V Festival (Staffordshire) 2005
Saturday 20th to Sunday 21st August 2005Weston Park, Staffordshire, TF11 8LE, England MAP
£110 w/e (with camping) SOLD OUT, £90 w/e (no camping), £52.50 day
The venue had been given a bit of a change around, the NME stage had been replaced by the rock n roll sounding 'Channel 4 Stage', and the JJB Arena had been switched with the new band stage, now the Volvic Stage.
The weather was perfect when Rooster opened the festival with their drab blend of empty soft rock. El Presidente looked increasingly like a T-Rex cover band as they entertained the Channel 4 Stage in the early afternoon while Idlewild re-asserted themselves as the most middle of the road indie band imaginable.
The Frames delivered dreamy guitar rock to a small crowd of screaming girls and then made an impromptu Britney Spears cover. Tony Christie still wasn't sure about the way to Amarillo and wasn't to sure the way to playing Beatles covers either. Cornish Indie four piece Thirteen Senses worked their way through their delightful debut album, sounding like a cross between Coldplay and Keane.
The Ordinary Boys debuted some of their new material and got the Channel 4 stage crowd skanking along. Turin Brakes sent everyone to sleep with their dull, but touching acoustic pub rock. The Music provided the highlight of the day with their 'music to dance to' attitude and The Hives once again explained to the crowd why they rule the world.
The main stage was closed with two of the biggest bands from the last couple of years, Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand and the unequivocally campness of The Scissor Sisters. The latter sharing the stage with a group of muppetesque creatures.
Glorious sunshine, great music and a fantastic start to this years V Festival.
review by: Scott Johnson