Ellie Goulding

Reviews

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  V Festival 2010 21st...

  by Gig Junkie

  on Wed, 25 Aug at 10:28

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  THE CORAL: Indie pop rockers The Coral pulled in a considerably large crowd to the main stage...

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  THE CORAL:

  Indie pop rockers The Coral pulled in a considerably large crowd to the main stage on Saturday afternoon, opening with ‘Goodbye’ from their 2002 self-titled debut album.

  Spirits were high as the charismatically humble English sextet charmed their audience with a string of upbeat psychedelic rock numbers including ‘Dreaming Of You’ and ‘Pass It On’.

  The Coral are quite the minimalistic performers in that they simply walk on stage with no outlandish clothing, no flamboyant backdrops and no special effects. This seems to work for in their favour however, as the focus shifts on to the music, which let’s face it, is outstandingly catchy and pleasantly reminiscent of the 60s.

  The Coral dedicated a vast majority of the set to showcasing new material from this year’s album ‘Butterfly House,’ which were all well-received by the crowd. New tracks included the single ‘1000 Years,’ ‘Roving Jewell’ and ‘North Parade,’ with which they concluded their superb performance.

  THE COURTEENERS:

  Next to grace the main stage were popular Mancurian rockers The Courteeners, fronted by the ever so self-assured Liam Fray who was greeted by an echo of manly chants calling, “Liam! Liam! Liam!”

  My friend warned me that the last time she’d seen The Courteeners live she barely escaped from the clutches of the crowd with battered legs, bruised arms and permanently damaged footwear. I mentally and physically prepared myself for the worst. Much to my delight however, we found ourselves amongst a surprisingly tame and civilised crowd who were merely enjoying the musical experience rather than turning it into a rampant whirlpool of bodies.

  The Courteeners played a characteristically vigorous show, performing songs from both their debut album ‘St Jude’ and from their 2010 record ‘Falcon’.

  It was a shame that the sound quality of the main stage wasn’t adequate but nevertheless the crowd seemed to enjoy the band’s robust deliverance of ‘Take Over The World,’ ‘You’re Not 19 Forever’ and ‘Acrylic’ as they devotedly sung along to all of the lively lyrics.

  PAUL WELLER:

  I’d been wondering when the man behind V Festival, Sir Richard Branson himself, would be making a special appearance to wish his successful music event a happy 15th birthday. The Virgin boss took to the main stage on Saturday evening and gave a brief speech before thousands of revellers about V Festival’s tremendous history, stating “It gives me great pleasure to introduce the next band... Fifteen years ago he headlined the very first V Festival, ladies and gentlemen The Modfather!"

  Paul Weller and his band waltzed on stage to deliver an outstanding performance before an audience that was both youthful and mature, a testament to the universality and timelessness of his music.

  Weller treated his fans to a choice selection of songs covering a broad spectrum of his career from the mod/punk-rock days with The Jam, to the soulful senses of Style Council and right to his recent Mercury Prize-nominated solo album ‘Wake Up The Nation’.

  His Modliness took liberty in lighting up a few cigarettes throughout his set, casually smoking them as he belted out classic tunes like ‘Changing Man’ and ‘That’s Entertainment’ down the microphone. Things bellowed out a bit as he serenaded the crowd with a beautiful recital of ‘You Do Something To Me,’ but didn’t last long before he launched into gig finales ‘Start,’ ‘Art School’ and ‘Whirpool’s End’.

  SETLIST:

  Moonshine From The Floorboards Up Wake Up The Nation That's Entertainment No Tears Changing Man Up The Dosage Aim High Shout To The Top Trees You Do Something To Me Pieces Of A Dream Wild Wood Fast Car / Slow Traffic Start Art School Whirlpool's End

  KINGS OF LEON: The sound quality may have been below average, the set list may have encompassed some atypically obscure material but there is absolutely no denying that Kings Of Leon delivered their two hour-long headlining set with brilliance and finesse.

  Kicking off with ‘Closer’, the luminary four piece followed through with a string of arguably lesser-known songs such as; ‘My Party,’ ‘Molly’s Chambers’ and ‘Black Thumbnail’ before reaching the eminent mainstream music from their latest album. They also treated fans to a preview of some new material they are working on including ‘Mary’ and ‘Radioactive’. Both of these promising tunes went down very well with the legion of followers before them.

  Naturally the crowd went bonkers when talented vocalist Caleb Followil directed the band into a chain of smash hits from ‘Only By The Night’ including ‘Use Somebody,’ ‘Notion’ and of course ‘Sex On Fire’. He also stopped many of times between songs to express his eternal gratitude to the plethora of dedicated fans who helped them reach the exceptionally successful point they are at today.

  A group of us in the front row were vehemently shouting out a request for ‘Trani’ and after endless attempts of this Kings Of Leon formed what seemed like a huddle before performing none other than ‘Trani’ as their set closer. Whether this was merely a coincidence or an act of big-heartedness on the bands party we will never know, but regardless of that minute detail, needless to say we were absolutely euphoric.

  SETLIST: Closer Crawl My Party Molly's Chambers Mary Fans Milk Four Kicks The Bucket Radioactive Notion Sex on Fire On Call Southbound Trani

  Encore: Knocked Up Manhattan Use Somebody Black Thumbnail

  Shannon Andreucci

  V Festival 2010 21st...0.3 event