Victorious Festival, Southsea 2019
Review: Victorious Festival 2019 Saturday
While Victorious Festival 2019 is of course about the music, there’s much more that could be in this review too. What with having seen Peppa Pig and Mr Bloom in the Kids Arena. Likewise, I could have witnessed Lewis Capaldi, Professor Green and Rudimental.
There’s also plenty of local music spread across the entire festival site. Which, for Mr Teeth Reviews included Africappela in the World Music Village and Yeehaa Granma bringing back bluegrass on the acoustic stage. The view overlooking the Seaside Stage is somewhat special, especially with the horn section of Skaraman delivering a superb set of ska and reggae. All the while boats sailing back and forth to France and the Isle of Wight.
As always, Victorious Festival 2019 featured 90’s indie bands in abundance. Something often met with mixed opinions among festival-goers, however (in part) helping bring ticket costs down compared to the competition.
Republica – Photo by Sam Taylor
Republica, Badly Drawn Boy, FLC and OCS
Among the 90’s revival was a contrast between Republica and Badly Drawn Boy. When Republica released their self-titled debut back in 1996 it spawned hit singles “Ready to Go” and “Drop Dead Gorgeous”. Both of which still sounded fresh live, while taking us back to the sweaty underground clubs of our youth.
Republica’s singer Saffron looking excited about being on the larger stage as she interacted with the crowd, full of enthusiasm. The solo efforts of Badly Drawn Boy, however, despite still being productive in the studio, were somewhat lost by comparison.
Fun Lovin’ Criminals
As for a man with great stage charisma, Fun Lovin’ Criminals frontman Huey Morgan takes some beating. Huey’s also a massively under-rated guitarist, layering bluesy riffs and blistering solos over several FLC classics, all with a huge grin on his face.
The instantly recognisable riff of 90’s hit single “the Riverboat Song” by Ocean Colour Scene was soon blasting out in Southsea and sounding as epic as ever. The crowd were in good voice too during sing-a-long “Day we Caught the Train”. While lyrically OCS acoustic track “the Circle” with its LSD references, may not have been the best choice for a family friendly festival while dealing with brief technical problems.
The Hives – Photo by Sam Taylor
The Hives, Space and Bloc Party
As well as bringing out the older artists, ticket prices are kept down with the festival largely featuring UK based bands. However, if there was one man to address the balance it was the comedy egotistical ramblings of the Hives singer Howlin’ Pelle.
Half Swedish rock n roll, half cabaret act and much besides, the Hives owned the Castle Sage. Although you couldn’t help wish Howlin’ Pelle toned down the banter slightly. After all, the Hives are an incredible live band musically and were certainly the most animated group of the weekend.
Bloc Party – Photo by Sam Taylor
When it came to Bloc Party, it was quite a bold move to perform “Silent Alarm“ in its entirety. While on paper I didn’t see them as an obvious headlining act for the main stage, I was still excited by seeing Bloc Party at Victorious. The set went down much better than I anticipated and it was soon apparent they were more than capable of entertaining the masses.
Although I must admit, I did pop over for Space on the acoustic stage mid-set for a well-timed interval. Just in time to catch stripped back versions of “Female of the Species” and “Neighbourhood”.
So, did Mr Teeth then head to see Rudimental on the Common? Unfortunately not, as it was straight back to the 90’s for the end of Bloc Party.
