V Festival 2008 Review
So did you got V Festival? Or have you being watching the live coverage on new music channel 4 Music? Who rocked it for your, and who let you down. We want to hear your V Festival Review.
We want to know what your highlights and lowlights from the V Festival Hylands Park and V Festival 2008 Weston Park. Also if you took any pictures we would love you to add them to our V Festival 2008 Pictures from Fans Page – Check out our V Festival Fans Pictures Page
What did you think of the headliners, were Muse worthy of their top spot? Or did you choose to see The Prodigy on the Channel 4 Stage? Also did you check out the Pigeon detectives on the Channel 4 Stage?
Also were The Verve worthy headliners, or should Kings of Leon grabbed the top billing like they did at Glastonbury.
We have put together a collection of V Festival Videos on Youtube with perfromances from Amy Winehouse, Muse, Prodigy, Verve , Girls aloud and many more.
Does pop have a place at music festivals? Girls Aloud played the main stage what kind of reaction did they get.
Who were you breakthrough bands, who really disappointed you? What was the campsite like, we would love to hear your stories.
Let us hear your reviews; just fill in the form below.
I would have liked to see Gareth Gates performing at the V Festival as he is my number one.
Muse were awesome, Stereophonics were laid back arrogance personified, Kaisers were the Kaisers, Zutons worked hard and were good fun, Girls Aloud were there aren’t a festival band (!), but for me the best band opened in the main stage at Chelmsford on Sunday and they were the Stranglers. Bloody brillliant they were – bring them back for next year much higher up the bill. Amy Winehouse was DREADFUL, she didn’t sing she just mumbled and her band carried her totally, just get rid of her please.
Just got back from V festival in Chelmsford – really enjoyed it but was a bit disappointed by some of the artists……Kings of Leon were really uninspiring and didn’t really seem like they wanted to be there at all! Roots Manuva was also disappointing -the sound in that Union tent was terrible and not loud enough at all. On the other end of the scale, Scouting for Girls were bloody brilliant!! Hope to see them next year!
Just got back from V, had a great time. Thought Amy Winehouse was rubbish unfortunately.. I don’t think the line up was as good as previous years personally. Highlights for me were : Maximo Park, The Verve, Kings of Leon, Futureheads, The Courteeners and suprisingly Scouting for girls..
Not as memorable as previous years which was not helped by the change of stages etc. Also commercially they have got exceptionally greedy! e.g. wine sizes/prices far better in the past. Queues appeared to be far longer for the loos, drinks and food too.
Just got back from Chelmsford and although the line up is always great I hate the way that it is so commercialised. The organisers want to get every last penny off you through ripping you off! ÂŁ10 for the line up info is ridiculous. As for no disposable barby Q’s in the yellow campsite, it would have been nice to have known about this before arriving with a load of bangers, kebabs and burgers to cook! I bought a ÂŁ15 flag pole from Millets in the yellow campsite to be then told by security that it was ‘against the law’ and I couldn’t take it through. Why the hell was it being sold in the festival? And what law exactly was I breaking? Same old story that you can’t take any of your own booze through to the arena but we had to q for 1 hour to get some tokens, I nearly died of thirst. Even when you get home and watch the tv footage your bombarded with a load more commercial crap!
Sorry but it’s back to Glastonbury for me where it’s a much better experience all round!
However, after my rant I feel that I should point out some positives – Kaisers, Muse, Scouting for Girls, Hoosiers and lots of other bands were absolutely brilliant and put on a good show. The yellow campsite was well run with lots of room, no q’s for taps, toilets, etc., and the walkways were kept clear so you could get around easily. Well done on that to the organisers on that.
4 letters…1 syllable…MUSE
I am going out on a limb and stating that their show at Chelmsford on Saturday night was THE most spectactular piece of live music displayed this century… goodness goodness me…absolutely incredible stuff!!
oh and 3 cheers for the Bacardi tent. Good times 🙂 🙂 🙂
I too went to V, I have been every year since the start…give or take 3 years when funds/circumstances dictated otherwise.
I have to echo some of the sentiments that I have read here, thought the swap around of the stages… the main stage where is used to be worked much better- a slop so all could see as opposed to the dodgy field with many dips- I am 5ft 3″ and could see bugger all mostly. Aimless Winehouse was awful, why cant she articulate a line from her own or others songs? She was crap. Listening to those around me trying to sing along was hilarious.
