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I obviously too young to remember The Specials, who broke up when I was 12. And yet all this is instantly recognisable and it’s easy to see why this was the headline act for so many.
26 August 2009
The Specials, V Festival 2009
Lily Allen V Festival 2009
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From Dizzee Rascal to the end of Lily Allen. I guess that cover of Britney Spears Womanizer is ironic… but irony is well overrated. Lily is much better sticking to her own stuff, which gets better all the time.
Dizzee Rascal V Festival 2009
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Who cannot love Dizzee Rascal? He’s not just a rascal… he’s totally bonkers! And when we heard the sirens coming we jumped.
Easily the highlight of V Festival 2009.
Tynchy Stryder V Festival 2009
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One of the things that makes a music festival so interesting is finding yourself watching an act you would never normally bother — just to kill some time — and being taken by surprise. So it was with Tynchy Stryder, who kicked off Sunday at V for us with a barnstorming performance that Saturday’s dissapointments would do well to study.
Here he is: Tynchy Stryder, saviour of V 2009.
25 August 2009
MGMT V Festival 2009
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Like Ladyhawke, MGMT barely engaged with their Staffordshire audience, managing nothing much more than, ‘I don’t want this to sound bad, but thanks for not going to see Oasis.’ Like Lady GaGa, they saw much of their audience drift off to see Oasis.
Fortunately, those that remained were generous. They threw themselves into to the Pink Panther theme that saw the band take to the stage and were in good voice for Time to Pretend and Kids. Oracular Spectacular is the first album that promises so much, but MGMT could not be more dissappointing — sorry to say boring — live.
Lady GaGa V Festival 2009
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Lady GaGa is all about the hype. Where has she come from? How has she become so big so soon? Et cetera.
There was a great crush in V Festival, Staffordshire tent. This was where people wanted to be. Perhaps they would one day tell their great-great-grandchildren this was where they had been. We found ourselves in the kind of crush we had not witnessed since the Reichstag Shambles.
The show opened a little late promising spectacle. Andy Warhol popped up on a big screen and many dancers appeared.
Then it all fell apart. The show was clearly too ambitious and was woefully underrehersed. There were pauses. Long pauses. Then there was the self-indulgence. GaGa became maudlin. The shambles was complete when she began Poker Face a capella, only to have the plug pulled part way. She had wasted too much time complaining about what they say about her in press.
Thought I: ‘Didn’t you write Paparazzi before you were famous? Gaga: “You don’t fool us. You’re living the life to which you aspire, now follow your audience’s lead and fuck off!”’
Katy Perry V Festival 2009
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Katy Perry certainly worked hard for her money, but up until that Queen cover, she never quite managed to take the V Festival, Staffordshire crowd with her. Sure the set was a little heavy on the downbeat country-stuff and we all just wanted her to kiss a girl, but I reckon she deserved better.
Ladyhawke V Festival 2009
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Ladyhawke really rattled through her eponymous album, which I love and play loud in the car.
She barely stopped for breath and certainly not for a chat. Such shyness does not make for a charismatic performance, but she held her own on what was to be a sunny Saturday of dissapointing performances.
23 August 2009
Snow Patrol V Festival 2009
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I’m no fan of Snow Patrol, but as we walked past they drew us in and for a while they made for a good live act.
Then the inevitable happenned. They went ever so boring. It was crowd participation time. Chant: ‘I close my eyes and sing to you!’
First the ‘ladies’ then the men, then the young then the old, then those with swine flu. It went on and on and on.
22 August 2009
