Festival Roundup: V Festival

V Festival is always going to be Reading and Leeds’s younger, less cool cousin. But then again, if we’re sticking with this analogy, it also doesn’t have the brooding moodiness. V Festival is pop through and through. True, if you look hard enough there are artists like Kele from Bloc Party,whose abundantly energetic set electrified the half-filled tent, or Hurts, whose soaringly pure vocals distracted from the bizarre single dancer throwing herself around the stage for the entire set. But if gems like these clash with The Wanted or The Saturdays… well, frankly, they’re in a pickle. Yet the festival offers a guilt free opportunity to have a good time, however ‘credible’ the music may be. If only the all too numerous drunk men hurling cups of beer and heaven knows what else into the crowd could control their bladders.

Cynics would no doubt provide reasons other than her talent as to why Dionne Bromfield (Amy Winehouse's godchild) was met with a crowded tent. But as she ran onstage excitedly, Bromfield’s diminutive figure produced a booming soulful voice that justified her popularity (comparisons with Winehouse are frequent but not entirely inappropriate). Her weakness is in her lyrics- they are so entirely incongruous with her age that she really doesn’t seem to feel them at all. A soulful voice she may have, but there is no soul behind it just yet. “Too Soon To Call It Love” she sings. Yes it is. Because you’re 15.

Later up the bill in the same tent was Eliza Doolittle, whose infectiously summery tunes didn’t disappoint, nor did her cover of Bruno Mars’s 'Grenade', which confirmed she has a quality of voice that her debut album does not truly reflect. The Wombats’ recent single ‘Anti-D’ must win a prize for worst lyrics of the year. “I too am prescribed as freely as any decongestant”, the lead singer whines dramatically, believing he has come up with an extremely deep message. This song aside however, when The Wombats return to what they are best at, upbeat indie anthems, they truly win over the crowd. “Shut up and move with me move with me. Or get out of my way. I didn’t queue for an hour to leave straight away”. Quite.

Next up on the 4music stage, following on from the Example's huge crowd that Example somehow managed to muster up, was Jessie J. Spending most of the set on a white chez-longue thanks to a broken foot, the singer proved one of the highlights of the day. It is no easy feat (no pun intended) to keep people’s attention when you are forced to remain seated for the majority of the set, but Jessie’s immense stage presence, and frankly incredible voice meant everyone around was transfixed. She’s not everybody’s favourite, her unapologetically saccharine lyrics and faux-American accent leave her open to lazy criticism. But, as she encouraged the crowd to put peace signs in the air for a stunning rendition of “Nobody’s Perfect”, the conclusion is unavoidable: this is certainly no one hit wonder.

The Airborne Toxic Event’s performance was a more modest affair, but the combination of strong vocals and an unusually prominent violinist climbing over amps as if she was in a metal band meant that what could have been a lacklustre affair given the small crowd, was a success. The most poignant moment of the festival came when Shingai Shoniwa from Noisettes dedicated a moving rendition of “Every Now & Then” to her sister who passed away on Monday.

Eminem and Rihanna were on top form, the latter, despite her seeming inability to stop touching herself, slightly outperforming the rap phenomenon. Arctic Monkeys provided an adequate, if slightly disappointing performance to close the festival. He seemed mildly bored and complacent as he mumbled his way through the set. But luckily for the band, songs like ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ could revive the crowd’s energy even if they were performed by actual monkeys rather than Arctic ones.

So another V Festival is over for the year, and, having provided, whether or not it is your cup of tea (or urine), just what was expected, Richard Branson can sleep well at night.

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