10 things we learnt at V Festival
- By Jack Preston -
- Aug 20, 2012
This weekend saw the Virgin Media V Festival once again descend on Chelmsford and Staffordshire, with glorious weather greeting the two days of live music.
With The Killers playing their first festival sets in over five years and the return of The Stone Roses it will be remembered as one of V’s biggest and best years, read on to find out what Red Room learnt over the weeekend…
10. One Direction enjoy a drink
We say ‘a drink’, we really mean ‘a minimum of ten drinks’, although when the sun is out and the bar is free who can blame them? One of the boys was so merry on Sunday afternoon he tripped into Red Room in the toilets, thankfully his manners didn’t fail him, apologising as one of the sizeable 1D minders kept an eye on proceedings by sticking his head round the toilet door.
9. The most hypnotic sight in music
Red Room wasn’t sure what it was, until this weekend. During a backstage performance Cover Drive singer Amanda Reifer decided to hand out some dancing lessons to onlookers. It’s safe to say that sozzled Englishmen can’t quite swivel their hips like Barbadian women, it’s fun watching them try all the same.
8. Brandon Flowers looks good
And boy do we mean GOOD. After so long away we almost forgot what The Killers frontman looked like, however we were quickly reminded as he stepped out on stage for what was to be a fantastic run through of the band’s back catalogue. His fitted, black attire looked as slick as ever and with an almost permanent smile across his face it was hard to work out who was having more fun – the band or the crowd.
7. When David Guetta tells you to put your fucking hands up, you PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS UP
His show might be getting a little old now, he may also not be a particularly good DJ, but he sure knows how to have fun. The massive 4 Music stage crowd was hanging on the French DJ’s every word – which were helpfully projected onto a big screen.
6. Cher Lloyd is pretty annoying, but not that annoying
She might come across as a horrible little brat at times, but that doesn’t warrant dousing the X Factor popstar in piss.
5. It’s pretty lonely away from the two main stages
The Virgin Media Stage and the 4 Music Stage both attracted vast crowds throughout the weekend, meaning those acts booked to perform on the outer stages stood little chance of getting the numbers. Sadly the likes of Niki and the Dove, who put in a compelling Saturday night performance, were left to perform to a small handful of fans.
4. The long jump trumps the triple jump
The Virgin Media Louder Lounge saw many a celeb spot this weekend, with Olympic gold medal winner and Team GB long jumper Greg Rutherford happy to hog most of the limelight. Countless fans approached Rutherford for a picture and a handshake, leaving fellow Team GB athlete Philips Idowu to watch on and think about what might have been.
3. Olly Murs LOVES Essex
You probably knew this one already, didn’t you? Red Room also had a sneaky suspicion this was the case, although the extent of his devotion to his birthplace surprised even us. His confession that he’d spent the “last three months” preparing a medley for his Chelmsford performance, along with his shouts of “proud to be Essex”, delighted the home crowd.
2. There's nothing wrong with a bit of mud
Although it is a novel idea, there’s something a little pointless and depressing about carpeting a festival in black sheeting. Most of us live in cities and enjoy the chance to roll around in muddy fields as much as we do live music at festivals, why V Festival goes to such lengths to take away a simple pleasure is beyond us. If you’re not sat on the train back to London with a good smattering of mud on you, then something’s gone wrong.
1. If Red Room was rich and famous we’d be very fat
You tell yourself that you wouldn’t be sucked in by the delights of backstage and that you go to a festival to see some live music, but when you’re sitting beside a free bar in the shade on a summer’s afternoon it suddenly proves very difficult to move. If Red Room was put in the position on a regular basis we’d struggle to fit into our size 28s for much longer.
By Jack Preston. Content Executive. Tweets at @JackPressedOn
