Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

I have some pictures that I'll add in due course but for now I'll just get down to the reviewing nitty gritty. So after two accidents on the road I just managed to scrape into the festival just in time to see the love of my life Miss...

I saw Lily back at V 2006 on the second stage before the Manic Street Prechers, it was quite the one two punch back then, and she easily surpased that performance. She no longer has to rely on some weaker album tracks this was all killer no filler. As those who watched Glastonbury would have noticed she's beefed up many of her many tracks with dance remixes, the D'n'B version of smile is an absolute delight and a clear highlight. As was the brilliant Oh My God/Everything's Just Wonderful tamdem, a perfect blend and with a sudden switch. Lily was in good voice today, and her banter was as good as ever, it's nice to see her chilled out goofing around with the cricket and seeming more proffesional while still retaining and every girl feel. I won't get into her dancing or clothes as I'm in danger of sounding like the world's biggest stalker. Lily easily replaces Amy Winehouse as the best pop act I've ever seen live, reclaiming her throne which was briefly pinched away. She has everything down, she has the hits, she has the songwritting, she has the personality, and it's the last factor that really makes the difference, she doesn't need big dance numbers or flashy extras to sell the show, it's just Lily. The biggest improvement in the set if it's superb streamlining and how the songs perfectly fit together, it feels like an experience moving from place to place, and it has to be said Womanizer is a superb choice of track to cover. However I've saved the best till last, Not Fair, is just a fucking anthem, there's no other way to put it, when you can get all the men in the feild to start singing along to a harsh and brutally cynical song about being crap in bed you know you've done something right. Live it takes on a new persona, its huge, it's not epic, but it's so danceable and singable, it shoots right into my top ten live tracks (a list that I'll be doing later in the year). So while I wouldn't have said it before, the sheer awesomeness of Not Fair means I can legitimately say Lily Allen is one of the acts you must see live before you die, and that is honestly without my usual bias.

As I suspected The Specials drew a respectable enough crowd but against the queens of gash pop the Ting Tings on the other stage, there's only one direction the V crowd were going to head. I should point out Ting Tings are one of the worst bands I've ever seen live, and no it wasn't a bad night I've seen them twice and they actually got worse. The Specials on the other hand were sublime, they weren't top level quality, but they were perfect in the afternoon sun. The ideal band to have a sing song and sillily dance like your dad to. Intriguingly they feel more relevant now than ever, with the wave of gang attacks and knife crimes in urban city centres (even though the Media do blow it out of all porportion), the Specials calming message of love over violence, seems more apt than ever. So it may not be the Nation Front against the Rude Boys but the parallels are there, and it just warms you heart seeing the Specials. Music wise it was everything you want, the best slowees like Night Club and then the danceathons Too Much Too Young and of course Monkey Man. However, more than just a merry trip down memory lane the Specials had a suprise in hand for us, as they called on their friend "Amy" to join them for a song. Sure enough Winehouse arrived for the sure fire set closers You're Wondering Now and of course Ghost Town. So a big suprise and some fun in the sun what more could a guy ask for...(I'm sure I'd normally do a Lily joke here, but I'll take the high road).

So when I saw Calvin Harris back a Wireless two or tree years ago, I detested it, his music was so limmited, he was so cocky, it was all too in your face. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a good time dancing but it was a shallow thrill. So has he learnt any new tricks in 2009? Well not really, he has more songs and you can see he's torn between being a hit maker and trying to do something progressive, he of course normally leans towards the former. However I'm not here to rip on Calvin, I don't care for his personality but he puts on a good show, and works hard to make sure the crowd are having a good time. The overly loud backing vocal that shatters any illusion of him singing is a bit of downer but other that he was pretty good. What gives him the X Factor is the simplicity of his music, if you don't like any of the bands on go see Calvin Harris, it may be shallow but it's so damn immediate you'll be singing along to songs you've never even heard before in seconds. And it may well be a cluster fuck on record but I dare any of you to not have the time of you life shouting the "Ooooooh" in Ready For The Weekend. So all in all, solid, dependable, and still fun, Calvin is perfect festival fodder.

I am so torn about this set, I can't describe it. Anyway, I had to race to give my mate Harry his ticket and then merge into the monsterous crowd that The Killers had drawn, I have to say even at V I was surprised to see them do this well especially up against Fat Boy Slim and 2 Many DJs who are no slouches in the drawing power department. So what of the set? I'm utterly enfuriated, they played brilliantly, they played everything you wanted to hear, in the order you wanted to hear it, they had a passion crowd ready and waiting and....It was too FUCKING quiet. I thought it was just Glastonbury as when I saw Killers at V 2006 and Reading 2004 there was no sound issue, they weren't the loudest but it sounded great. So I'd put the reports of sound issues at Reading 2008 out of my mind, and I was flabbergasted, the crowd were singing there hearts out, destroying our throats and when you wanted the big guitar lick to kick in so you could bounce it was just limp. It's so hard to describe how annoying this is, the set teased you with it's brilliance, and then pulled the rug out from under. I actually can't fault their playing, or Brandon's singing which was much better this year, it's just a minor technical issue that keeps letting them down. It made you feel bad to clap or singalong as you felt you'd be ruining it for everyone around you. However in the same token with a sequin star studded set list including Mr Brightside, Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine, Somebody Told Me, All These Things That I've Done, Smile Like You Mean It, Human, Spaceman, Bones & Read My Mind to name a few it's hard to complain. In a nice touch they also through in a cover of Joy Division's Shadowplay complete with a montage of Control on the big screens. I don't know what score to give this, had it been suitably loud, Killers would have leaped well up my live band rankings because it was awesome, and yet it wasn't.

And on the way out I caught a glimpse of Amy and Pete Doherty singing Albion and sharing a brief kiss, so more newsworthiness to end the day.