1,240 VICTORIOUS FESTIVAL 2022 (Saturday Only), Southsea Common and Seafront, Portsmouth, Saturday 27th August 2022

 

A month off gigs, then back in with a bang with a full-on Festival Day out by the sea! After the quagmire and Covid-hit debacle that was last year’s Wickham Festival, I was reluctant at best to revisit that one, and my enthusiasm for a boys Summer Fest day out there this year completely vanished when The Levellers were announced as headliners! Thankfully, this one reared its head as a potential alternative; Portsmouth’s Victorious Festival, now in its 10^th year, and well established as an August Bank Holiday alternative to the utterly dreadful line-ups that my 90’s hangout Reading Festival now churns out. I’d looked at this one before, finding previous line-ups a little too mainstream for my self-confessed obscure tastes, but a whole clutch of boy’s fave bands showed up together on the Saturday itinerary this year, led by Inhaler, one of my favourite discoveries of recent times and a band I had to miss last year due to Covid isolation (Rach took Logan and said they were amazing – bugger!). So we’re doing this one instead!

 Unfortunately, my dodgy knee well and truly let me down on a family holiday in Paris the previous week, and even on the day before the Fest (which was our travel day home) I could barely put any weight through it without experiencing shooting pain through the joint. Nonetheless, fully (heavily) strapped up and painkillered-up, Logan and I set off down a sun-drenched M4/ A34 route at 9.30, going cross country to avoid the really busy New Forest holiday traffic but still only pitching up on the outskirts of Pompey at 11.45 after a wrong turn or two. We then took ¾ hour to agonisingly pick our way through the city to our pre-booked car park, just behind the main Common Stage at the far west of this large, nearly Reading Festival-sized site. Got in and tramped around to get some water – the website said the bars would have free drinking water; they lie!!! – but we eventually got sorted. THE K’S were already onstage in front of a rapidly-filling audience, bashing out some purposeful sounding Jam-ish rawk, which culminated in a young fan being sent off crowd-surfing! An ersatz Sugababes line-up were up next as early afternoon “headliners”, but we had other plans!

 We took a slow amble to the back of the main arena and along Market Way, where the usual fest clothing stalls were located. I got used to how my knee was behaving, and Logan checked out and tried on a multitude of sunglasses (!), and we eventually pitched up at the smaller open-air Castle Stage (next to Southsea Castle, where I’d taken Evan for a day out, waay back in 2007!) midway through SWIM DEEP’s lunchtime set. I was sorry I’d missed the early knockings, as what I heard I thoroughly enjoyed; some building guitar/keyboard led dreampop atmospherics and slow burn widescreen drama, overlaid by some high-pitched vocals, initially recalling early Mew or the short-lived Temper Trap. Good stuff, culminating in “King City”, a bright, bouncy and singalong closer which got the crowd clapping along. Nice!

 

We grabbed a barrier slot, house right, and waited out the changeover; all stage changeovers were ½ hour, which seemed a long time, but that said, it likely enabled the running order to be kept on time, which it remained throughout – to the minute! Victorious: The Punctual Festival! So, COACH PARTY took the stage bang on 1.55, opener “What Do I Care” launching off like a pocket rocket, the mix initially dominated, almost suffocated, by the heavy guitar sound, remaining so for the undulating, almost doo-wop “3 Kisses”, but thankfully clearing up for a flippant “Everybody Hates Me”, some grungy Pixies-ish ascending riffery nonetheless the feature of the best sounding number so far. The band themselves, however, were on good form, fully road tested after a number of Festival gigs (including a support slot for French band Indochrine at the 96,000 capacity Parc Des Princes!), and vocalist Jess was in relaxed mood; “we’ve been here a couple of hours and no-one’s asked me for pills yet! I’ve [normally] got a pilly face...!”

 A headlong, punkish “Shit TV” preceded a debate about how many of the audience had seen The Sugababes’ mainstage set, which culminated in a “fuck the Sugababes!” chant! The hurtling “Breakdown” then featured a mid-song dead stop before some cacophonous riffery and primal screaming from guitarist Steph, and “FLAG”’s strident, fist-pumping choral drama then ceded to the already indiepop classic finale, the brilliant “Can’t Talk, Won’t”, rounding off a non-stop, breathless and action – packed half hour from these increasingly promising IOW newcomers.

 Took a slow amble back after catching our breath, running into Stayawakes bassist Pete, there with friends and his baby daughter! A quick chat before wandering back into the main arena where the blue overall-clad DODIE was just rounding off her mainstream pop set with a number about a train driver, to Hockey International-level screams from her young female massive. Thankfully they cleared out and we were again able to get some barrier, house right, for a proper Common Stage double whammy!

 

“Hello to all and sundry!” announced a familiar grey-mopped figure promptly at 3.30; “we’re a band called WE ARE SCIENTISTS and we think we’re the best band called We Are Scientists!” Keith Murray (for t’was he) then proceeded to underline that “best band” claim, leading the trio through a superb set of itchy, angular post-punk and bright, singalong powerpop. The Wannadies-esque racey, pacey opener “You’ve Lost Your Shit” led into the dramatic chugging backbeat of “Buckle”, and an entertaining between-band debate about work, Keith coming to the realisation, “shit, I AM at work! And so are you [Chris]!” The pounding, circular riff and soaring, Silver Sun helium chorus of “Contact High” was a breathless, brilliant set highlight, but in all honesty every one was a winner. I’d done my homework after their fine December 2021 Trinity set (gig 1,203) so was able this time to recognise and sing along to every number, from the hooky, angular “It’s A Hit”, through the taut, funky Talking Heads on speed “I Cut My Own Hair” (which featured a mid-song pregnant pause, Keith asking the crowd to keep to the clapping tempo for 7 minutes!), via the thrusting, pinprick rhythm of oldie “Nobody Move” to the final anthemic number “After Hours”, which concluded an expertly and energetically delivered Festival set, ultimately my favourite of the day.

