Live Review

V Festival – Chelmsford

• 16th Sep 2010

Amidst fears of thunderstorms and Glastonburyesque deluges, V Festival rolled back into Chelmsford once more. Glasswerk once more brought their lucky charms though, as in twenty odd camping festivals I have never even worn a poncho, let alone had to bail out water from my tent, and this year was no exception.

In retrospect it would have therefore been nice had they foregone the Isle-of-Wight size tarpaulins laid underfoot in front of each stage less we got our wellies muddy, and knocked 50p off the price of beer.

Kings of Leon were always going to be the main draw (even I opted for the bucket-kickers over David Guetta) and on the plus side, the sound was better than previous festival performances such as Reading last year. Whether they really wanted to be in Chelmsford though is a matter for debate – I for one want a lot more from a festival headliner than just them bashing out a catalogue of greatest hits, a little interaction would be nice (and various headliners over the last couple of years such as RHCPs, Massive Attack and Kraftwerk could all learn from that). Inevitably Sex on Fire got the biggest cheer – one of those global cross-over hits that even all the non-indie kids can sing along to, and remember much of V is pop pop pop.

Florence and the Machine did their thing… it’s becoming old hat now as she trawls the festivals to flog a few more copies of her debut album which sold quite nicely last year. That’s not to say it wasn’t a good performance; she’s a little calmer these days, there’s no climbing the rigging yet she remains captivating to watch at stage level.

It was mature rockers Feeder who opened the main stage, at frankly a far too early time for a band of their calibre. A good way to clear away the cobwebs though, and by the time the crowd had sung back “Player player player player” you knew the festival really had started. Feeder know how to put on a show and show their appreciation of a crowd without it being cringeworthy and boring. KoL take note.

The beauty of these big festivals is there are enough stages for you to be able to catch more interesting smaller acts, and it was a travesty that NYC beatniks/nutters Matt and Kim didn’t play to a fuller tent. Huge across the pond yet very much a niche underground act in the UK, Kim (drums) and Matt (keys and vox) were one of the highlights this year. It was disorganised, chaotic and involved stage-dives from both band-members – the perfect ingredients for a top show.

Goldie Lookin Chain played a two hour set for Glasswerk in Reading last year and their tent set at V didn’t quite pack the same punches, with the crowds only getting fully involved with the likes of Guns don’t Kill people Rappers Do and Your Mother’s got a Penis! There was the usual banter and self-deprecation but maybe with just a half hour set they didn’t have time to get fully into their stride.

So all in all a good day of rocking, just don’t take sixteen year olds with you or they’ll insist on seeing Tinie Tempah and Jason Derulo, neither of which will feature in this review or in fact any other review by me. Ever.

photo by Rob Ball
www.robinballphotography.co.uk