As for the bands? I good selection to keep most of us happy. I thought girls aloud were absolute tripe, backing track, sound quality was rubbish and it just high lighted to me how many KIDS were there. Suprisingly the Sugababes were great.
high lights for the weekend? The Twang, Goldie Looking Chain, Stereophonics, Kings of Leon and MUSE- they were amazing.
Camp site was worse than ever, for various reasons. I was totally peeved off with the toilets, I think this was the worst year. The only saving grace was following one of the toilet cleaning trucks down the A12, drop a whole load of bog roll- I am now the proud owner of 26 rolls.
So to end… try a bit harder next year or I am off to Glasto or Reading!
oh and… the beer was a rip off… but we did manage to make ÂŁ33 by returning cups! And a top tip for next year? Go to Chelmsford swimming pool- a swim and a shower for ÂŁ2.50. Result
Mud, mud, mud – which was not in any way accounted for (paths need to be laid down on the way to campsites etc). Bands were brilliant, well most of them (Newton Faulkner, Phonics, Muse, The Verve, Zutons and especially Alanis Morrisette.)
Prices were hideous, ÂŁ10 for a programme? whats that about? Q Festival not V Festival! Toilet queues were ridiculous, get more toilets like at Leeds/Reading, why have bar tokens? it didn’t mean less queues just more! Stages too far apart when having to wade through mud, so missed a lot of bands. Food stalls should not be allowed to charge what they did – ÂŁ8 for a small coffee and a cheese panini! Sorry but I was not impressed at all with the way it was run. Yes less trouble makers than Leeds – as much fun? no-where near!
Well, ive just go back from Weston Park V!! It was amazing, yes it was muddy, yes the prices are higher than usual, but lets face it, thats what it is all about, even down to the queues for the toilets!!
My highlights of the weekend must of been Chemical Brothers (amazing), Muse and The Feeling were ace!!!!
The biggest downside was that my tent leaked!!! ;-(
Cant wait for next year!!!!
the weather was better than expected, although i dont think enough was done about the mud situation. still, sod it, its a festival and i got a tan in stafford.
loads of tents were flooded from sat nights rain, but that was mostly due to where they pitched them. idiots. there was a LOT of crime on my site, loads of tents got raided, bags stolen, kar keys, thye lot, and thats even with people sleeping in the tents at the time.
now then, the line up. the stranglers should have been further up. as great as the verve are, and we all welcome them back, kings of leon are the best band in the world at the minute and should only lose out top spot to the likes of oasis. if you’ve seen ashcroft live, you’ve seen the verve greatest hits. they’re pretty much one and the same.
K.O.L were the band of the weekend.
Courteeners were better than expected, plenty of crap like scouting for girls, feeling, the housiers, kaiser chiefs, one republic but the V festival isnt ever gonna be leeds/reading, its a popular music festival and the demand is there for them.
ian brown owns the jjb tent. full stop.
the phonics were the phonics, ie, great sing along songs, and as live bands go muse are #1.
the biggest complaint id have is the lack of toilets. ive never had to wait in line before, but as im a bloke, a wall will do.
never take a girl to a festival who isnt willing to urinate against a wall or you wont see a single band. you’ll be waiting for hours.
I’ve just got back from V Chelmsford and had a great time. On the downside, the sound for the main stages was terrible. Most of the bands towards the back you could hardly hear. We were really dissapointed by this bearing in mind how much you have to pay for a ticket. Also the walk to the campsite now they’ve changed it all around were far too long and signs were poor. Most of the staff didnt have a clue what was going on or where things are – useless and jobsworths most of them! (same as 2006!). Also everything is extortionately priced – drinks 3.30 each and queues everywhere…tokens, drinks, loos, food, u mane it. The red campsite was cramped and hardly had any drinking water stations, unlike the yellow campsite. I’ve no idea where the showers were but then again neither did the staff!! They clearly said no to gazebos but loads of people had them up. Nice to have known!
Sort it out V – you could make it so much better next year! V has now become too popular and although good fun, everything is a rip-off. I will seriously reconsider going V next year and will probably try a different festival.
I went to Weston V, I have to say that the organisers should fire whoever was incharge of the sound. I have never heard such a crap outdoor sound quality. There was far too much bass and drums, which completely masked all the mid-range (keys/guitars/vocals) and all the subtle layers in almost all the acts on the main stage were lost. The same issue spoilt Guillemots’ set in the union tent. a true shame as I know how good they are live. In this day and age where bands’ success is so fleeting and transient, a bad mix could ruin a group’s reputation and chances of getting where they deserve to be. The only stage which I can say sounded good was the 4music stage. There was more balance here, the PA didn’t seem to have so much wind/phasing problems and all the different parts of the bands could be heard.
