The Streets draw We The People to a fitting close

With concerns that the heavy rain showers forecast may cause a fake tan-sunami, leaving hundreds of confused and streaky looking people in its wake, We headed to the festival to get a quick look at the line up before heading off and exploring a bit more of Bristol before the festival started to liven up.

Upon arrival and witnessing the rather depressed looking first act going through the motions in the dance tent to 30 or so people, we decided to check out the main stages first act of the day. Being the first act on a wet Sunday afternoon, must be a bit daunting but Engine-Earz Experiment provided a musical and excellent start to what was going to be a great albeit very different second day.

We didn't spend a lot of time in the tent to be honest as the first few acts I saw made me wish I was listening to Professor Green remixing Enya. Due to the organisers changing set times and a lack of any introductions, I wasn't sure who or what we were seeing/hearing and therefore none of the offenders will get any bad press.

Lee Scratch Perry was the first big name in the Dance tent and after yet another drawn out changeover, and being blocked by a line security, determined at the artists request to stop any photo's being taken. He took to the stage. If you get to see him live, you'll see why he has become such a keystone in the reggae/dub scene, and as expected they were brilliant.

Having spoken to lots of people on the Saturday, and hearing the line "We only bought tickets for the Saturday as we've got work on Monday." I was dubious about the number of people who would turn out. My fears were unfounded as crowd numbers seemed only slightly diminished, with less clubbers and more seasoned all-weather festivalgoers taking up the slack.

Putting Beardyman in your Line-up seems to be some sort of new Festival regulation and for good reason. With covers of Bristol's own Massive attack and Portishead thrown in, his one-man show had people dancing and laughing from the get-go. Roots Manuva filled the Dance tent to capacity with the queues out-side showing testament to his popularity. It was by far the busiest I saw the dance tent across the two days and with people even bouncing outside to songs like witness 1 hope, I can confidently say he had a great set.

Martin Reeves aka Krafty Kuts was to follow, and having heard from a friend that he had played a storming set in Exeter the night before, I thought it best to hang around and check him out and as the heavens decided to remind us what English festival season can be like, I think the audience appreciated having the tent as shelter while they danced to Mr Kuts's funky electronic dance. MC Doom, notorious for allegedly sending imposters to pose as him at live shows, played a great hip hop set that even the aforementioned showers couldn't dampen. The Sunday certainly seemed to me to have more musical variety and I congratulate the organisers for that, as it defiantly added to the more chilled out vibe.

Having not heard Sub Focus before, I really wasn't sure what to expect and having possibly the best lightshow of the festival, they definitely gave Chase and Status a run for their money in the 'Massive Sound' category. With catchy D'n'B blaring and with Catchy songs like 'Rock It' doing exactly as it said, Sub Focus went down a storm and set the scene for the headliners and festival closers The Streets.

Like Marmite, The Streets rarely get an ambivalent answer. People seem to either love or hate Mike Skinner's 'mockney' accent.I quite like Marmite and I quite like The Streets (no correlation) and as this was billed as one of their final gigs. I was keen to see what they were like live.The amphitheatre was full and as the darkness set in, Mike and co played through classics and new alike. With uplifting songs like 'Push Things Forward' and 'Don't Mug Yourself' mixed with the more poetic and melodic 'Is It Too Late' The Streets drew WTP to a fitting close.

All in all, the music made WTP a big success. If you look at the facebook page, you will see mixed reviews and if this was the second or third year of the festival, I would have been a lot more critical of the logistics and organisation.

I hope to see it return next year and with the rumours of a venue change, later licences and more stages We The People can only get bigger and better.

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