A brief review of what we saw. DIDO was as expected, with a nice little african beat twist thrown in. FAITHLESS were full of energy. My favourite was SNOW PATROL who played at 2.35pm on Sunday, but they could have easily headlined (biggest sing-along of the weekend).
Biggest suprise was THE PIXIES who I'm not a fan of, but they know how to put on a show alright! STROKES rocked of course, and KINGS OF LEON were close behind in the rock resurgence. ATHLETE played early on Saturday and didn't get near enough crowd recognition - and I was upset to see everyone jump up and scream for PINK when something really great had preceeded her and her cliched pop hits.
JET unfortunately had a death in the family and had to cancel, the tent for GROOVE AMARDA was full and we chose THE STROKES over MASSIVE ATTACK so we missed out on those three, but seeing BASEMENT JAXX after 5 years wait made up for it! BADLY DRAWN BOY was Badly Boring Boy, and STARSAILOR was OK but also a bit boring.
THE SCISSOR SISTERS probably drew the biggest crowd on the second stage, but I'm not sure why. They were OK, but I don't see them lasting more than as a summer 2004 fad. Managed to catch THE BEES DJ set but not their live set, but they were having fun. KELIS was good too, she played the dance tent with a big Jamaican / African style band.
N.E.R.D knew how to throw a party and certainly upped the energy of the crowd. JAMIE CULLUM did a lovely little Sinatra style set, with a great cover of Hendrix's Wind Crys Mary and Radiohead's High and Dry.
KOSHEEN opended main stage Sunday and were another suprise - really enjoyable, and the drummer inside a perspex box was an interesting concept (see picture below). |
