Latest: tagged with live event
As we approach Victoria Park, throngs of fashionable teenagers are waiting in a queue so long that one girl nearby starts to cry - she's missing Lethal Bizzle!
We pass Bizzle, who although slightly incongruous to the Indie scene, dazzles the crowds nonetheless, commanding them from the Radio 1 Stage to "jump around" - and they quite excitedly do so. Approaching the MySpace stage, The Metros are seen delivering a cheerful set to a lively audience.
And every audience here today is lively; almost scarily so. Without inhibitions they leap headfirst into makeshift mosh pits, eagerly surf the crowds, jumping and singing along like there's no tomorrow.
Sitting in the shade eating ice-creams we listen to the lovely, soothing vocals of Laura Marling on the Radio 1 stage. Next, Kitty, Daisy and Lewis start up their unusual sound, full of scatting vocals and wild instrumentals. Afterwards we decide to join the crowd to secure a good place for The Pigeon Detectives. The crowd is going wild even before the Leeds band step onto the stage and once they do so there is complete havoc as they pound their way through a thoroughly energetic set. Frontman Matt remains ever the showman, conversing with the crowd, tossing his microphone about and making sure everyone is singing along, "even those boring bastards at the back playing football", afterwards quipping that he shouldn't be swearing in front of us.
Next up: Cajun Dance Party with the best set of the day. Each insanely talented member takes to the stage amidst plentiful cheering from the crowd and they launch into "Colourful Life", leading to much singing and dancing. Summery and almost seductive, their music manages to get every single person involved, especially new single "Amylase", which drives the crowd wild. Lead singer, Danny, shows off some kooky dance moves as he sings his heart out whilst shaking a tambourine. As the band finish off, making sure everyone is clapping before they play "The Next Untouchable", bassist Max tosses his pick into what becomes a chaotic mass. Playing through a flawless set, the quintet leave us with little doubt as to why they're being hailed as a key role in the new BritPop uprising.
We hear the first section of Pull In Emergency and it's sounding great for such a green band, but The Rumble Strips start off earlier than expected and so we listen to them whilst we sit in the shade. There's a bit of a split in our group, half of us wanting to see The Mystery Jets, half The Rumble Strips. I end up losing the argument and so we miss The Mystery Jets, but I hear they delivered a particularly great set. The Rumble Strips are very good though, and their upbeat music manages to keep the crowd in high spirits.
After sitting around aimlessly for a while, we watch a bit of Tiny Masters of Today. From what I see of the scarily young duo's set, "Bushy"and "Stickin' It To The Man" particularly stand out. More audience interaction would have added to their performance, which I felt was somewhat lacking - nerves perhaps? They are very young...
We hurry back to the MySpace stage after about 10 minutes of Tiny Masters in order to catch part of the mighty Mumm-Ra. Looking incredibly happy to be there the boys give us a great set, strangely playing some of their most well known songs early on.
Halfway through we run over to the Radio 1 stage to see the second half of Jack Penate. He's got the biggest crowd of the day and looks awed by the entire thing. He doesn't disappoint, full of vitality whilst demonstrating his trademark moves alongside singing and strumming on his guitar. He finishes off with his recent chart hit: "Torn On The Platform", during which the entire park seemingly sings along. He appears completely bemused by it all, but judging by his great performance today he'd better get used to it.
We catch the beginning of Patrick Wolf who I'm admittedly not too big a fan of. He makes an impressive entrance and though his music fails to impress me he's attracted quite the appreciative crowd. And in fairness to the guy, it's the only set of the day I hear bird sound in. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing.
We then journey to the Radio 1 stage once again to watch The Young Knives performing to a smaller crowd than expected. However, they manage to grip onto each and every attendee, giving them an enjoyable time. Clad in smart shirt and tie, the lead singer interacts well with the crowd and they play a pleasing mix of old songs and new keeping every member enthralled.
We then decide to make for the MySpace stage hoping to catch the end of Boy Kill Boy. And by that I quite clearly mean to catch "Suzie". As expected they play it as their finale and they play it very well. The crowd here are crazily into it - after all, they had been clamouring for it the whole way through.
Then, battered and bruised but completely satisfied, we all go home. This exciting new festival catered well to its crowd with a fantastic line-up. It was a shame we couldn't check out all of the bands playing, but as Cajun say: "there's not enough time in any race". A truly fantastic day. Next year? Yes please.
