Dream Summer Blog 2006 - V Festival

Day 1 - Friday

We get in and set up camp in a space saved by some people we know, and mosey down in our relatively clean wellies (at this time) to inspect the festival attractions. Music is independently blaring from a variety of fairground rides, designed to make each punter lose at least their wallet and unhappily, their dinner, and people are popping in and out of shop stalls buying every weird thing you can think of - things they clearly know will only be of use to them here, not in the real world. We pop into Joe Bananas and pick up our camping kit from a very helpful lady and talk to Christians who were handing out free cups of water right across the path from food vans selling bottles for £2. We decide to get to bed, as we have a lot of setting up in the tent to do and the bands won?t wait for us tomorrow!

Day 2 ? Saturday

Today is, to put it lightly, rather wet. We awoke to the all too memorable smells of the traditional British festival, meaning bacon, sausages and most likely salmonella cooking on disposable barbecues, entwined with portaloo chemicals, Listerine and the sterile stench of wetwipes. All accompanied by a soundtrack of 'arghs' and 'oofs' from those who slept (unwisely I think) without the aid of an airbed or a roll mat. The day begins with overcooked bacon, a quick glance at a lineup, and the intent to spend a lot of money that we don?t have. Hooray for festival mentality! We head on down to the arena, and I already spy about a dozen things I want to buy but don?t actually need.

The first band on our list of must-see, are The Dandy Warhols, who sounded exactly as they do recorded, happy-poppy and quite capable of making people dance around in the mud. I was less impressed than I thought I would be, but ?Bohemian Like You? still made me smile and think of college, so I guess that?s nice. My pal Joey saw Dogs play the channel 4 stage (I think we were checking out the VIP area at the time) and gave them a very enthusiastic two thumbs up, but I cannot personally comment. Coming out of the VIP area, having spotted and accosted Darren Jeffries (OB from Hollyoaks) and marvelled at the spacious portaloos with real sinks, we saw a bit of the Sugababes set, and decided that, although we are not fans in any way, shape or form, they can actually sing rather well. Later on, we watch some of Hard-Fi. We know some of the songs but don?t like them.

The heavens open and Paul Weller is decidedly dumped in favour of having some food and a rest in the tent, however we can still hear him. Despite the downpour, there is no way that we would miss Faithless (originally we had planned on seeing a little of The Beautiful South first, but didn?t make it), so we trudge through the muck to the main stage, and set ourselves up for a great show! The ambient sounds of Maxi Jazz opening make the crowd go wild, and with ?We Come One? there is practically no floor to be seen as ecstatic fans hop about crazily. What a set! After Faithless, the gap is big enough to get a jacket potato for the rip-off price of £4.00 and meet up with our mate Tim who is working security during the day. We endeavour to watch a little Morrissey, but it turns out we just couldn?t stomach him, and journey to Tim?s staff campsite, which resides upon the children?s playground in the woods. It is eerie, and we don?t stay long. The campsite and the lure of cold cider is calling us so we head back, feeling tired and happy!

Day 3 ? Sunday

Though it is raining a bit this morning, the ground had chance to dry a bit overnight and the mud seems to have settled a bit. The toilets queues are long and there is no bacon left. Its oat bars and crisps for breakfast but at least I don?t have to wear waterproof trousers today ? my, that is a bonus! The first band on our list today are The Dead 60s but we do happen to catch (unfortunately) Daniel Powter singing his famous ?Bad Day? as we?re walking in. The Dead 60s fan the flames of the crowd, with their eclectic blend of ska-reggae, which gets everyone dancing, skanking and having a good time. The sun even graces our presence for a little while and hundreds of girls are able to don their giant, celebrity lookalike sunglasses for the first time this weekend. The Dead 60s are followed by The Divine Comedy, where the eccentric Neil Hannon gives the crowd a dose of the legendary ?National Express?. I don?t think there was a single person in the crowd who didn?t know all the words. He closes with ?Something for The Weekend? a personal favourite of mine and apparently everyone elses ? everything is right with the world. We go on to watch the last song of the Kula Shaker set, then Orson (no, I am not a fan, but yes I did know the words - oh the shame) on the C4 stage, and just in time for The Cardigans (who were very entertaining). The EA games team give us a huge umbrella each as a freebie! Joey and I paid homage to E4 by doing a cheerleading chant in the espeak box, and then it was announced that James Ordinary Boys was ill and they wouldn?t be appearing. Joey was upset. I was not.

We skipped over to the JJB/Puma Arena to see Echo And The Bunnymen who were fantastic, and pulled quite a large crowd, passing the Motorola wagon which was attempting to deal with the carnage that ensued as a result of throwing out giant inflatable mobile phones on the hour every hour. It was not so funny seeing a grown man snatching a frankly, daft freebie from a ten year old boy who had somehow managed to grab one. I was then made to cram into the packed tent once again, this time to see Girls Aloud with Joey. I was originally bewildered as to why there were so many twenty-something men all around me, but as the girls alighted the stage wearing next to nothing, I was pleased to see that the true nature of man was still alive. I was also greatly amused and shocked at how many of their songs I knew, however, extremely pleased to see that when they played the cover of Kaiser Chiefs? ?I Predict A Riot?, the crowd response was better than for any of their own. It was mirthful. Having endured the entire Girls Aloud set, I thought it was about time I got out of there, pushing past sweaty half naked bodies in an air-free tent is not exactly awe-inspiring. We went off round the corner to get a red bull cocktail (very tasty), and hung around for Paul and Tim to arrive (as Tim had just finished his shift), whilst watching Beck. His puppet-muppet-show was strangely endearing, but I found myself watching that rather than listening to the music.

When we had got everyone back, we headed over to the main stage for Radiohead, passing Fat Boy Slim opening with ?Praise You? in the JJB arena. Radiohead opened with ?Airbag? and continued to play what is possibly the best set of their lives. The classics ?My Iron Lung?, ?Fake Plastic Trees?, ?The Bends?, ?Paranoid Android? along with ?Just?, ?Idioteque? and ?Street Spirit? really encapsulated the ethereal quality of the lights across the crowd, thousands of people enthralled. Yet it didn?t end there. Just when we thought it couldn?t get any better, the first encore contained ?You and whose Army?? and ?Karma Police? (which we had heard them sound checking from the campsite at 10am), and the second encore heralded the triumphant return of ?Creep?. Everything is perfect. As we wearily head back to the tent for alcohol and merriment, we decide that this has definitely been one of the best weekends of the year, nay, ever.

Back at the tents, the boys next to us have cracked open the beer and got out the guitar. Half an hour in, and our group numbers close to 20 people, including a second guitarist ? Larry the Legend. Everyone is requesting a variety of hits, such as ?Breakfast at Tiffany?s? and Tenacious D?s ?Tribute?, and singing along with violent and reckless abandon. We?re staying this way till the wee hours of Monday morning; Carpe p.m. ? Seize the night! Congratulations V festival ? you have exceeded my expectations threefold! We have had a truly grand weekend!