Walking toward the festival site, the
weather is gorgeous, the atmosphere is buzzing and we are excited to see what
Victorious Festival has to offer.
As we collect our passes we are greeted by
a lovely woman who asks us
“What's a Whimbiscuit? We were all
wondering.”
“It’s a whimsical treat” I explained, “a
treat you give yourself that you don’t necessarily need but would very much
enjoy, like getting a pack of your favourite biscuits to dunk in your tea, or,
if you like, great furniture, or indeed a bank holiday festival. We review all those type of luxuries for
our readers”.
She laughs and we enter the festival to be instantly
amazed as to how the Victorious guys have transformed Southsea seafront into a
not so little festival village. There are food stalls lining the streets, a
kids area (one of two) in front of the beautiful Southsea Tennis Pavillion, and
a cocktail bar, all within the first 100 metres of entering.
Following the one way system- all tailored
to kept fluidity within the crowds, we end up at the ‘Seaside Stage’. Grabbing
ourselves a beer, we meet up with some friends and find a spot to watch our
first band of the weekend.
One of great things about Victorious
Festival is they have loads of local bands on the line up, one of which is the
first band we watch. The Exits are an electronic, indie, rock band that have
been together for a number of years, and this really shows in their music and
live show. We were completely captivated by the awesome anthems they were
booming out, and their lead singer Roy has all the characteristics of a great
rock n roll front man, with the voice to match. I can’t help thinking they
would have benefitted from playing later in the day though, with a great light
show and evening crowd to dance to their rhythmic beats.
After they finished we went for a wander
around the site to see what else it had to offer. Walking to the ‘Castle Stage’
area, we get our first view of what will be one of the most photographed sights
of the weekend. On top of the hill with a view over the festival, is a huge lit
up ‘Victorious’ sign with flags flying high.
It’s a sign that stands it’s ground and
says “we are here, and we are staying”.
As Max Stone and his band play their
soulful tunes in the background, we stroll over to the acoustic stage to grab a
drink from the many accessible bars. Although with average cost of £4.50 a
pint, it’s hefty, yet certainly consistent with other festival's prices, and like many, no food or unsealed soft drinks are to be brought by visitors from
outside. Soft drinks on the other hand, were very reasonably priced (free to drivers who had a car-park pass).
Sitting on a bale of hay, we enjoy some
acoustic delights from a number of artists that include- Sam McCarthy, Secret
Smile and a few tunes in between by Southsea Alternative Choir. Filling us with
joy, we spend the rest of the afternoon meandering around the huge market area,
and more food stalls (somewhat limited vegetarian/vegan options however perhaps).
With a little stop at the Real Ale tent to
experience what it has to offer, we return back to the castle arena, for a good
old Southsea sing along to Razorlight.
The crowd is huge and Razorlight smash it
out of the park, its safe to say they were a massive triumph.
As we take a seat on the hill, with the
sign shining bright above us, Dizzee Rascal takes to the stage. The atmosphere
is jumping and there isn’t a single face without a beaming smile on it. We jump
to our feet and dance our little socks off with thousands of others there.
Dizzee knows exactly what he’s doing, playing all of his hits, none better than
Bonkers (obviously), and finishes his set with the crowd shouting for more.
Mrs Biscuit and I didn’t finish our
Saturday there though, and we head over to the LJRs Silent Disco Big Top to
dance the night away to the sounds of Southsea’s It’s A Sin vs Chaos DJs. Later
on we find leaving the festival was easy with its methodical system, yet getting
a taxi was not. Prior preparation it seems, wins the day.
Sunday morning, we make our way back to the
festival site. We pop into Southsea Skatepark to watch some the skate, bmx and
scooter displays, then to the Strong Island Tent, the Beats and Swing Tent, and
the Casemates Showcase to explore as much as we can of this impressive festival.
It’s hard to believe it is only three years old, and that this is the first year
at the seafront location. There is so much to see and do, and there really is
something for everyone.
Local band Kassassin Street, is another that has obviously worked on their
craft, with their melodic, atmospheric, psychedelic rock, and a singer with
quite a hauntingly beautiful voice, we would highly recommend everyone takes a
listen. Shed-7 followed by bringing back their 90’s rock, and as we sang our
little hearts out with friends, one of my personal favourite moments of the
weekend was when they ended their set with Chasing Rainbows.
Ocean Colour Scene over by the sea (how
fitting) really didn’t disappoint, with an arena full to the brim. They took
full advantage, and had every single person belting out their songs back to them. So
much so, everyone was still singing ‘The Day We Caught The Train’ long after
they’d left the stage.
The crowd quickly moved over to watch the
daddy of dirty blues, Seasick Steve himself, showcasing the ease of drifting
between stages at this well designed festival. With just two people performing, the intensity
that they created was phenomenal, further extended by an energetic set from
2Manydjs. Grooving tunes also filled the 'secret disco' from Justin Robertson who brought the end of the
night over at the ‘Civilisation Of The Rough’ tent.
With only few murmurings of epic queues at
the bars, and perhaps not enough toilets, these issues are minimal, and as you
might expect at a festival. All we can say at team Biscuit however- with our extraordinarily
priced £20 a day tickets- is long may Victorious Festival continue. With 2015
early bird tickets already on sale, we recommend getting them quick. If they
can pull off such a triumphant weekend in only it’s third year, just imagine
what they can do in their fourth.
Victory to Victorious!
(Pics- by Whim Biscuit).
