As the
first full day of the Isle of Wight Festival approached, the sound
of local samba drumming outfit RAW Samba echoed around Newport, drawing
us towards Seaclose Park.
 Photo
gallery of Saturday's bands
First up was Puzzle Muteson who had won his spot in an Isle of Wight
competition for fresh local talent. The chilled-out acoustic singer-song
writer played four of his own songs and a Radiohead number for the
4,000 early arrivals.
The Leah Wood Group took to the stage as the midday sun grew hotter.
As the daughter of Rolling Stone Ronnie, she automatically had an
air of coolness about her as she whirled around the stage in a floaty
hippy skirt.
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| Leah
Wood |
Rather
than go down her dad's route, this music was more mellow - with
echoes of Tori Amos. Her singer-songwriter style was beefed up by
the band who brought in some 70s psychedelia with sitar effects
and a funky organ before oddly finishing with the En Vogue hit,
Free Your Mind.
The
70s vibe continued with Proud Mary. These lads learned from the
old school of rock with songs that owed a lot to The Beatles, Lynyrd
Skynyrd and Neil Young. They had the look down to a tee as well.
The singer resembled a young Bob Dylan and his strong, rasping vocals
were reminiscent of Rod Stewart.
Next
up was Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. Beginning with The Beatles'
Here Comes The Sun, it felt as though the festival was now in full
swing. The sun did indeed shine overhead. The soft harmonies and
laid-back tunes were just perfect for the festival atmosphere and
drew people from away from their prized spots on the grass to watch
the old rocker in action.
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| Steve
Harley |
A misplaced
comment from Harley about how much he got paid to be there left
the crowd a bit puzzled but he soon rectified that by launching
into his biggest hit, Come Up And See Me.
Just
when everyone was in summery sing-along mode, on came Brighton based
band British Sea Power. Dressed in their trademark military outfits
and surrounded by trees and plastic birds they confused the festival
goers with their very experimental ramblings.
Singer
Yan screeched like a maniac over songs that seemly had no tune to
them. They brightened up towards the end with songs in the vein
of Joy Division but, even so, BSP's sound didn't really work amidst
a park full of burger vans, beer tents and fairground rides. Perhaps
it sounds better in a sweaty, dark, dingy pub when you're wearing
your army surplus jacket.
Another
Brighton band, The Electric Soft Parade, followed. Thankfully, they
brought some tunes with them as brothers Tom and Alex White played
a selection of tracks from their first two albums.
Their
bassy songs had a touch of Northern swagger to them and their mix
of delicate harmonies and heavy guitars began to bring back the
interest of the crowd. They also showcased some new material including
Cold World, an upbeat, sunny track with some jaunty piano that could
take over where ELO's Mr Blue Sky left off.
Liverpool
band The Stands added to the feel-good vibe with their blend of
typically Merseybeat scouse rock. Their happy, summery Coral-esque
pop had people on their feet and the track Here She Comes Again
had echoes of The Las. They ended with fantastic jam including a
great drum solo from Steve Pilgrim, evoking memories of the 1970
festival spirit.
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| The
Manics |
The
crowd became bigger as people squished their way nearer the stage
in readiness for dirty Aussie rockers Jet. The foursome blasted
off with Get What You Need and rolled out hits from their album
Get Born. Last Chance, Rollover DJ and the piano ballad Look What
You've Done all got an airing.
There
was only one song we wanted to hear though - and as singer Nic Cester
began to bash a tambourine we all knew it was coming. The bass line
of Are You Gonna Be My Girl rumbled out of the speakers and everyone
went wild.
As
The Manic Street Preachers hit the stage, Seaclose Park was nothing
more than a mass of bodies. People squashed themselves into every
conceivable space available to watch the Welshmen do their stuff.
Working
through a back catalogue of hits like You Stole The Sun From My
Heart, Motorcycle Emptiness, You Love Us and From Despair to Where,
the trio created an anarchic frenzy amongst the fans and finished
with the massive anthem Design For Life, leaving us on a high, ready
to face The Who.
As
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend emerged on stage a huge roar erupted
from the 35,000 strong crowd. Any worries about whether these old
rockers still had it in them were immediately quashed when they
got stuck straight in with I Can't Explain.
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| Roger
Daltrey |
From
then on it was two hours of back to back hits. They knew exactly
what we wanted from them. Won't Get Fooled Again, See Me, Feel Me,
Pinball Wizard, Substitute and even My Generation were all played
to perfection. Daltrey's voice was still on form, even if there
were a few high notes that he couldn't quite reach.
Looking
slick in a black suit and shades, Townshend played his guitar the
way he always has, windmilling madly at the end of every song, and
he and Daltrey managed those all-important Who harmonies with ease.
Even
though original Who members, the late Keith Moon and John 'The Ox'
Entwistle, were sorely missed, an impressive line-up of musicians
were brought in to fill the roles including Ringo Starr's son, Zak
Starkey, on drums and Townsend's brother Simon on guitar.
Laughing
and joking throughout the set, the Daltrey and Townshend found time
to poke fun at Paul McCartney and reminisce about the last time
they played the festival way back in 1970.
With
such an amazing end to a great day in the sun, we headed out of
the park to slap on the aftersun and get some rest, ready for all
the action on day three.
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