With regard to the artisis- Muse were terrific, Guillemots were also excellent, Amy W should consider a different line of work. Amy McDonald was great.
Also WHAT IS THE POINT OF MAKING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE QUEUE FOR OVER AN HOUR ON FRIDAY NIGHT FOR BEER TOKENS, THEN NOT EVEN PUTTING SIGNS UP AT BARS THAT DO NOT ACCEPT THEM????
Other than that I had a good weekend!!!!
I’m now 37 and I have been to a 1000 live shows or more and it was the first time I have been to seen Muse live (but I have all their live DVD’s) but I can honestly say that the show MUSE put on at Weston Park was stunning, truly jaw dropping! Both musically and visually!
I have never; never seen or heard anything like it in my life I spent 1.5 hrs with goose pimples all over. I’m now worried that every band I watch in future will be measured against it and I will now think everything is crap from now on. I can’t say it any simpler than that.
I went to V on both days and I can agree with some of what has been said abve as far as prices go but I never had to que for more than a few minutes to get a beer. Overall I loved the festival and will be there again next year.
I thought the weather made it, the mud fights and rugby tackles were brilliant and goes to prove that the british truly know how to make the most out of a possibly terrible weather situation.
The bands that stood out the most for me were definitely The Prodigy, Muse (yeah we saw half of each haa), Kings of leon, Chemical Brothers, Alanis Morissette and Lenny Kravitz.
The rain on Saturday seemed to have dampened a lot of spirits and many seemed to have packed up for sunday night, i sure as hell wasn’t going to ruin my festival experience because of torrential downpours, it is England after all.
The only downsides were the lack of toilets, the lack of staff helping with the queues when we left and also the fact we had to take the poles out of our windbreak.. i seriously doubt a windbreak is going to hurt someone!!!
The Mud baths were awesome! Seriously, people moaning about “idiots” ruining the fun by going mental in the mud need to realise that its a festival, and a bit of mud isn’t going to spoil the fun!
Now i have to treat my cold i’ve caught over the weekend, but by god it was totally worth it!!!
It was all about the Verve!
They turned up they blasted through an amazing set were loved by the crowd I’ve seen them loads of times and they were on top form Sunday night. People who weren’t keen previously went away from the day loving them. No competition. the Delays were disappointing, KOL were ok but could do with some more energy, Winehouse staggered as always, Verve stole the show by miles!
Loved The Verve, The Zutons, Sterephonics, The Feeling & Squeeze & Union Sessions. Surprised to like Maximo Park. So glad it didn’t rain the whole weekend & even got sunburnt.
Have been going to V at Chelmsford for years & love it so posting this in the hope that the organisers will read & take notice for next year. PLEASE! The new layout & swapping the stages over just didn’t work. The sound at the V stage was badly distorted at the front & competing with the bass from the Strongbow tent from the middle & back. It was hard to see anything if you weren’t at the front because the ground is all on one level & the sound tents cut up the view even more.
Gave up even trying to find the route to the JJB tent for the time it would have taken to get back to main stage & missed more that we wanted to see. Met lots of people who had never been to V before & said they wouldn’t go again because of this plus they thought there was no room to move & crazy queues for everything. Why so few toilets this year – especially by the main stage?
Not meaning this to be all a big moan but don’t seem to be the only one who thinking it so hopefully someone will be listening??
Already looking forward to next year….. would love to see Artic Monkeys.
This will be the last time I goto the V Festvial for a while. How did they manage to cock it up so badly. There were no where near as many toilets as previous years and the queues for the Beer tents was ridiculas. Luckily we had VIP so could pop into the area to the paying bar. However, at the NEW main stage drinks would take at least 20 minutes to get served.
The swap Channel 4 stage still works but the main stage was absolute rubbish. Sound was dreadful, it was to far away from the C4 stage and the fact its in a flat field means that you can’t see anything.