 

We were all in for the next lot as well though, so stayed on our barrier spot as a WAS roadie tracked down a mixing desk setlist for me (lists being hard to come by, today). Chap! Another half hour wait, but this time along with a larger and more enthusiastic and anticipatory crowd, comprising a lot of conspicuously young ladies. No surprise really, the young gentlemen of INHALER are quite the bunch of lookers, as well as a very promising young guitar band, with vocalist Eli Hewson (son of U2’s Bono, and currently the same age as his old man when he and his schoolboy chums delivered their second and best album, “October”, waaay back in 1981) a tousled rock heart throb in the making. Bugger the looks and lineage though, for me it’s all about the tunes; Inhaler may be silver spoon boys, but that only gets you through the door, and then you need quality songs to stop you getting kicked back out of the room. Opener “It Won’t Always Be like This” immediately showed they have those, with an immediate soaring singalong to the stadium-sized hook, and newie “Move On” was equally pacey, albeit darker and more Cure-like. No one-trick post-punk ponies these, though, as “Why Does It Hurt” was a looser limbed and dancier number, although featuring hints of “Joshua Tree”-era U2 atmosphere and space. “Who’s Your Money On” saw Eli exhort his young followers to jump along in his thick Irish brogue, and the urgent, fire-alarm clatter of “When It Breaks” incited a moshpit behind us to the brief concern of the bouncers.

 Newie “These Are The Days” was a blue collar rocker recalling Springsteen or even The Boomtown Rats (!), and the double salvo of “Cheer Up Baby” and an excellent, albeit slightly thin sounding, “My Honest Face” ended a fine set, one which I’d now like to see indoors at closer quarters. Showing a little inexperience on the big stage (particularly in comparison to their 7 album, 15 year veteran predecessors We Are Scientists), this was nonetheless a fine showing from a band seriously going places, if they can deliver on their promise with the “difficult” second album, due soon…

 

That was our afternoon Common Stage entertainment, and this took us up to 5.10… and teatime! So we took another slow amble along Market Way and grabbed some dirty burgers and fries from the eaterie with the shortest queue, then bumped into Coach Party’s Steph for a quick chat about that Parc Des Princes gig (!), before plonking down on a boulder for tea. Still a paucity of seats around the site, despite claims to the contrary… anyhoo, back into the nearby Castle stage for SPORTS TEAM, whose upbeat and optimistic bouncy Britpoppy/ indie set was enthusiastic and effervescent, full of spritely spunky youthful spunky spriteliness (as I said to Logan!), and in vocalist Alex Rice, featured an energetic, all-action and kinetic stage presence. Well, not just the stage, as it turned out… “Our Entertainment” was a breathless stomper, “New Day” got the young ST massive jumping about, kicking up a dustbowl moshpit, and a fast, frisky “Going Fishing” slowed for a huge singalong chorus. A few tongue-in-cheek anti-Reading Fest comments were fun, before Alex clambered atop the speaker stack to deliver the vocal to the bolshy “Ashton Kutcher” before going one better, launching into the crowd in front of us and crowdsurfing a considerable distance out during the Doors-like 60’s psych wig-out final number!

 

The ST massive cleared out then as dusk started to fall, the crepuscular light seeming to be the perfect backdrop for WHITE LIES. I was wondering how their more studied and studious pseudo-gothy 80’s oeuvre would follow on from the seat-of-your-pants bounciness of Sports Team, but from the moment they took the stage prompt at 7.10 to a rapturous welcome and launched into the strafing guitar assault of opener “Farewell To The Fairground”, they were “on it”, the mid-song dead stop and hook singalong providing a startling juxtaposition to the wall of guitar sound, but also adding drama and gravitas. A speeded-up “To Lose My Life” followed, slowing for the audience-chanted choral hook, and newie “Am I Really Gonna Die” was a smooth synth-pop delight. The mid-set “Big TV” sheet metal Visage-like synth hook was an unexpected clapalong, the crowd well engaged in this fine performance from the boys, but all things were leading up to the double whammy finish…

 Charles Caves’ epic growling bass line heralded penultimate number “Death”, the tempo slowing considerably twice for the “fear’s got a hold of me” hook, before launching into huge impressive life for the denouement. Then set closer, the stabbing keyboard intro to a soaring, anthemic “Bigger Than Us” rounded off a set not completely bereft of flaws (Harry’s voice in particular sounding a little raspy and road-weary, occasionally straining at the top end), but well chosen and overall rather splendid.

 This took us to 8 – Logan double-queued for churros in the dusty and dusky gloom, and we wandered back into the now-packed main arena where THE WOMBATS were kicking up a rowdy, rabble-rousing but eminently forgettable Arctic Monkeys-lite noise on the Common Stage. After grabbing some water and taking a watching brief, however, my knee cried “enough”, so we forewent the potential hike back and hour’s wait for Castle headliners Bastille, instead sneaking through the Common Backstage to the car park thanks to a kindly steward who took pity on my hobbling. Home at 10.30 after a generally quite successful day; more places to sit would be nice, but maybe I was only more cognisant of this due to my bad knee. More importantly, everyone we wanted to see delivered big time, with We Are Scientists winning Band Of The Day for me, Logan going for White Lies. Overall, a great day out, living up to its name; Victorious!