This year’s Isle of Wight Festival was a bizarre mix of something for everyone; Spandau Ballet next to the Editors, Crowded House followed up by Vampire Weekend. This created a spectrum of festival goers that looked more family day out and chavs on tour than the crazy festival vibe that flocked to the Isle of Wight when Mark Bolan kicked it all off back in 1968 or when Jimi Hendrix burned it all down with his swan song in 1970.
Friday…
Mr Hudson was the first biggish name on stage and his lacklustre performance was saved by Doves and the first rays of sunshine. Closing on There Goes the Fear on a sun drenched Friday afternoon on the Isle of Wight, they brought the festival to life.
Unfortunately, Calvin Harris was next up on the bill and the momentum was lost. Bad vocals and his poor impression of ’80s electropop combined to eclipse the shine.
However, Marina & the Diamonds brought it all back with a strong performance at the Big Top.
Back at the Main Stage just in time to see Florence & the Machine ending her set with Dog Days are Over with the crowd completely entranced.
The headline for the Friday night was Jay-Z who changed the face of festivals back in 2008 when he headlined Glastonbury. This time around his set was filled out with his new album, so there was even more to get involved with. Despite a speed-rap bit that seemed to be a sideswipe at Eminem in the contest for biggest rapper in the world, which was a bit lame, Jay-Z was on fire; smashing out lyrics with ease and rolling out Kanye West for a birthday cameo.
Saturday…
Despite missing most of Paloma Faith’s set on the main stage, she sounded good on the way down and the closing lines of New York were being sung by everyone on the field when I arrived.
Crowded House’s singalong was a bit of a crowd pleaser, especially for the many that didn’t seem to have a Danny La Rue about any of the acts until Macca broke out Hey Jude late on Sunday night.
Vampire Weekend were as faultless as ever, with the songs from Contra, their second album, sounding great mixed in with all the hits from Vampire Weekend.
Biffy Clyro & Blondie were OK, but neither came close to being a good warm up act for the might of The Stokes. The tragedy that no new songs were played completely passed me by during the gig. Getting to see Julian Casablancas back on stage with Albert Hammond Jr, Nick Valensi, Nikolai Fraiture ad Fabrizio Moretti again is definitely the highlight of 2010 so far.
Sunday…
Just made it down to the Main Arena in time for the last of The Courteeners’ gig. Their time slot had been brought forward by half an hour, which was pretty annoying. They sounded impressive on the big stage though, looking completely relaxed playing to a big audience.
The Friendly Fires’ Ed Macfarlane gyrated his way through their gig with sweat patches all over his shirt. Why hasn’t anyone (his mum maybe) taken him to the side and told him about the possibilities of either antiperspirant or a darker colour shirt on a hot hot day on stage.
I sort of nodded off for the first part of Spandau Ballet’s first ever festival set, but i woke up in time to see them keeping the crowd happy. Gold was always going to be a winner.
The Editors didn’t really put much into their gig and sounded a bit flat, but I guess being sandwiched in between Spandau Ballet and Pink isn’t much of a compliment, so maybe their hearts weren’t in it.
Pink, however, was all show. The music was secondary to a circus like performance that included dropping out of a box attached to a crane over the crowd, zorbing over the top of the audience and summersaulting through the air on a supped up version of a theatrical winch like the ones that they use in Peter Pan pantos. It all looked very impressive as a spectacle, but in terms of musical performances, it was a house built of card tricks.
Paul McCartney did a great job of upholding the musical legacy of the Beatles. Being the only member still around playing live, it was a genuine pleasure to see. His goofy cool banter and simple stage presence were backed up by amazing musical performances that couldn’t be dampened by the rain showers that flicked on and off during his set. His ukulele version of Something, originally written by George Harrison for the White Album, was genuinely touching and Helter Skelter rocked as hard as it did when it first appeared back in 1968 as one of the fledgling ripples of metal.
In a nutshell…
With arguably one of the best line-ups in the 2010 festival calendar, I’m glad I made it down to the Isle of Wight this year. Getting to see The Strokes on the start of their comeback alongside a Beatle on brilliant form was amazing. However, it would have to be a stunning line-up in 2011 to tempt me back. Time slot changes, congested routes through the festival and the sheer number of weekenders took some of the joy out of the festival. There’s also an unhealthy commercial vibe that overshadows the entire weekend, making it feel more like a money making exercise rather than a celebration of music.