Very disappointed, I do hope that the organisers listen to the feedback
Sorry but this year they got it wrong at Chelmsford big time! Don’t know what happened up North. Moving the main stage was a really bad idea and the sound was the worse I have heard on the Main Stage (well actually could not hear apart from some muffled sound from speaks that seem to change pitch and volume throughout the performance of the Kooks. You either had to be right at the front or at the back next to the speaker stacks. (Guys if it isn’t broke don’t try to fix it!!!!) Crowd control was also over done…of course you have to control that many people but barriers were in the wrong place creating bottleneck when their was know need for them and what was with the drinks tokens only…apart from the VIP hospitality which had a cash bar. Line up was OK…but I think they need to think it through a bit more…Ok onto the next one see you at Reading…this weekend.
Had a great weekend, saw some great bands but jeez Muse have a lot to answer for !!! They swtiched main stages so they could put on a bigger show but for me it flopped on it’s ass because the V stage was crap and that meant the other big acts on the V stage also suffered as a consequence. Don’t get me wrong I’m a fan, but the most important aspect of any show is the sound & unless you were at the front of the V stage the sound was totally pathetic. As others have said, the field there is flat making it harder to see and to cap it all the video screens wern’t working for Muse either !!!! The channel 4 stage is so far superior, it’s a natural ampitheatre making it easy for people to see and the sound is excellent there also.
The View win the prize for the absolute biggest load of tosh I saw all weekend, they simply can’t play (I didn’t see shit like Winehouse, Girls aloud, sugababes etc thank god)
Highlights :- Newton, Kravitz, Siouxsie, Stranglers, Squeeze, Pogues, Travis, Alanis
Lesser Known Successes :- Julian Velard, Captain, Royworld, Rushes, Jack McManus, Script and One Eskimo
Not Bad :- Guillemots, One Republic, Zutons, KOL, Stereophonics, Heaton, Air Traffic(when the guy plays piano), Bunnymen
Low Lights :- Muse, Verve, Kaisers, Amy Macdonald, Shed Seven
Did anyone hear about the bother a group of lesbians had on gold camp site at Weston park? I was sooooo wrecked I’m not sure I imagine3d it or whether ot actually happened and would really like clarity. I’m sure there was a group of lads causing problems for one girl in particular!!!
So… no ones seems to be happy with the way they changed the stages over. Was there a good reason for doing it??
I went to Weston and my favourite band was definitely Kings of Leon! They played all of their best songs and were very good with the crowd. It was the 4th time I’ve seen Muse and although they were easily better than anyone else (besides KoL), it wasn’t their best set by a long way. I also thought that Sugababes were excellent and hugely outperformed Girls Aloud. Other personal highlights were Squeeze, Estelle and Calvin Harris. I was unimpressed that I had to pay ÂŁ10 for a list of stage times, considering I’d already paid the best part of ÂŁ160 for a ticket and ÂŁ10 to park. However, the queues for toilets were good and everyone I used was in a good state (although my friends said others weren’t) and the organisation was good in general, so all in all, I enjoyed myself.
I am v.v.dissapointed with the V festival this year. Who are these people who say long ques and paying loads of money for SHIT is what festivals are all about…sorry I thought they were about going to watch good music? With good sound? clearly not! Prodigy and chemical brothers were amazing, the 4 music stage made the weekend for me. Tried to watch kings of leon etc on the v stage but with little success as the sound was crap. The people texting me from home watching it on tv were enjoying it more!Am absolutely fuming about paying 160sheets for a ticket, ÂŁ10 for parking, ÂŁ10 for a fucking line up list! Its disgusting! Over priced alcohol, rank toilets, shitty staff everywhere. People working on the campsites that don’t know their way around! aaaaarrrrrggg! Sorry about the rant but im skint and fuming and would like to know what twat is making all the money from rinsing the general puplic of their hard earned cash!!!! And one final rant, why am i made to feel guilty about using plastic bags occassionally when i forget my reusable bag for life when corporate companies like virgin are allowed to throw out shit loads of plastic inflatable lilo’s and chairs just for a bit of shameless advertising!!! Needless to say i wont be going again.
Oh and whether they have liked it or not everyone i have come into contact with since the weekend has heard this rant also….i think we will all be going to reading next year!
As usual V 2008 provided the BEST line up of all the festivals. What can we say…………..MUSE………….awesome!!! We did not have any problems with the sound quality at all on all stages, mind you we did make sure we were in a good position each time.
Muse were definatley the highlight and delivered more than expected for their massive climax. They played their socks off, and we are also worried that we may not be able to see another band again without comparing it to them.
Travis were fabulous, and the only shame there was that they did not have a larger stage like the Channel 4 stage as they worked the crowd, like true professionals. GLC were hilarious and full of loads of energy, no mean feat as they are all getting on a bit!!!! They whould headline next year!!!!! lol
Newtown Faulker was brilliant and was very brave in singing Bohemian Rhapsody with no back up at all, and creased it.
As for the toilets, campsites, food, etc. We were in the camper van part of the site and it was awesome, clean toilets, water and was very civilized, worth every bit of 46 quid! The money the food stalls charge will always be expensive, it is a festival, and is direct correlation for what V charge for a pitch, it’s life I am afraid. There is always a problem with a lack of toilets and to be honest it does get our goat a little as we do not want to be queuing when you are missing music. I do agree with the earlier comment about the placement of the JJB tent as it seemed so far out that you missed loads getting there, especially when you came from the main stage. V sort out some more toilets, the cost will be very little to you guys! However, the toilets were immaculate against the ones at Stafford and the staff were more helpfull and more organised than Stafford last year. Well done V, another awesome weekend. We WILL be back.
Great atmosphere, great bands – Great Weekend. Went to the Staffordshire leg and enjoyed every minute of it. Queued two minutes for loads of drink tokens and hardly had to wait for a drink all weekend (perhaps luck?). Also saw Jennifer Ellison who clearly caught me staring as she walked past and a girl who was either the lead singer of the Ting Tings or an exact lookalike 🙂
Highlights of the Saturday were The Verve who took full control of the crowd despite the heavy rain; Lenny Kravitz – classic performance; The Feeling, surprisingly good though i’m not a huge fan, covered some good 80’s songs.
Sunday was easily the best day with Prodigy topping my list of best act of the weekend. Absolutely amazing experience, the entire crowd bouncing for the entire performance; Stereophonics – do i have to say any more?; Duffy the best vocalist i have ever heard, live or not, and got to hear her new download song; The Kooks delivered on every song, not a fan before their performance but their live act changed my mind; Sugababes outshone Girls Aloud by a mile (Girls Aloud were awful). Alanis Morrisette and the Script also great acts.
All in all a great weekend though i feel gutted to have missed Travis for Amy Winehouse who turned up 20 minutes late clearly drunk and forgetting the words to Valerie and mumbling the first 2 or 3 songs. Her Band were winners though (“Why does it always Rain on me” would have been ironic with the weather just starting to rain as the weather turned from overcast to rain”. Lost Prophets were missing a member and didn’t really perform their best but the Russell Brand lookalike was entertaining even in between songs.
I went to V in Chelmsford and the biggest complaint is the staff, who did not have a clue about where anything was and continuously misdirected people. This was true when we arrived on Saturday afternoon and it became far worse on Sunday night, as people were trying to leave the festival site.
And the shuttle buses to Chelmsford from the festival site? They were supposed to run to Chelmsford until 1 am after the festival ended. However, at 12:40, just before I finally made it to the shuttle bus departure area because of having been misdirected, I saw a completely empty bus pull away. There were no other buses after that. That left about 20 of us stranded. When festival staff were asked about this, the common response was: ‘It ain’t my problem, mate’. Because of this, we missed the last train back to London from Chelmsford. Not nice.
Perhaps staff members should be given a detailed tour of the site before the festival opens, so they know where things are and can properly provide information to festivalgoers.
All of the above completely canceled out the little enjoyment I did experience at V (Richard Hawley, Amy Winehouse and the Chemical Brothers were good). Fortunately, I was a guest at the festival. But I would never pay to attend something like this again. And I would not recommend that anyone waste their money on attending such a poorly run, generic, overpriced event.
Fantastic weekend!!! V Stafford was incredible.
I’m sure everyone could find a reason to complain about something but why? Its a festival – enjoy it for what it is! A party with great music, loads of drunken merryment (and maybe some other substances) and loads of mud!
Performance of the weekend was Lenny Kravitz, sure Muse were amazing as usual but I’ve seen them loads and they were better at Wembley. Lenny was simply superb. A great entertainer, musician and a great band behind him.
Also really impressed with Newton Falkner, Amy McDonald, The Feeling, The Zutons and Travis. Even give credit to Girls Aloud and the Sugababes.
I wouldnt see Amy Winehouse unless it was to see her being dumped on by a huge elephant. Avoid her and maybe she’ll go away.
In summary, I would recommend anyone who hasnt been and is thinking of going. Go for it.
