Seven things from Leeds Festival 2011

Words by Natalie Shaw

We went to Leeds Festival, and wrote about seven things of note. Here they are:

1) Tom Vek is the best

Tom Vek stole Leeds Festival from under the rest of the line-up’s noses. His performance was a million miles from what I’d entirely unjustifiably imagined – a shy man in the corner hiding behind a laptop. Instead, we were presented with a supremely confident performer who continually switched up his moves as bold and bright as a gawky, obnoxious Beyonce. The monotone of his vocal was the only one-dimensional element of his performance.

While the new songs aren’t as fresh, with years of amazing music having come between them and Vek’s first mini-bout of fame, they’re in perfect context here at Leeds – whose bill has essentially been nabbed from the mid-00s. He takes us back to another micro-generation where we were twattishly precious, still learning – so much so that attendance feels like an ambition fulfilled; the sighting of a rare bird.

A voice that sounds so obscure – almost flooded by oddball beats and slides on We Have Sound – feels so rich and triumphant here that it’s almost implausible to think of where he’s been during that six-year hiatus. A venture into DnB on ‘A.P.O.L.O.G.Y.’, from the new album Leisure Seizure, sounds absolutely glorious – and opener ‘CC (You Set The Fire In Me)’ leaves a packed-to-the-brim Radio 1/NME tent beaming.

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IN-DEPTH: The Big Chill Festival 2011, Eastnor Castle Deer Park

2011 has seen innumerable festivals fall off the edge of solvency, which has begged an overarching question: what makes a festival special? In a not-too-hippy way, it’s clearly more than the line-up – by virtue of it changing each year, and each festival’s audience not only fluctuating in number but differing in terms of attendees. Music changes with each year too, meaning – necessarily – that the popular mass’s tastes alter in a similar-looking chart.

So we land at The Big Chill Festival, set in amidst rolling hills and spotlit trees in Eastnor Castle Deer Park. Kanye West has been booked as the headliner, playing a rare UK set – sandwiched in between the incongruous-at-first-glance Chemical Brothers and Rodrigo y Gabriela. Doubters ought to take heed for just how representative this diversity is of the artists currently coming through the UK, and how they’ve shaped and changed their sound through the years. We’re no longer in that mid-’00s lull where fixating on one micro-genre is the only way to preserve our realness as music fans. … Continue Reading

Latitude 2011, Henham Park

The Raghu Dixit Project - photo by Natalie Shaw

Following the raucous and utterly trollied feel of T In The Park, the ‘brow’ of my summer of festivals made a giant leap upwards – not geographically, pedants! – to Latitude: the world’s finest in posh festivals.

It’s a resplendent site, is Henham Park; it has a lake, brightly-coloured sheep, knitting tents, modern art and poetry, cheese and wine for crying out loud – but not to fear, for what it’s also got is an excellent line-up and a brazen, excitable atmosphere.
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T In The Park, Balado Airfield

T in the Park

We bring you the round up from our next stop in an 11-festival calendar with Vodafone VIP – Scotland’s pride, T in the Park festival.

For those who presume that a festival containing 70,000 ‘revellers’ (as the local papers will have you picture it) in a giant muddy field can’t possibly have the excitement of their favourite band headlining a venue in their town, T in the Park is a strong challenger. … Continue Reading

Behind the scenes at Wireless Festival 2011

Wireless Festival 2011

Coverage for our festival season with Vodafone VIP takes an interesting turn this week, as we take you behind the scenes of [*drum roll* *Dermot O'Leary voice*] Wireless Festival 2011 to help you understand just what happens when we put on our interviewer-hat. It’s a three-day stretch wherein we come face-to-face with the likes of David Guetta, Alexis Jordan, Wretch 32, Labrinth, Her Majesty & The Wolves, Mike Posner, Michael Franti, Ke$ha, Katy B, Alex Metric, Example and Parade. The glamour!

But before we start, a note on Wireless: it’s wonderful. The first day was the Tottenham grime crew rebirthed onto a massive stage, highlighting everything that’s exciting about the UK charts (as opposed to the US’s) right now. The second day carries on that same vibe, with characters including Katy B and Mike Skinner (The Streets) bringing fun and excitement to the masses. And the third day is a different offering entirely, with Cut Copy on the third stage the highlight – there’s nothing clever or other-levelly about their dancing, it’s just a giant sweatbox brought alive with a whole set’s worth of sizzlingly infectious pop hits. And now for a trip into the press area… … Continue Reading

Hard Rock Calling, London Hyde Park – Sunday

A happy customer enjoying the Vodafone VIP viewing platform at Hard Rock Calling

Muso’s Guide is working with Vodafone VIP across festival season – here’s the latest in our jaunts:

Nostalgia is a destructive beast, particularly when it stultifies engagement with what the present-day brings. What’s more, it can blind-side people into glamourised over-emoting of what may never have been how they recall it. And it’s with this kind of admittedly dubious overthinking that I approach Hyde Park’s gates for the third day of Hard Rock Calling, longing for more personality and drama in exchange for the impressive tally of nothingness racked up over the festival’s first two days. … Continue Reading

Hard Rock Calling, London Hyde Park – Friday and Saturday

Hard Rock Calling

Muso’s Guide is working with Vodafone VIP across festival season – here’s the latest in our jaunts:

The weekend’s triple-header opens with headliners who wouldn’t immediately bring to mind the “hard rock” guns; Nevada’s The Killers have been away and still sing about boyfriends who look like girlfriends, indie rock ‘n’ roll and ponder whether we’re ‘human’ or one of Rudolph’s friends. So far, so fey – but even through the rain, Brandon Flowers’ fans pull through, gently swaying to the indie-disco of years gone by. The keyboards’ datedness sound double-dated in 2011, and unfortunately the Kaiser Chiefs don’t fare much better. … Continue Reading

Festival highlights: Download and Isle of Wight

Most Rubbish Photo Of The Weekend: Mine, Of Pulp (honestly, it's them)

This weekend, I went to Download Festival for a day and Isle of Wight Festival for two, with Vodafone VIP. And it’s time for a summary of what happened:

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Manics and Kasabian close a rainy Isle of Wight Festival

Vodafone VIP viewing platform

Leicester’s Kasabian closed a muddy, soggy Isle of Wight Festival to a still-packed crowd last night in Seaclose Park, singer Tom Meighan thanking the audience for sticking with the weather.
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