Checklist of festival do’s and dont’s consulted from the V festival website, sun cream, festival hat, wellies and tent packed – it was time to start a great weekend of music and entertainment at V festival 2012.
Checklist of festival do’s and dont’s consulted from the V festival website, sun cream, festival hat, wellies and tent packed – it was time to start a great weekend of music and entertainment at V festival 2012.
Friday saw the campers getting settled in, and the atmosphere was exciting. Everyone had smiles on their faces with the promise of the weekend ahead. Although the live music did not officially start until the Saturday, there was still plenty to do once the tent was up on the Friday afternoon; from choosing a new festival hat from one of the many shops available in and out of the arena, seeking thrills at the fair, chillaxing with a film or getting in the party mood with DJ’s and music available in the arena tents.
After a busy first evening, Friday night is then all about trying to locate where you have actually pitched your tent before the sun rises! However, with the new, free V Festival ‘Tent Finder’, you could easily be back in your tent for a restful night before the official weekend of live music starts!
Saturday kicked off with a classic act ‘The Stranglers’ on the Virgin Media stage, which set the bar high for the day.
Heading into the afternoon, there was definitely something for everyone with a great mix of old and new to choose from; Olly Murs looked like he was having the time of his life on the Virgin Media Stage, and Tinie Tempah completely rocked Stafford, with his final song lasting a whole 10 minutes with no let up from the crowd who sang and danced like it was the last song at the office Christmas party! The Feeling, Shed Seven, and Miles Kane tempted at the 4Music stage, DJ fresh and The Human League at the Arena Stage, and Minus the Bear and All The Young at the Undercover Stage.
Frank Turner gave an excellent performance, as did Madness and Tom Jones, who pulled in the crowds for a good old sing song with tracks like ‘House of Fun’ ‘Baggy Trousers’ (Madness), ‘Delilah’ and ‘You can leave your hat on’ (Tom Jones), which encouraged a few of the more adventurous to re-enact the beginning of ‘The Full Monty’ well known scene, even at 5.30pm!
Between such great acts (and toilet breaks) Gourmet Garden and V Healthy once again offered a fantastic selection of food to tempt, at great quality and reasonable prices. The selection was even better and healthier than last year, and remained a popular eating, relaxing and catching up with friends spot of the weekend. As did the new Virgin Media ‘Our House’ which was a great party place to visit, with guest DJ’s, a cash bar and laptops to twitter about.
The headlining acts of Saturday certainly made this day a busy one, with many sporting ‘Killers’ T shirts, it was amazing to see the number of people at the Virgin Media Stage to enjoy one of the Killers best ever performances at V festival this year. Also, LMFAO fans were out in force, and easy to spot with their fanciful outfits! Fancy dress seemed ever popular at this V festival, as did the ‘design your own T shirt’ idea, which you can now enter into a competition with V festival for your own T shirt design and a chance to win free tickets to next year’s V festival – see www.vfestival.com for full details, before the 14th September!
With tired feet, and voices lost from belting out great tunes all day, the campers headed back to their tents, still singing! This year saw the return of the search for ‘Alan’ and sometimes his mate ‘Steve’ but once again they did not seem to be there! Or certainly not where most were looking? Maybe they were in the Luxury Loo’s?
Sunday morning arrived bringing with it some rain showers. This did not dampen the mood, however, as crowds continued to go about their morning breakfasts, and preparations for the day ahead. If you got wet, or took an unplanned (or planned!) slide through the mud, you could always pick up a new T shirt or sweatshirt at the official merchandising stores at get into some dry clothes again.
Undeterred by the weather, crowds flocked to the Virgin Media stage early with lungs ready to sing the all time favourite I’m gonna be (500 miles) as The Proclaimers opened on Sunday. Although you would think this would secure the rain for the day, it had the opposite effect! The sun came out shortly after, with a big cheer from the crowd.
With the sun then there to stay for the rest of the day, the afternoon line up offered a lot of choice, from Emelie Sande, James Morrison and Keane on the Virgin Media Stage, Maverick Sabre and Labrinth on the 4Music Stage, or Wretch 32 and The Ting Tings on the Arena Stage.
The Glee Club Comedy Stage gave another strong line up of acts, and ‘Our House’ by Virgin media definitely kept the party atmosphere going. A highlight of Sunday, however, belonged to the Undercover arena, with Tim Minchin’s mix of comedy and rock entertained many between 6-7pm – that was one not to miss!
The evening just got better and better, with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, and an inspired performance of vocals, musical talent and the ‘dance like no-one is watching’ style of The Friendly Fires leading up to the final headlining acts of the weekend. This was a difficult choice for many, as Ed Sheeran, David Guetta and The Stone Roses were all appealing, and formed the topic of conversation for most leading up to the last set of the weekend. As I somehow managed to get round all 3 acts in the same evening (which is possible if you plan it right!), I can safely say, all were worth a watch.
With the live music then at an end, V festival 2012 celebrated with a spectacular firework display which awed. Many then met up with friends at the fair, or V healthy, for a final reflection on the day’s highlights. A great way to wrap up the day, perhaps with a V healthy snack!
The mood words for Monday morning could be described as ‘elated’ and well worth the trek with the tent and rucksack when festival goers packed up their tents and headed home, tired but still smiling. This year’s festival had the sun and the rain, the music and the comedy, the crowds, the big hits and the classic songs and many special moments that made it the best weekend of the year. Look out for the early bird V festival 2013 tickets on sale soon. You definitely don’t want to miss out, perhaps you can even tell Alan and Steve?!
To find out more and to book tickets visit http://www.vfestival.com/
All about Jacki
Jacky is a big fan of music, and very much enjoys listening to live bands at concerts, festivals and around her local town of Shrewsbury. Some of her favourite artists are Kings of Leon, Elbow, Black Eyed Peas, Eminem and even a bit of classic Queen but her favourite band is Muse she explains;
I have always had a passion for music, even from a young age. The first CD that I bought was Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, and ever since I have loved a mix of rock and pop. I really look forward to summer music festivals as it’s just people there having a good time with friends, and appreciating good music, I love that feel-good festival atmosphere!
Her moto is ‘work hard-play hard’
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