Isle Of Wight Festival 2013 Review

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WC IOW Fri Image: Sarah Lincoln photography

Buzz band of the moment Palma Violets opened proceedings on the Main Stage on a sunny Friday, fresh from an acclaimed European tour and a praised performance at Coachella. They had little difficulty in reflecting the magic of their legendary intimate Lambeth shows onto the festival circuit, brimming with a confidence beyond their tender years. Bassist Chilli Jesson in particular oozed charisma, pausing at one point to get those in attendance to shake their hands in the air. The quartet then smashed and rock n rolled their way through all the anthemic belters from debut album 180 - with I Found Love and set-closer 14 being notable highlights. Everything Everything wooed the Main Stage with their eclectic mash-up of pop and art-rock, so much so that we were worried how Jake Buggs fabled cool and nonchalant demeanour would stack up to Jonathan Higgs eccentric routines and soaring falsetto, but Bugg did not disappoint the huge crowds who turned out to see him. He might have struggled to raise a smile (the faintest trace of a grin passed over his face at one point) but damn the boy could sing, with Two Fingers and Lightning Bolt getting the young and old alike chanting.

Jake Bugg - Sara Lincoln Photography-3

Image: Sarah Lincoln photography

An immaculately dressed Paul Weller took to the Main Stage next to deliver a stirring string of varied greats. The set was bursting with material from his solo years but he rewarded Jam fans with an ear-popping version of mod classic A Town Called Malice. Then the moment for which most had been waiting came - headliners The Stone Roses were up - fresh from having smashed into pieces two sold-out gigs at Finsbury Park the weekend before. So began a night of classic funk fuelled indie-rock, starting with the wistful crowd-pleasing bass-lines of 'I Wanna Be Adored. Brown, clad in a sunny yellow raincoat and constantly jangling a tambourine ringing-stick, barely interacted with the crowd, but his vocals were fantastically up-to-scratch. The Roses were seemingly prescient too, because as the rain started to come down they launched into 'Waterfall, but by driving into hit after hit they held the crowds gaze. The revellers, positively delirious by the time the five minute instrumental ending to I Am the Resurrection faded away, demanded an encore - but it never came. How do you top 'Resurrection anyway? Other highlights the finale of The Rizzle Kicks stylishmix ofnatty wordplay and diverse dance rhythms at the Big Top was amazing.

Stone Roses - Sara Lincoln Photography-1 Image: Sarah Lincoln photography

Benjamin Taylor

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Relentless traveller whose writing encompasses music, film, art, literature & history. ASOIAF connoisseur.

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