Whilst it felt like half the country was at either Reading or Leeds last weekend (and who could blame them with such a mega line up), I spent the weekend down in Portsmouth at Victorious festival on Southsea Common.
Now, this was not my first time coming to this festival, however it had been quite some time since my last visit. And this time, it felt like there was much more to do. From a small gaming arcade to a huge amount of shops, there was no way you could get bored.
The multi genre festival means that there is something for everyone, but this year’s line up definitely pulled in a more mature crowd. And even though rain lashed it down at times, and almost every artist mentioned the wind on day two, the weather did not put a stop to any partying.
Sadly there were a lot of clashes, meaning I couldn’t get around to seeing everyone I wanted to. What I did see was brilliant though. And with lots of American artists making a trip to drizzly Portsmouth, in addition to plenty of legends from our own country, it felt like an honour seeing some of the people I did. Victorious festival outdid itself with this line up.
Friday:
Unfortunately we didn’t get to see as much as we wanted on the first day, because we arrived later than expected. Disappointingly we missed the special afternoon guest of the day, which was Rudimental. It’s worth noting that the site is absolutely huge, and getting from stage to stage is a trek within itself, but finding wherewe needed to go to begin with was also a task. Especially as the campsite is nowhere near the festival.
My first act of the day was the end of a performance sadly, but I was so happy to be able to see The Coral’s last two songs. In the Morning and Dreaming of You both sounded incredible and were rightly lapped up by the audience who had formed for them. It was the perfect way to start your day with two iconic tunes.
Cast were next, also on the Common Stage, and they brought a lot of Northern swagger and charm, again to an audience who were absolutely loving it. There were a lot of Cast t-shirts that day, so they had a large fan base there to see them. The sun was beating down at this point, and Cast were brilliant, even to someone who knew them by name but couldn’t name you a song.
The vibe completely changed over at the Castle Stage, which is, perhaps rather self explanatory, a stage facing a castle, making for a very stunning view. And who better to see there than the Venga Boys. They were fun, they came with a party energy, it was silly but in the best way.
How much of their singing was actually live/ not pumped full of effects? Who cares? We all knew what we were expecting. We just wanted to scream ‘Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom.’ The audience was being told all the moves by a group who had two members that were dressed as half the Village People. It was like a children’s party but with the most adults in attendance you will ever see. It was an interesting sight.
Hard-fi took to the same stage, giving another energetic performance but just a slightly different energy. As someone who had seen them before, there was something a little bit off about the performance though. It sounded like their front man was having some voice troubles, one song in particular sounding strained, and resulting in asking the audience to help.
They were good but it was hard not to notice this fact, even though it wasn’t addressed. People responded surprisingly well to their new tracks as well which is always nice to see.
Scissor Sisters played all their hits from Don’t Feel Like Dancing to Filthy/Gorgeous alongside some great choreography, although it was surprisingly raunchy for the early evening. It was kind of cheesy sometimes and very camp, but honestly, it’s what you want from them.
Jake Shears is an excellent front man, and his hat game was strong for this performance. They were very chatty as well, which made them even more captivating.
And for the final musician of the night, it was over to Richard Ashcroft, an absolute king of indie music. He is everything Liam Gallagher wishes he was, sunglasses on even though it was dark, the big screens showing him in black and white, and just full of nonchalance and swagger. He is the epitome of cool.
The last four songs were the big four tracks by The Verve, which received so much love from the crowd. Bittersweet Symphony of course closed the proceedings, and honestly it felt like I had reached the pinnacle of life. What a song, especially live. And it was the one time he cracked a smile on his formally stoic face, just to tell us we were all legends.
Saturday:
After spending time exclusively the day before swapping between the two big stages, I thought it was a good way to start the day with a trip to one of the smaller stages, which there are quite a lot of across the expansive site.
Already absolutely soaked from a morning downfall, we headed over to Under the Trees to see the aptly named, The Common. Though the stage was small, the crowd was pretty big and the band were epic. Their half hour set flew by, every song standing out and worth a listen.
That day’s afternoon guest was Dizzee Rascal, a name I hadn’t heard in some time. If you were flagging, which frankly I kind of was, even this early into the festival, this was the set you needed. It was a real pick me up, a mid afternoon party ending on Bonkers which the crowd rightfully went bonkers to.
White Lies had a lovely sound, another lively crowd giving them a positive reception. Their set wasn’t overly memorable in a day of bigger names, but they are a band I would love to give more of a listen to.
Happy Mondays pulled in a big audience, because why wouldn’t they? Were they good? Questionable. Did the crowd mind? Of course not. We were all more than happy, laughing as Bez strutted up and down the stage shaking his maracas and occasionally having a chat with us. Shaun Ryder mainly stood around hugging a bottle of water. The rest of the band sounded amazing though.
Step On is always worth listening to as well, and nothing says festival more than everyone anticipating the line ‘you’re twisting my melon, man.’
Kate Nash was over on the Castle Stage, and although I only caught the last half of her set, it was definitely enough. There were two incredibly spoken word songs in a row, the second of which she led up to with a speech about feminism and political views, which did not go down well with the audience. Turns out festivals are not the place to air your grievances with angry rants when people are there to listen to your music.
All was forgiven when she played Foundations which sadly was all most people were there for anyway. The stark difference between her early pop track and politically infused composition side by side was kind of jarring, but as were the smiles and little waves she did whilst she sang said angry songs.