V was a bit dissapointing. went on the saturday to hyndlands park. if it Hadn’t been for the almighty MUSE pulling off yet another awe inspiring performance the festival would have been dismal.
the kooks were really poor,as were the stereophonics- Who are these bands who come to music festivals and dont bring the music or attempt to GET THE CROWD ONSIDE!!!! people pay a lot of cash to go to these festivals so if the bands dont want to be there, JUST DONT BOTHER COMING!
thanks muse for making the day amazing but its back to T in the Park next year for me. Line up is much stonger xx
oh also, the stewards at the front of the main stage need to give out more water- this was pretty ridiculous! i got one glass of water from them all day! dehydration can be dangerous in large crowds- At T in the park water is handed out on a widescale all day! x
V festival at weston park was class, best weekend of my life! The verve, muse and he kooks were absolutly amazing!!
A review for Saturday in Chelmsford.
Pros
Muse were fantastic and worthy of their top slot.
Weather was nice.
Good parking facilities (which also allowed us to get away easily).
Cons
Sound was terrible on the main stage. The quality was so bad – it runied it for me.
Not enough toilets.
Hey got back from v on monday had an amazing time!!! thought sterophonics were really good as were the feeling, the zutons reverand and the makers but the best was the kasiers- awesome, every time they perform they entertain the crowd!!!! i managed to get to the front- awesome!!!!
V Festival Chelmsford – why have they swapped the main stage with the Channel 4 stage location? The new main stage area is soul-less and the sound was absolutely shocking all weekend. Channel 4 stage sound was great but across the other stages, especially Main and Union, it was terrible.
They also really need to sort out the organisation – we were told to join queues that we didn’t need to join, asked by security where the main stage was, and then had to queue for ages in a mis-managed traffic jam to get out of the yellow car park through one tiny gate.
V- very good, being a veteran of 20 plus festivals , i thought i knew what to expect- not enough loos, overpriced everything, but surely you all know that about ALL festivals?
I had a great time, my first V, MUSE, the sessions tent, Kaisers, Kravitz, KOL, superb stuff. Thought eh stages were good where they were, but the sound wasn’t brilliant, V sort it out for next year, along with 3 times as many toilets and more less queues! don’t be so commercial!
MUSE !!
The Q Festival more like!
Apart from a handful of amazing highlights, the V Festival 2008 was a huge disappointment to myself and everyone I went with. The first of many let downs was arriving on Friday to find absolutely nothing going on in the arena apart from a massive queue for bar tokens. We weren’t quite clear on the logic behind queuing for at least an hour for the tokens to then queue up to trade them in for a drink at one of the limited number of bars? I hope there is some kind of reason for it other than just to rip you off (you naturally buy more than enough tokens so you don’t have to queue again to then find the token booths shut as soon as the final acts leave stage on the Sunday night). You can’t even exchange the tokens for soft drinks when you need them and there were only four choices of drinks anyway which were beer, cider, orange Bacardi breezers or wine. But if you want to buy a few of the teeny bottles of wine to keep you going so you don’t have to queue up again half way through an act they won’t even let you leave the tops on as the bar staff “were not allowed”??? You aren’t even allowed to take any of you own drink in there either. And, when you weren’t queuing for a drink or the tokens to buy a drink, you were more than likely in a queue for one of the limited number of toilets rather than watching any good bands.
And then comes the ÂŁ10 for a little programme to tell you what order the acts I had paid to see were playing in – at Glastonbury the year before last they gave you it all for free plus loo roll!
But the most soul destroying part of the weekend was being refused entry into the arena on Sunday night because of “health and safety.” We just nipped back to the tent to grab our waterproofs and wellies before seeing the act we had all been looking forward to the entire weekend – The Chemical Brothers. But when we returned there was a blockade of orange jacketed people telling you the festival was closed because there were too many people there. Small suggestion…don’t sell so many tickets!?!?! We were happy to stand outside the tent but they wouldn’t let you in a 100 metre radius of the thing. They didn’t even tell us that another entrance was open, but luckily (after circling the festival) we managed to catch the end of the Verve. But the thing that really topped it off was, when about 50 people had congregated at the Xbox stand for a bit of a dance at the end of the night, the killjoy officials in orange formed a blockade and frogmarched everyone out of the arenas – this was at 11pm.
Aside from the long list of negatives, The Prodigy were phenomenal as was Lenny Kravitz. But sorry V Festival even if you brought Elvis Presley back from the dead you would not get me there again. Glastonbury next year for definite!
Is it me, or did the Chelmsford Park faithfull seem to leave with a slightly dissapointed feeling inside? I dont know about everyone else, but Weston was simply fantastic. Brilliant performances all week, including Roots Manuva, Lenny Kravitz, a show stopping performance by the phenomenal Kings of Leon, the usual brilliance of the stereophonics, pure brummie class from the Twang, and capped of by the loudest, deepest bass, at the most memorable mash up of my life with the Prodigy. I am a little gutted to have missed muse, who looked like they were class, but all in all V 2008 ruled! Bring on V 2009!!!!!
V Weston Park – Getting there and organisation on arriving was great, it’s just a shame that they dissapear and group of neanderthals are in charge of getting people out on the Monday (7 hours to get out of the car-park)
Agree that sound on main stage is poor although Muse didn’t seem to be affected by this. Amy Winehouse was embarrassing and sorry she wasn’t drunk but cracked out of her head.
Newton Falkner was brave and absolutely brilliant, Feeling excellent and Scouting for Girls were truly amazed by the volume of the singalong. Script, Hoosiers and the Stranglers also excellent. Noah & the Whale were very, very dissapointing. We also felt that the Verve just ‘went through the motions’.
However, the best thing about V over any other gig is that this is the friendly festival.
Having been to V at Weston I have to agree with some of the comments here. The prices were extortionate (10quid for a list of show times was disgusting), bar tokens were a crap idea and just created more queues. Not enough toilets and crap sound quality.
Having said that I still managed to have a wicked time! Muse were excellent, Stereophonics, Kings of Leon, Alanis Morrisette, Squeeze, Chemical Brothers and Duffy were all great. Amy was utter shite as were Girls Aloud (why were they there?).
Good weekend despite the weather but the mad prices really pissed me off – felt very commercial and that I was being constantly ripped off wherever I went. Will def consider Reading or Glasto instead next year.
Did anyone else experience any problems on Gold camp, Weston Park? Thoroughly enjoyed the weekend apart from a bunch of wank faced, cock munchers who monopolised the site intimidating other campers and threatenting to burn tents down during the night!!!
Chelmsford – agree swapping stages didn’t work and couldn’t get over how bad the sound was on the main stage – ended up standing near the relay speakers as coudln’t hear a thing in front of them.
Also gave up trying to get between the main stage and JJB.
That said, I still had a great w/e and will no doubt go again next year.
Red or Yellow campsite – which is best?!
I was at Weston Park for the weekend and have to say that i had a brilliant time despite the fact that the weather on the Saturday was awful! Also having to pay 10 quid for a program and a line up schedule was ridiculous.
As far as the bands themselves were concerned all the acts i saw were quality except girls aloud whose mics were nt turned up loud enough. The best acts i saw were Hot Chip, Lenny kravitz(Possibly the coolest guy on the planet), KoL, Lost Prophets ,for whom Ian Watkins was incredibly entertaining between songs, The verve and MUSE who completely blew every other act out of the water when in all honesty ,considering how excellent the other bands were, i hadn’t expected them too.
I was also very glad that Muse were the last act of the festival as any bands seen after Muse’s epic set would have been mediocre.
All in all i had a brilliant time even tho my crappy tent got flooded on the saturday nyt!
Really annoyed with V this year. Been going since the start but 08 was the last straw. Saturday no Q to get in & stupidly thought this was a sign of things to come. Got that wrong big time! Qing for tokens to get a beer took 1½ hours & when i got to the front there where only 6 people selling them, looked across to the beer tent & ther were about 20 staff doing nothing! Sunday loads of people selling tokens & hour Q to get beer. Missed stranglers & futureheads just to get a drink. Same thing happened when we wanted food, the toilet, to leave! Then there was the lay out change what the hell was that about? I’ll admit that i was at the 4stage for most of the weekend but i cant inmagine why the would move the main stage as the hill it had been on every year before was bigger so everyone could see & there is more room for a bigger crowd. & ÂŁ10 for a line up list???? I think the organisers have got really lazy & are just cashing in in whatever way they can I haven’t got a problem with them releaseing more tickets but u’ve got to be able to accomodate the extra people. I will end with a positive tho really glad to see Prodigy back at V the highlight of a very expensive Q of a weekend.
Has anyone else noticed that in recent years the soundat all festivals is 10 x worse than it used to be. Not just quieter but most of the time it sounds like the bands are playing through a transitor radio!! A few years ago it used to sound Awesome…..
