I was lucky enough to go to two festivals last weekend. The smaller one of the two was a twenty-four hour charity festival. The stunning setting was a field partly hidden under a canopy of trees in the countryside with loungers in the sunshine, a BBQ, well stocked bar and DJ booth on a vintage car. The music was a combination of house and tech with the highlight of the evening being up-and-coming DJ, Jolyon Klean, who kept the crowd dancing until the sun came up.
Down To Earth Festival, Andover
The more well known of the two was Yahoo! Wireless festival at Queen Elizabeth's Olympic Park (again), but this time only for a brief visit on the Friday. When we arrived at Wireless we headed to the guest area to have a drink in the sunshine. In this cushty area (which had actual real grass) there was a BBQ, a couple of bars with some of Cirque Du Soir's performers scattered around. It was a pretty nice bubble, but we couldn't stay for long as we had to try and see Frank Ocean and Snoop Dogg at pretty much the same time.
Some of the Cirque Du Soir performers in the Riverside Guest Area
Snoop Dogg put on a great upbeat set and was accompanied by some scantily clad dancers. He was also joined by Rita Ora for a rendition of "Torn Apart". I thought she looked and sounded great, but unfortunately my companions are pretty passionate dislikers so this was our cue to head to the Pepsi Max stage to see Frank Ocean.
I was extremely excited to see Frank Ocean and love his recent album "Channel OCEAN", but I had heard mixed reviews about his Brixton shows. Some of my friends and uber fans even left half-way through the concert. The Pepsi stage had fans pouring out of it and it took a while to clamber into the thick of it. You could easily see the screens, but they flashed a "Pepsi" advert every 30 seconds. Irritating. There were thousands of fans clustered inside and yet the mood was pretty somber. Too somber. He sat most of the time until he sang a ballad. This made no sense to me. His performance of "Pyramids" sounded almost epic, but there was something about him sat singing on a stool which drew away they excitement. It was pretty frustrating and ruined the mood. Sure, we stayed for the whole thing, but if he just moved around a little and created a bit of atmosphere it would have been amazing. When he spoke he was fairly shy, so I hope it was the nerves which held him back...
The small sitting blur is Frank
This week's dream team Me, Erin and Fergalicious
The day was saved by my teen obsession, Justin Timberlake. I thought I was over my "Justified" days, but everything from choice of songs, to the dance moves was perfect. My love for "Senorita" and "Cry Me A River" was ignited from the noughties. And then, to make the evening, he was joined by Jay-Z. It may not be your thing, but I was in my element. Next stop, Latitude.
Justin Timberlake. No front row this time.