Jessie J was a massive throwback, and up to this point, I hadn’t seen a crowd this big form. Everyone came for a dose of 2010’s nostalgia. This may make people feel really old, but for me, it took me back to my school days. She played all the classics and she was sassy and full of life. Jessie J is an excellent performer with an incredibly strong voice that is severely underrated because she is a pop singer. It was a powerful show that somehow was made to feel really personal.
Back and forth, back and forth, I had returned to the Castle Stage again to see Doves. It’s hard to comment on them because their set was cut short due to being 15 minutes late. There was a technical issue that we all assumed was weather related. It was a real shame because what they played sounded great.
An absolutely legendary artist blessed the Common Stage. Nile Rodgers and Chic were a real pinch me moment. Was I really watching them? Yes, yes I was. Annoyingly I missed parts of the set but still got to hear most of it, a range of tracks spanning across Nile Rodgers’ career including songs from Madonna, David Bowie and Daft Punk, all of which he produced music for. The anecdotes were brilliant and the music was funky and groovy. Nile Rodgers also never ages and he looked very ‘chic’ in his white patterned suit.
The Black Keys were headlining the Common Stage and their sound was punchy, playing great songs including Gold on the Ceiling (a personal fave). However, it felt like a niche choice in terms of headliner on the main stage. Of course they are a huge name, but with Bastille over on the Castle stage, they felt like the more obvious choice.
Taking out personal preference, Bastille probably have more universal appeal, but when you’ve managed to get Nile Rodgers and Chic for your festival, they were probably the even more rightful headliner material.
Because of this reason, I had to go and view a bit of Bastille’s set. Regardless of whether you like their music, you can’t deny they put on a great show. When I arrived, they still hadn’t started, another tech issue that meant their set was cut off too. They still managed to fit in plenty of tracks that many would probably at least vaguely recognise. They have a family friendly sound that indeed got a range of people dancing, and they were a nice end to the second night.
Sunday:
The last day came around very very fast and it was time to say goodbye to another festival. Making sure the last day really counted, a carefully curated schedule was created for maximum viewing. And to start things off was Finn Forster. Although he has quite a generic sound, there is something very charming about the man himself. He put a lot of effort into the performance and it was a strong set.
The final special guest of the weekend was Sigrid. She has a high energy, but also a very girl next door look about her. She has such a confidence about her that screams pop star though. She seemed so surprised by the amount of love for her, which just made her loveable. Sigrid also played a track she had never played before, a Victorious exclusive.
The Guest List are a band that deserves much more recognition. This was my third time seeing them, because when I see them on a line up, you can guarantee I will be there. They are simply captivating and their songs feel inspired by existing bands but they are really unique as well, striking that balance very well.
Following them was Seb Lowe, who is another interesting act. He has a varied sound and can do some great things with his voice, belting out lyrics about political issues but in a way that doesn’t annoy a crowd (ahem, take notes Kate Nash). At times it sounded like musical theatre, other times, it just sounded like classic indie, sometimes it sounded like rap. It was all infectious though, very clever lyrics and you couldn’t help but love it.
Because I was too into Seb Lowe’s set, I missed most of Reef’s performance. I just about heard Place Your Hands in passing. Honestly that was all I needed. Another anthem I can’t believe I heard live.
The Enemy gave an amazing show. Even though the singer had a bad voice, you couldn’t tell. He put in 110%, enunciating his words, almost distractingly so. We all loved hearing Away from Here and the many other bangers this band are responsible for. It was very loud and very rocky. 10 out of 10.
The same could not be said for Sleeper. Though this rests heavily on personal opinion, I thought their set was rather boring, a sickly sweet sound, happy go lucky, but no drive behind it. They put a lot into their set but I just didn’t find their music interesting enough.
It felt like everyone and their dog came to see The Streets perform their iconic album ‘A Grand Don’t Come for Free’ in full. Their set design was awesome, a bus shelter that was used a prop throughout the whole show. Including when Mike Skinner started drawing on it, at the same time as singing (actually kind of impressed), writing ‘Play Up Pompey’ which hyped the crowd even more.
This seemed to be the band’s way of communicating with the crowd, as they didn’t talk once, at least in the half of the set I saw. The lack of interaction felt like an am-dram performance. The band talking and responding to each other, like the crowd wasn’t even there. Truly a spectacle and very immersive. Fit but you Know It was of course a crowd pleaser. It’s amazing how much people love songs that sound like a bloke’s diary entry for the day, but it’s quite clever I suppose.
We left to go and see Kelis, which turned out to be another party set. When it rained for five minutes midway through, it genuinely felt euphoric. Milkshake, Trick Me and Bounce all absolute bops. The crowd was dancing, Kelis was dancing. She barely spoke to us, in fact there was barely a gap between each song, just straight onto another tune. Like I say, one long party.
To end, Kasabian closed Victorious, and they were a worthy headliner. The countdown on the screen ten minutes before they started got everyone excited before they even made their entrance to Club Foot. They are raucous and energetic, and anyone else being the final act would have been an insult. Serge was utilizing the strip down the middle of the crowd, running up and down it several times. When every song is that good, and your performance is that epic, you know that Kasabian was where you needed to be to end the festival experience.
And with that the festival ended. It was a class experience with bands and musicians I wouldn’t have dreamed I would see in the flesh.
Until next year, that’s another festival over. Absolutely brilliant though.
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