JOE LEAN AND THE JONG JANG JONG:
WEARING an impossibly skinny pair of jeans 2008 JOE LEAN certainly
lived up to his name.
The band were losing their main stage virginity and you could feel their
excitement the minute they got on stage.
Joe Lean whipped up the crowd into a frenzy after a great warm up by Belfast's THE
ANSWER.
Creating an instant rappour with the crowd, this was a great way to get the
day started.
At one point he stopped to shout at the guests in the VIP section - lulling
them into a false sense of security, he shouted 'Losers, get out here. The
party's over there' as he pointed at the crowd in front of the main stage,
how right he was.
In return, fuelled by the singer's comments, people in the crowd started
throwing stuff at the VIP area.
Highlight of the set was the band's cover of ALEX CHILTERN's Hey Little
Child, a song which Joe Lean said was the the work of an unsung genius.
4 out of 5THE HOOSIERS
HILARIOUS is one way to describe IRWIN SPARKES' banter with the crowd.
This man is certainly a character and his patter in between songs was just
as good as the the band's performance itself.
High energy riffs and anthemic choruses made this one of the early highlights
during Friday's festivities.
With Irwin's brilliant voice, and a band that consisted of trumpeteers dressed
in skeleton outfits, this was pure entertainment.
Cops And Robbers had the crowd po-go-ing like there was no tomorrow, while
Worried About Ray got everyone singing in unison.
Combined with Irwin's cheeky banter and almost comedic skits, this was another
brilliant festival performance.
4 out of 5KT Tunstall
THE only solo act of the day, but you'd never know it - KT commanded the stage
with the presence of four people.
The Scottish singer was on amazing form, following on from the brilliant HOOSIERS
was no mean feat, but KT pulled it off with ease.
Highlight of the set was an impromtu invitation to the crowd to perform a
synchronised 'robot dance' ... like a fitness class instructor she directed
the crown through three easy-to-follow moves before getting them to do it on
their own.
Her interaction with the crowd was second to none, while the set, which
consisted of some of her most recognisable songs, was top notch.
This girl knows how to work a crowd, and she had everyone on a high as the sun
set over the main stage - as the singer said herself, a spritual moment if
ever there was one.
4 out of 5N.E.R.D
WITH all the Indie and rock bands on the bill, it was a surprise to find that
the group who caused the biggest stir of the day's events was more commonly
associated with rap and R&B.
However, with a new album to promote there was no doubt that PHARRELL, CHAD
and HUGO were going to do their best to leave an impression on the
huge crowd that had amassed for their late night set.
The stars and their band seemed to magnetise the main stage attracting
revellers in their droves, like little iron filings - the main area in front
of the stage soon became a sea of people as the band launched into some of
their new LP tracks and, of course, their most well knows hits.
Brain, Rockstar and Lapdance created a buzz like no other band had created
during the first day of the festival. While new single Everybody Nose went
down a storm.
However the highlight of the show came when Pharrell and co played a drum n
bass influenced track from their new album which ended with a battle between
the band's TWO drummers. Absolutely amazing.
Encouraging the crowd to do some 'real English shouting and real English
pushing' the moshers were kept just as happy as the R&B fans.
Most definitely the best set of the day.
5 out of 5KAISER CHIEFS
RICKY Wilson recently said he thought the KAISERS were better than OASIS, so
this set was bound to be something special.
In fact, the frontman was spotted picking up a pair of earplugs in the VIP
section prior to the band's set - a sing that he meant business perhaps.
With hits like I Predict a Riot and Oh My God, the Kaisers are a definite
crowd favourite, proven by the huge number of festival goers who made a
beeline for the front of the main stage.
Ricky was on top form, singing his heart out, and dancing around on stage like
a maniac.
Their new material, although not well known to many of the audience, went down
just as well as some of their chart topping hits - an almost perfecy to end
the night.
However, one small mistake was the delay of their encour.
The band left the stage for what seemed like 5 minutes, leaving many revellers
to presume they weren't coming back on and make their way back to their
tents.
This meant that, when they did come back on stage, the crowd that had gathered
at the front of the stage had dwindled in numbers.
All that said, a highly energetic version of Oh My God was a fantastic way to
end a brilliant first day at the festival.
4 out of 5
