V 2008 - the inthenews.co.uk review
Tuesday, 19 Aug 2008 09:19
V 2008 - the inthenews.co.uk review
Attending V is always a risky proposition. Yes, the lineup's typically excellent - if catering to the masses far more than its summer rivals - its two-day duration means you don't necessarily need to use up your holiday time and its relatively diminutive stature is usually a plus-point, especially when it comes to zipping between stages and tents while trying your best to avoid whatever TMF-friendly sugar might be blasting from the main speakers.
But it's also patently a festival for people who don't really like festivals. For a start, its roster of bands rarely contains the diversity or rising stars found in Glastonbury, nor the fan-pleasing high-profile bookings of Reading (would Metallica
ever play V??). Its name alone is representative of a massive global corporation and the wealth of advertising hoardings show that we're not really in unbranded Hop Farm territory here.
And though the massive floor tarpaulins that guard against rivers of mud are something to be glad of when you arrive home relatively fresh, they only go to show that this is a clean and clinical festival, solely about the music and lacking in the character of Glastonbury or the vigour of Reading.
The commercial drenching of the event is impossible to ignore and you can't escape the fact that monetary gain might have been prized over audience enjoyment with far too many people in attendance for an event in which the arenas close come 23:00, destroying the sense of camaraderie that might surface with an all-nighter. And more annoyingly - there's queues for… well, everything. Though the free shuttle bus between train station and festival site is a superb idea, it's there that the convenience ends, as thousands are left queuing for close to an hour to merely enter the arena in the morning, meaning the first bands on play to next to no-one and the audience are p****d off for a good hour.
As for the beer tokens… two queues are
not better than one, in anyone's language.
But, and it's a big but, V is
always saved from ignominy by the excellence of its performers, with singalongs a plenty, much-heralded headline sets from bands long out-of-action and a welcome showcase for stars of yesteryear. Though the show in 2008 was unsurprisingly stolen by best live band in the WorldTM Muse,
inthenews.co.uk's Lewis Bazley and Rob Wheatley reveal the highpoints of two gloriously sunny days deep in the Essex countryside.
Saturday August 16th
The
Futureheads get things off to an energetic start with Barry Hyde giving his all to enliven the early afternoon crowd as Beginning of the Twist crashes through Essex and a storming Hounds of Love encourage "oh-ohs" which ring like a battle cry across the park. It's a pity their best song remains a cover.
In the Virgin Mobile Union tent,
Beth Rowley has impressively big vocals for one so dainty, but there's something a bit dinner party about her smoky jazz and the increased age of the audience is noticeable - she could be one to watch, but the songs will have to improve.
The
Hold Steady blow these correspondents away on the 4Music stage-
To read the inthenews.co.uk review, click here while
Maximo Park are initially frenetic, rattling through Girls Who Play Guitars, Graffiti and The Coast Is Always Changing but after lacklustre new effort The Kids Are Sick Again, the subdued onstage dynamic seems to translate to the audience and it's the quietest Paul Smith's been in years.
Lostprophets guitarist Lee Gaze might have missed the majority of the Welsh rockers' Stafford set (due to his wife going into labour) but even his newfound resemblance to Bryan Adams while onstage in Chelmsford does not diminish the power of an impassioned V stage performance from the Pontypridd boys, with initial sound problems swiftly solved and a main stage field doing as they were told as Ian Watkins orders them to "scream your heart out" on Rooftops.
Will Young enters the fray in the Virgin Mobile Union tent to Beatlemania-esque screams and proceeds to gurn and camp it for the cameras until they (and a unbelievably irritating audience member called Nicola) go away, when he suddenly realises he has a gig to play. Leave Right Now is superb, but you can not help but wish that the Pop Idol winner - who has earned respect and can do much better - would put more into what remains a very ABC performance.
The Bartender and the Thief provides a rollicking start to a similarly by-the-numbers set from
Stereophonics on the V stage and with six songs from debut album Word Gets Around included to huge acclaim, it seems Kelly Jones has realised that the 'Phonics have weakened as their career has progressed. New effort You're My Star reveals the extent to which his lyrical powers have faded and Mr Writer remains as boorish and lumpen as ever. They came on, they played their greatest hits, the crowd sang along and they left - the CD would probably have sufficed.
The gulf in class between the 'Phonics and headliners
Muse, however, is immeasurable with the Devon trio putting in an incredible and exhausting performance. It's a stunning spectacle of light, sound and three immensely talented musicians who create music incalculably louder and more intricate than the sum of their parts and leave you desperate for a good lie-down.
To read the inthenews.co.uk review of Muse, click here
Lewis Bazley and Rob Wheatley
To read the rest of the inthenews.co.uk review of V 2008, click here