I thought that my hearing had gone a bit at Hylands Park on Saturday. Moving the main stage was a BAD idea! and a big shock. Why was the sound so clear for the Stereophonics etc and on the 4 stage yet the headlining band MUSE sounded like that no-one had done a soundcheck. I kept waiting for the sound quality to improve but it never did. They were still awesome, god knows how good they would have been with a quality set up.
I was also really peed off that when I got to gate 6 when I arrived, they told me that I could`nt take a folding chair in, due to health & safety! Told me to leave it with them and they would put it in their hut but could`nt guarantee it would be there when the concert finished! eventually got back after going back to my car (it was the priciple of not giving in), which took 30 minutes walking like an Olympic athlete, imagine how I felt when I saw all these people in the site with the same type of chairs!
Still loved the day, but there were too many squeezed in this year and food prices etc were too high. Have been going since 97, but could not believe how packed it was. If they don`t sort things out, then I will be another one who won`t be there next year
Highlight : the almighty MUSE, the best live band in the universe!
OH MY GOD. muse were SOO good!!! and the kaiser chiefs were amazing- i caught one of their drumsticks!!! It was then stolen away form me by the security guard and given to a different girl with bigger boobs :O
KAISER flipping CHIEFS
were AMAZING at Chelmsford.
Courteeners also.
AMAZING festival (if you ignore the toilet situation…)
Hello well it’s a long time since V but just wanted to say I had a FANTASTIC time!!!!! This is the 2nd year i’ve been and enjoyed it even better than the 1st time. Met some fantastic Welsh people who put up with me and my brothers Geordie chants. Highlights (what I can remember) where Reverend and the Makers, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers and Hot Chip. Can’t wait for next year.
First time at v..weston! thought it was AMAZING!!!
the kooks, stereophonics, alphabeat, scouting for girls, muse defo best!!!
gutted i cant watch any of it on the tele from weston!
but defo going again next yearr hopefully it doesnt rain as much and the toilets are cleaner!
Although it was a long time ago i thought id add my peace.
went to the chelmsford leg been going for a long time you know what your gonna get from V…
Poor sound
Dismal prices
Not enough toilets
crap food
some odd acts
But come on! thats all apart of it!
Stereophonics before Muse was brilliant got the crowd going before the almighty muse came on. I think that was there best set that ive seen but i didnt see them at wembley and the set looked good. Was abit annoyed that The prodigy played the same time but they come no where near to muse for me.
amy winehouse bore
duffy bore
girls alould boree
wayy too poppy for me.
shall be there next year!
But organizers!
STOP BEING SO EFFING COMMERCIAL!!!!
Oh and the reason for the change of the main and channel 4 stage was because muse asked to move it because of there sattelite dishes they wouldnt of been able to fit over in the hill apprently.
Hopefully they’l change back next year!
I have been going to v-fest for years at Weston park. I am so excited for this years v – fest 2009. I honestly think all the people above should stop the moaning. Every year i have gone to this fest in sun and rain i have always had the best time ever. If you are with the right people you will have the best time even if you have to wait in a few que’s. Its a festival what do you all expect. Just enjoy it and if you didnt enjoy V go to a different fesitival. Dont try and disturb other peoples happyness with your moaning comments.
We are going to V at Hylands Park, Chelmsford in a couple of weeks time and we’re in the yellow camp….whatever that is!!! I really dont understand the difference between the camps, can anyone help me out on this?
When we bought VIP tickets, were told that we would be in the VIP camping area…is there such a thing!!!!?
please help!!!!!
hi,
i am going to chelmsford v at the weekend and have never been to a V before. can anybody tell me if you get the comedy tents and acoustic tents there, like at other festivals.
cheers
phenomenal Kings of Leon- Do I need to say more. Sterophonics & The Verve were bloody brillant too! Roll on this weekend Oasis and Razorlight!!
omg what yas all moaning for i went v western last year had a ball best weekend ever.
yer its a festival ofcourse its not gonna b cheap
im going tomorrow cant wait
V2009 was great, loved king blues (they played even though their frontman was poorly), noisettes, the script, the specials, and snow patrol were brilliant. Really annoyed that oasis couldn’t be bothered to show, not because I wanted to see them, but because I wanted to see keane and snow patrol. The changes should have been announced earlier so people weren’t sat around doing nothing. Thought the arena was really badly placed…couldn’t get there easily, and then rerouted all the was round the campsite…
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