was trying to convey this to him, but that was easier since he was there experiencing it.
I could point out the obvious about the music itself, the sheer power and noise of it, the bass such that you can feel it through your body. And the fact that things go wrong live (Frankmusik had to stop his/their set having got a new song wrong, Plan B almost had fight with his drummer). Its just so much less sanitized.
But that's just the music. Its also the atmosphere, the vibe I suppose one should call it. Its all about being in a field (or two or three) with 85,000 other people all of whose sole purpose is to enjoy themselves. Now one can feel something of it in a football match, but that has its limitations, not least the winning and losing, the tribalism - a football match has some of the atmosphere of a war, with the adrenalin rush of being on the winning side, and the risk of it all going wrong. A music festival is all about peace, in a nice, safe, but anarchic way. You chat with utterly random people you will never come across again (hopefully, in some cases!). Not uncommonly someone will be off their head (on alcohol, and probably more) but they will be lovely and amusing, rather than out for fight on a Saturday night. Like the bloke we came across who was so drunk he couldn't put his sunglasses back on. How drunk do you have to be not to remember where your ears are? And who explained to us that he had got vodka in his eye. I did try to point out that was not the officially recommended orifice for vodka, but he was too far gone for my scholarly exposition of where he had gone wrong.
And of course there are those who turn up in fancy dress. This year's award must go to the portly hairy bloke who was in what I can only describe as Superman beachwear, a pair of superman underpants with a very small superman cape around his neck. And nothing else apart from sunglasses. Its just all slightly insane.
And then, as I pointed out to my young friend, we can do whatever we want, see whatever acts we want, wander off whenever, eat anything off myriad stalls (while recognising that at a festival the word "gourmet" before any food item does not have the same connotation as at a restaurant. It just means edible. Just.) There is a freedom at these things which one just can't have in real life, but just for a weekend all bets are off. There is a huge loss of inhibition. As an example, in these days of decorum and skin cancer concerns, and all sorts of body image worries, blokes just don't take their tops off much in public, but here most lads do, frequently adorned with bits of body paint and amusing (but sometimes crude) slogans. (I should add that there is probably a weight limit on when it is good to remove your shirt in public, and one of the rappers in hip-hop band D12 exceeded it. By about a 100 pounds I would suggest, but that's just personal taste.)
Although even here there is a sort of uniform, which amongst the girls tends to be very short hotpants and wellies. Which beats suit and tie any day.The general ethos is do whatever you want, nobody will mind. And while the majority of the audience is undoubtedly late teens and twenties, there are some families with kids, (one couple bizarrely trying to wheel round a pram), and some older folks like myself (and one text read, "I'm 81, does that make me the oldest person at V?" I think so.)
And if all that isn't enough fun, they do of course have a funfair too. Just in case.
And finally, can I point out we can't all be wrong? Even in these credit crunch days, and V is far from a cheap weekend, the place was sold out both days. Why does it survive the recession when Woolworths couldn't? Because its quality. Come on down and see for yourself, unless you are a stickler for modesty, good langauge, quiet isolation, hygeine and decorum, in which case I would suggest you put on your cardigan and potter into your garden. There must be some weeding for you to do.
This blog page
Oh and two particular remarks about what you might think are oddities about these two blog entries about V. The first is the quality of the photos. I can only say this. You know those stunning landscape or wildlife photographs you see? Well they are done by people with cameras the size of bazookas, they spend all day setting up their perfect shot waiting for that passing lion, or the right light, and use a tripod.
I have a camera that goes in my pocket and am trying to take snaps in amongst a sea of bouncing teenagers, and often over the heads of blokes so tall they have their own weather systems above them. I would like to see David Bailey work under these conditions. So live with it.
And the other, and this goes for my blog generally but this one in particular, is that I constantly refer to my "young companion", or "friend" or "mate" or some such synonym, rather than by name which would sound less convoluted. This is just because I guess somehow one can search for a name on the internet. And while I would never write anything that I think would be wrong, it seems only prudent not to refer to friends by name just in case. People who know the lad in question will know who I am referring to, and those that don't, well they don't need to. I don't have the same concern for photos as they can't be searched. There you go - a policy statement.
Ok, so what were the acts actually like this year? While last year I did an act by act detailed review, I will spare you some of that. But for the specialist, here are a few highlights.
Comedy Tent
Several festivals now add comedy to the music line-up, and we found this a nice way to wile away the early part of the afternoon before the big music acts came on. My young companion was especially keen to see Kevin Bridges, who did not disappoint even if he didn't deliver much new material. I don't think he needs to, he just is a funny guy who can get by on banter with the audience. The Glasgow accent helps. But the other two we saw were a great laugh too, Adam Bloom and a Canadian called Pete Johansson who was very good (despite finishing his act by saying he loved everything about Britain, apart from our kids. I put my hands on round my companion's ears lest he be offended by what was to come....)
The Enemy
My hometown band, they played the smallest of the 4 main venues, but this did no harm at all as the atmosphere in the tent was electric. Just the sheer energy of the band would have been enough. "Giving it lots of aggro" was their opener, which given it was about rioting, seemed very apt. They were just wonderful. And much to my surprise my young mate liked it too, notwithstanding it was far from what is his main interest in dance, dubstep, breakbeat etc. (For those of an older generation, the Enemy are really a punk band reinvented, but so so much better than the punk bands of the Seventies. Anyone sad enough to try and see the aging Sex Pistols should give up and see these lads who can do this well.)
You couldn't help but get swept up in the pace and energy of their set. And by the end the rain (which inevitably follows me around outdoor gigs) had dissolved into Mediterranean sunshine. Don't you just love a British summer?
Kaiser Chiefs
Out onto the main stage and the Kaiser Chiefs. Ricky Wilson is just the consummate front man. He knows how to work a crowd and puts in 100%, belting round the stage. And of course they played "I predict a riot". Maybe a trifle too smugly....
Plan B
Felt a bit odd for Plan B to play above the Kaiser Chiefs, but that's the way it went. A good set. For those who don't know Plan B its a "he" rather than a band (real name Benjamin Balance-Drew - you can see how "Plan B" is cooler eh?). What his unique selling point is ("USP" to those of us in the trade), is mixing rap with soul. To be fair, few rappers could do this, given that they can't sing which is why they mask it by talking badly and really fast (you may guess I am not a fan) but Plan B has a great soul voice and the combination works, especially with the rather good lyrics, witty and intelligent. "She Said" is a brilliant song, The Defamation of Strickland Banks was definitely one of the best albums of last year. He has great delivery, but also a bit of a temper clearly. He had a real spat with his drummer over something. And then announced at the end, that this would be one of his last performances with this band - hopefully not just because of something the drummer said.
Arctic Monkeys
And then topping the bill, the Arctic Monkeys. First time I had seen them. Much better than on cd, as I remarked to my companion who agreed. On record a nice guitar band with clever lyrics, but live something harder and heavier (again my point about going to live music - it is different. And usually better.) I was surprised at how much we both enjoyed it. My mate got chatting to an art student (who he described as "peng" which for us old folk means "hot" - you see how much you can learn from a 15 year-old?) who evidently knew every single lyric to anything the Arctic Monkeys could perform. And a great light show - the advantage of playing late is the lights really coming in to play. And you could light up half of China with the banks of them used here. (Ignore global warming for once. Look at it as a positive. Climate change? Well isn't it time for a change?) Mind you, you wouldn't want to come here if an epileptic. This was flashing lights to the max, which did make photography especially hit and miss.
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