V 2008 - the inthenews.co.uk review
V 2008 - the inthenews.co.uk review
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Britain have won another gold medal in the Olympic rowing in the men's lightweight double sculls but suffered a minor disappointment in the women's quadruple sculls. |  |
Monday, 18, Aug 2008 05:18
The inthenews.co.uk review of V 2008 continues.
Sunday August 17th
Taio Cruz's set kicks off with a superbly-rendered instrumental crack at Kanye West's Flashing Lights before the 24-year-old makes his entrance to a booming Daft Punk cover, dropping polished pop perfection on Drive Me Crazy, a ferocious and intense She's Like A Star and inspiring anthem I Can Be, seemingly tailor-made to soundtrack sporting montages. Come On Girl provides a hit finish to a surprisingly excellent set with the absence of guest vocalist Luciana covered with a brief Thriller interlude and the performer/producer has stolen the show.
To read the inthenews.co.uk interview with Taio Cruz, click here
Delays open with a wall of noise reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine, with swirling soundscapes and a dizzying Greg Gilbert helping to command the crowd, even with the set largely composed of material from third album Everything's the Rush.
And just as The Love Guru inspired the New York Times to suggest a new vocabulary might be needed to truly convey the horror of its sheer rubbishness, Alphabeat are so joyous, gleeful and loveable that you feel words are insufficient to describe just how enjoyable the Danes are in action. It's a stellar show, and with the 80s synth-pop of Boyfriend, singalong splendour on 10,000 Nights and Fascination heralded by an M83-esque introduction, this is a sextet that deserved a higher spot on the bill.
To read the inthenews.co.uk interview with Alphabeat, click here
The same can't really be said for the Courteneers who provide a perfectly serviceable but undeniably generic meshing of Manchester sounds while the tiresome faux-rock of OneRepublic makes you shake your head at the record buying public's championing of such dreck. Lenny Kravitz, meanwhile, might have rarely made good on his staggering talent, but his groovy bar room blues are perfect for a sunny Sunday lying on the grass in Essex, even raising a smile with funky covers of Another Brick in the Wall and Billie Jean.
Travis arrive early due to the withdrawal of Sam Sparro and the loving reception provided for Writing To Reach You and Turn proves Britain still loves this band, even if it's a been a while since Fran Healy created anything of note.
Even if he did, however, it would pale in comparison to the diamonds in the current rough of the indie scene, with Kings of Leon the shiniest of all.
They don't say much, they rattle through the songs and they have infuriating habit of playing their best songs at 75 per cent pace but. well, they're probably the best band in the world.
To read the inthenews.co.uk review of Kings of Leon's masterly V performance, click here
Lewis Bazley and Rob Wheatley
To read the start of the inthenews.co.uk review of V 2008, click here
Get a taste of Kings of Leon's new album, Only By The Night, below: