‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – VICTORIOUS FESTIVAL, SOUTHSEA 26.8.23
This is our review of Day Two of Victorious Festival, the Saturday. If you missed our coverage of Friday (Day One) it can be located HERE and reviews of Sunday (Day Three) can be found HERE.
Day Two – Saturday 26th August:
Saturday at Victorious starts somewhat later than I was intending, primarily due to my partner’s train breaking down and her not arriving at Portsmouth Harbour until 3.30am, rather than her scheduled arrival time of 11pm on Friday night. Still, at least Southern paid for her taxi from Barnham.
NATALIE IMBRUGLIA
COMMON STAGE 1:15pm – 2:00pm
Therefore my first act of the day is Australian chanteuse Natalie Imbruglia on the Common Stage. I must confess I wasn’t expecting a great deal from Natalie. I remember her as an actor who decided to have a go at this singing lark, had a hit, but was really just a bit of a pop muppet. However, as always, I am prepared to be proven wrong.
Natalie is accompanied by a four piece band comprising guitar, bass, keyboards and drums. The music, especially the first two songs ‘What It Feels Like’ and ‘Wishing I Was There’ are much punchier than I was expecting. Whilst there are songs in the set from albums throughout her career, including debut ‘Left Of The Middle’, much of the set is from her most recent album ‘Firebird’ which was released in September 2021. A particular highlight from the album is ‘Maybe It’s Great’ (there’s no maybe – it is!) which Natalie co-wrote with Albert Hammond Jr. from The Strokes. Unsurprisingly, the song has a discernible Strokes feel. Some of the material however is a little ‘drivetime radio’.
There is a new song, ‘Habit’, which is as yet unreleased. This has quite an electro feel, and definitely has at least half an eye on the dancefloor. Inevitably ‘Torn’ is performed towards the end of the set, and features a nice slide solo. ‘Big Mistake’ from ‘Left Of The Middle’ concludes the set. This again features slide guitar. It very much has a classic rock feel and is one of her best songs, co-written with producer Mark Goldenberg. There’s an incendiary guitar solo, and an impressive instrumental outro as Natalie leaves the stage. Throughout the set Natalie’s voice has been truly exceptional. She’s a natural showperson and a superb performer. I’m glad I took the time to see her. Natalie has one more show scheduled for this year, at Durham Cathedral on 23rd September.
Natalie Imbruglia setlist:
1. ‘What It Feels Like’
2. ‘Wishing I Was There’
3. ‘Wrong Impression’
4. ‘Shiver’
5. ‘Maybe It’s Great’
6. ‘Build It Better’
7. ‘Smoke’
8. ‘Habit’
9. ‘Torn’
10. ‘Big Mistake’
PALE WAVES
COMMON STAGE 2:30pm – 3:00pm
And now, as they used to say on Monty Python, for something completely different. Also on the Common Stage are Pale Waves. The band were formed in Manchester in 2014 and comprise Heather Baron-Gracie on vocals and guitar, Ciara Doran on drums (Heather and Ciara originally formed the band), Hugo Silvani on guitar and Charlie Wood on bass. They remind me slightly of Garbage. They’re quite heavy but with plenty of pop hooks. Somewhat confusingly Heather speaks and sings in an American accent, but actually comes from Preston. Perhaps they’ve spent a long time on the road in the US. The band also remind me to an extent of No Doubt in their rockier less ska-infused moments.
Opening song ‘Lies’ seems to be a statement of heaviness. Much of the rest of the set is much poppier. ‘She’s My Religion’, for which Heather plays a very lovely Vox Teardrop, is dedicated “to all the gays in the audience”.
For closing song ‘Jealousy’, Heather descends the steps from the stage into the walkway to the lighting desk and gets up close and personal with one or two members of the audience. Pale Waves are an example of Victorious aiming to provide something for everyone, as the crowd for their set seems to be somewhat emo-oriented. However, their material is good enough to extend beyond any kind of niche audience. They’re certainly worth a listen.
Pale Waves setlist:
1. ‘Lies’
2. ‘You’re So Vain’
3. ‘Television Romance’
4. ‘Eighteen’
5. ‘Fall To Pieces’
6. ‘She’s My Religion’
7. ‘There’s A Honey’
8. ‘Jealousy’
INSPIRAL CARPETS
CASTLE STAGE 4:05pm – 4:35pm
Next up I head to the Castle Stage for a bit of nostalgia from the Inspiral Carpets. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to see them back in the day, and then I avoided them because they no longer had vocalist Tom Hingley with them. Hingley was their vocalist when they had their hits. However, what I didn’t realise was that current vocalist Stephen Holt was actually their original singer. Today Stephen is joined by original member Graham Lambert on guitar, Clint Boon (also original) on keyboards, Kev Clark on drums and Oscar Boon (Clint’s son) on bass.
As I anticipated, the set is something of a nostalgia fest with the bulk of it coming from the debut album ‘Life’. When a band with a lengthy back catalogue plays a festival, they’re playing to a non-partisan audience who won’t be familiar with their most recent album (which in the Inspirals case is called ‘Inspiral Carpets’ and came out in 2014; and no, there’s nothing played from it today). ‘Joe’ and ‘She Comes In The Fall’ immediately take me back over thirty years. The wonderful ‘This Is How It Feels’ is one of the best descriptions of depression that I’ve ever heard. A lot of the crowd are making ‘moo-ing’ sounds. Stephen Holt explains to those who aren’t familiar with the ways of an Inspirals crowd that “they’re not boo-ing, they’re moo-ing. It’s an Oldham thing. There’s a lot of cows in Oldham”. It’s nice to have these things explained.
Sadly the Inspirals only get half an hour, and their set ends with a blast through 1994 single ‘Saturn 5’. After drummer Craig Gill’s passing in 2016 it looked doubtful that the Inspirals would carry on. Their 2023 touring plans were announced in 2022, and I’m delighted to report that they’re on absolutely top form. Find out for yourselves. They play Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms on 17th November, and the ‘Shiine On Weekender’ at Butlins, Minehead on 18th November.
Inspiral Carpets setlist:
1. ‘Joe’
2. ‘She Comes In The Fall’
3. ‘This Is How It Feels’
4. ‘Two Worlds Collide’
5. ‘Move’
6. ‘Sackville’
(encore)
7. ‘Saturn 5’
SHAME
CASTLE STAGE 5:05pm – 5:50pm
I remain at the Castle Stage for Shame. I last saw Shame last year, when they played a secret St Patrick’s Day gig at Brighton’s Prince Albert as Almost Seamus. They have a somewhat larger audience today. Vocalist Charlie Steen seems to have been reading the Jim Morrison manual of stagecraft. He’s making ironically rock ‘n’ roll stage announcements in a fake American accent. He loses his shirt and is in the pit. Next he’s crowd surfing. Some of his utterances would be worthy of the late great Jimbo. For example: “your adulation means everything to us, and more”.
Charlie is far from being the band’s only showman though. Bassist Josh Finerty is possibly one of the most mobile bass players that I’ve ever seen! He’s running backwards and forwards across the stage, doing star jumps, and even forward rolls whilst still playing and not missing a beat. If I was wearing a cap, I would doff it.
Unsurprisingly there is a mosh pit in progress, with beer and cans being thrown around. The can throwing reminds me of the bad old days of the early eighties, and the injuries that resulted from such behaviour. Don’t do it kids. It’s not big or clever. For the final song Charlie is standing above the audience, being held up by their hands, whilst Josh repeatedly throws his bass into the air and catches it. There’s some very impressive guitar shredding too. This has been a great set, but the forty-five minutes that Shame have been allocated is simply not long enough.
Shame (possible) setlist:
1. ‘Fingers Of Steel’
2. ‘Alibis’
3. ‘Concrete’
4. ‘Six Pack’
5. ‘Tasteless’
6. ‘Adderall’
7. ‘One Rizla’
8. ‘Water In The Well’
9. ‘Born In Luton’
10. ‘Snow Day’
11. ‘Gold Hole’
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN
COMMON STAGE 6:15pm – 7:00pm
I had intended to stay at the Castle stage to review The Coral, but as they have pulled out I now have the opportunity to head across to the Common stage to see Belle And Sebastian. It’s more than fifteen years since I last saw them, so it really is about time that I saw them again. They have seven members, but there seem to be more people than that onstage. There will be even more later on, but we’ll come to that. Stuart Murdoch is the consummate frontman, but then I suppose he should be, having been doing this for the best part of thirty years! He’s surprisingly bouncy for a man in his fifties too. He doesn’t hog the lead vocals either, as Sarah Martin also sings lead. Stuart is known for being quite politically ‘right on’, and today is wearing a COP 26 t-shirt.
Belle & Sebastian have an extensive and rich back catalogue and we get a bit of a tour through it, although they also only have forty-five minutes, so it’s a relatively rapid tour! No-one can complain about opener ‘Step Into My Office, Baby’, which is what a good pop song is all about: a catchy tune with intelligent lyrics. In fact, that description can pretty much be applied to their entire oeuvre. Another key aspect of Belle & Sebastian’s performance is that most of the musicians seem to be multi-instrumentalists. Sarah Martin, for example, plays violin, cello, and keyboards. Meanwhile, ‘Judy And The Dream Of Horses’ from ‘If You’re Feeling Sinister’ features recorders.
For ‘The Boy With The Arab Strap’ (one of my all time faves incidentally) the band invite around thirty members of the audience up onstage. They didn’t invite me, but I won’t hold a grudge. They audience members remain onstage for set closer ‘I Want The World To Stop’. This has been a superb forty-five minutes, but I would have liked more. Unfortunately Belle & Sebastian only have one date booked at the moment, and that’s in Motherwell, which is a bit of a trek. Hopefully they’ll play south of the border next year.
Belle & Sebastian setlist:
1. ‘Step Into My Office, Baby’
2. ‘So In The Moment’
3. ‘She’s Losing It’
4. ‘When You’re Not With Me’
5. ‘Unnecessary Drama’
6. ‘Judy And The Dream Of Horses’
7. ‘Your Cover’s Blown’
8. ‘The Boy With The Arab Strap’
9. ‘I Want The World To Stop’
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS
CASTLE STAGE 8:05pm – 8:55pm
Talking of trekking, I now walk from the Common stage and the knowingly twee, to the Castle stage and the very much ‘in your face’. Yes, I am talking about the very wonderful Amyl And The Sniffers.
Vocalist Amy Taylor is like a five-foot-nothing stick of dynamite. She doesn’t stay still for a moment. It’s almost exhausting watching her! Amy tells us that the band’s presence here today is “a convict’s revenge”. Fair enough. She also tells us that “we live in a post-Barbie society”, and generally people should try to be nicer and more understanding towards each other. Wise words indeed.
Guitarist Declan Martens produces some very impressive tapping in ‘I’m Not A Loser’. Indeed, his playing throughout is astonishingly good. We’re standing near one of the screens at the front, and I’m astonished by how many people are watching the screen rather than the stage! During ‘Security’ Amy is in the pit and on the rail. A security guard carries her along the front. Once back onstage Amy asks us to give it up for the security guards, and says that if she wasn’t a singer she’d be a security guard. Quick as a flash a hi-viz vest gets thrown onstage from the pit! Amy puts it on. It suits her! In their fifty minute set, Amyl And The Sniffers have performed seventeen songs, which is getting into Ramones territory. Not a minute is wasted! Great stuff! Unfortunately the band have no further UK shows scheduled at present. Make sure you see them when they’re back over here!
Amyl And The Sniffers setlist:
1. ‘Control’
2. ‘I’m Not A Loser’
3. ‘Capital’
4. ‘Freaks To The Front’
5. ‘GFY’
6. ‘Choices’
7. ‘Security’
8. ‘Gacked On Anger’
9. ‘Maggot’
10. ‘Hertz’
11. ‘Balaclava Lover Boogie’
12. ‘Someone Stole My Pushbike’
13. ‘Guided By Angels’
14. ‘Snakes’
15. ‘Got You’
16. ‘Monsoon Rock’
17. ‘Knifey’
KASABIAN
COMMON STAGE 9:20pm – 10:50pm
Next it’s back across to the Common stage for headliners Kasabian. This is the first time that I’ve seen them since Tom Meighan’s departure, and Serge Pizzorno’s assumption of vocal duties. I must confess, I’m a little bit apprehensive. It’s not so much the band being different, more a question of whether they will still be as good. I needn’t have worried. Serge has discovered his inner frontman and seems to have almost been born for the role. It does very much seem to be The Serge Pizzorno Show, with the rest of the band playing an undeniably vital role from the shadows.
Surprisingly there is only one song, ‘Chemicals’, from their most recent album ‘The Alchemist’s Euphoria’, although ‘Algorithms’ is a stand-alone single released this year.
There is quite a bit from the previous album, 2017’s ‘For Crying Out Loud’. Other than that, the set represents their career thus far. It’s actually a lot of fun. A party more than an artistic statement. It could also perhaps be seen as Serge reclaiming the band’s back catalogue. There’s a very real possibility that the (relatively) new Kasabian may just be better than the old Kasabian. More power to your elbows fellas!
Kasabian setlist:
1. ‘Club Foot’
2. ‘Ill Ray (The King)’
3. ‘Underdog’
4. ‘Chemicals’
5. ‘You’re In Love With A Psycho’
6. ‘Shoot The Runner’
7. ‘Re-Wired’
8. ‘Algorithms’
9. ‘Stevie’
10. ‘Treat’
11. ‘Pinch Roller’
12. ‘Empire’
13. ‘L.S.F (Lost Souls Forever)’
(encore)
14. ‘Bless This Acid House’
15. ‘Vlad The Impaler’
16. ‘Stuntman’
17. ‘Fire’
Tickets are already on sale for next year’s Victorious Festival. If you are interested then head on over to www.victoriousfestival.co.uk.
BONUS PHOTOS OF OTHERS THAT WERE PERFORMING TODAY:
