Isle of Wight Festival 2010 - the inthenews.co.uk review
Isle of Wight Festival 2010 - the inthenews.co.uk review
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Thursday, 01, Jul 2010 10:34
By Richard James.
There are three key things you pray for with any music festival. 1 - a good line-up, 2 - a good crowd and 3 - (potentially the most important), good weather. The Isle of Wight festival this year had all three and then some.
An event so etched in music's history thanks to the efforts of Jimi Hendrix and co. 40 years ago, the Isle of Wight festival will forever have to keep on coming up with spectacular headline acts to prevent unfavourable comparisons to previous efforts. Luckily for the thousands upon thousands who jumped onto the ferry from Southampton this year they weren't left disappointed. The prospect of witnessing hip hop legend Jay-Z take to the stage at a UK festival once more after his storming Glastonbury set two years ago on the Friday, before fellow New Yorkers the Strokes and Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney followed him on Saturday and Sunday was more than enough to get any music fan whipped up into a euphoric frenzy before even hearing the first note.
The real music-lovers/students began arriving at Seaclose Park on Thursday and had to suffer slightly with the rain, a feature which opened and closed the festival but never dared show itself during the three main days with the Isle of Wight basking in brilliant sunshine throughout the weekend. The party really kicked off though on Friday evening as the light began to fade over the Main Stage with Calvin Harris taking to the decks to lift the crowd in anticipation of what would be a spectacular night. The Scottish DJ was followed by the electric Florence and the Machine, who surrounded by ornate bird cages and with Florence Welch wearing what can only politely be described as a bed sheet, continued the party atmosphere. Every song sung at the top of their lungs with the crowd and by the time Florence reached You've Got The Love as the penultimate song in their set, it was hard to imagine a more ecstatic collective feeling - until Jay-Z turned up.
Having demolished the preconception, and Noel Gallagher's narrow-minded assertion, that a rap star couldn't carry a festival crowd two years ago, Jay-Z has now firmly cemented himself as one of the most important artists of a generation. He himself has admitted that his Glastonbury set re-defined his career and has taken it into levels unrecognisable for a US hip-hop artist. He's also clearly learnt what works and what doesn't with festival performances because this time round there wasn't one single misstep in a truly faultless set.
Combining tracks from his record-breaking latest album Blueprint 3 with tracks that now span two decades, America's finest was on top form. Kicking off with On To The Next One and following it with DOA (Death of Auto-Tune), fans of Jigga's latest work were immediately rewarded. Four tracks in though and the place went ballistic when, along with supporting rapper Memphis Bleek, when he smashed out 99 Problems. A stream of classics continued through the 80-minute set with an animated crowd lapping up every beat (Jay Z even took time out to plead with the security to allow fans to crowd-surf to the front and to continue dancing on each others' shoulders). The sensational music just kept on coming, H to the Izzo, Dirt Off My Shoulder, Big Pimpin' and Hard Knock Life all had the Isle of Wight enthralled. But it was the Blueprint 3 tracks which really took off. Forever Young with Mr Hudson, who had earlier played the Main Stage, produced one of a series of joyous sing-along moments. Empire Stare of Mind obviously had the crowd beside themselves in excitement and then came the moment of the festival - Run This Town. Tens of thousands of elated fans were already singing the tune's Rihanna chorus at the top of their voices when a minute and a half in, a certain Kanye West came sprinting out on to the stage for his verse. The Isle of Wight exploded and Jay-Z had once again knocked the ball out the park, setting a benchmark that proved impossible for the rest of the festival to follow.
Brilliant sunshine welcomed the crowd on Saturday morning, a theme that would continue until the end of the weekend. As well as talk of Jay-Z's storming set there was something else on people's mind throughout the day - a certain England football match. The festival organisers may have been slightly concerned at the distraction Fabio Capello and his team could have on the event but with the erection of a large screen near the main campsite, most were kept happy. Ironically it was American band Vampire Weekend who actually provided the highlight of the day during Saturday, with their brilliant staccato tunes ringing out across a sea of sun-worshippers and fancy dress costumes. Biffy Clyro had the unenviable task of competing with the England game but given the disappointing nature of the Capello's men, it wasn't long before the crowds had flocked back to catch the Scottish band's set and then later the hugely enjoyable performance by veterans Blondie.
Having put the frustration of England's performance on the pitch behind them, thanks in main to the levels of alcohol consumed in the glorious weather through the day, the crowd were more than happy to embrace another act from across the Atlantic at the night's conclusion - this time the Strokes. Marking their first UK festival appearance in years the New Yorkers looked a tad uneasy faced with such a vast crowd in such obvious high spirits. Lead singer Julian Casablancas, while absolutely note-perfect with every song, was away somewhere very different in his banter with the crowd during the set, mumbling incomprehensively we think about how happy they were to be there. Playing to the crowd's expectations, their set was almost entirely from their 2001 debut Is This It. While those on the Isle of Wight, and no doubt those watching back home on TV, lapped it up with relish, the band now seem extraordinarily bored with it all. Whereas Jay-Z came bounding onto the stage with a sensational light show and highly inspirational performance which included the rapper telling the crowd they could change the world, the Strokes opted for a much more subdued approach. Obviously their style of music would lend themselves to such performances, but there was something more than the New York band simply playing the dark and brooding indie band card. They genuinely seemed bored. Having made the most important album of a decade and arguably within guitar music, of a generation, and flogged it to death round the world the Strokes now seem to have reached saturation point. Of all the bands you could have been in seven, eight, nine years ago - it would have been them. Now you just want to be Casablancas, because he remains, despite his mumblings, the coolest lead man on the planet.
Earlier on Saturday over in the Big Top stage the young festival-goers were offered the delightful treat of watching the Saturdays and N-Dubz play. Both attracted impressive crowds and they no doubt enjoyed themselves but it's difficult to think anything of real excitement happened for those over the age of 16. The pop acts did open up the second stage to its dance-based finale, involving first La Roux and then old hands Orbital. Gorgeous weather throughout the day, an England football match (ignore the result), and then the choice of rock or dance tunes into the night - what more could anyone have wanted? With both stages concluding just after midnight the dance tents came into their own and in particular the Hipskaker Lounge which attracted people into the early hours of the morning.
Sunday had a real eclectic feel to it, with an extraordinary mix of established performers playing alongside new and exciting talent. The latter was served an almighty injustice by the organisers and some poor scheduling which saw the Big Pink take to the Big Top stage at the same time as Friendly Fires entertained the masses on the main stage. A juggling act was required and three songs after the Big Pink had ripped the roof off the Big Top it was a quick hop and a skip to catch the conclusion of the Friendly Fires set - Paris going down as one of the best moments of the weekend - and then charging back to catch the brilliant Dominos from the London band.
The veteran look to the final day was evident by the Big Top line-up, with artists such as Reef and Ocean Colour Scene all performing. However the real 'Gold' was to be found on the Main Stage from around 3pm onwards. Once the Friendly Fires had done their thing and those with tans, or more realistically sun burn, were enjoying yet another top-up, 1980s legends Spandau Ballet took to the stage. Sceptics of their place at a festival such as Isle of Wight were soon silenced, as had those with relation to Crowded House on Saturday, as the British group played a hugely entertaining set for the excitable crowd. They teased and joked, leaving the festival begging for the one song they wanted more than any other and when it came it was worth the wait. There is something disturbingly uplifting about a field full of tens of thousands of people singing Gold at the top of their voices while a sweaty Tony Hadley prances round the stage.
The Editors were next on stage and dressed in black struck a slightly more sombre note, but were equally entertaining and put on arguably the performance of the festival. Munich, Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors, Papillon were all lapped up, with the highlight Racing Rats as Tom Smith's extraordinary voice hauntingly echoed out across the park.
With the weekend almost over and those with work on the Monday making their exit from the island, two acts remained on the Main Stage. The first put on the most over-the-top performance of the weekend, the other just did what comes naturally to him and wowed the masses. Pink was left with the unenviable task of warming up for Sir Paul McCartney on Sunday night and decided to go all out with her set and entertain those who had not necessarily have come to watch her play. Her conclusion, traipsing across the crowd on a high-wire whilst still singing So What! was a truly remarkable sight and the perfect lead into McCartney's storming finish.
The former Beatle doesn't have to do much any more than turn up with a guitar and/or a piano play a few tunes and bugger off. People would pay hundreds of pounds just to witness that. Forever the show-man though, McCartney wasn't content with churning out yet another sing-by-numbers performance. Instead the 67-year-old treated to the crowd to a hugely energetic set which spectacularly featured fireworks over the stage during Live and Let Die. Within the Beatles back catalogue there were solo efforts and tunes from his Wings days. The ultimate sing-along then followed with Hey Jude ringing out across Seaclose Park as the crowd as one experienced music's ultimate high. As McCartney came to an end so the heavens once again opened, clearly indicating to those remaining, the weekend was done and it was time to take the memories and the tents back to the main land, all the while still belting out the Hey Jude chorus.
9/10
Moment of the festival
Kanye West rushing out on to stage to join Jay Z for Run this Town
Sing along moment
Sir Paul McCartney - Hey Jude
Special mention goes to
Pink's acrobatics over the crowd on Sunday
Band of the weekend
Vampire Weekend/Editors