virgin | Life Music Media

Review By: By Lisa Kither courtesy of thedaily.com.au

The festival gods were smiling once again on Sunday when a clear blue sky greeted the V Festival as it rolled into the rolling hills surrounds of the Avica Resort on the Gold Coast.

The day brought with it a huge host of bands and thousands of music loving punters, and one Sir Richard Branson who cruised the festival meeting punters and having a great time himself.

In everyone’s life, there is music that defines certain events, or entire generations, and this festival certainly had these on the bill.

Headliners Duran Duran, Smashing Pumpkins, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Presets and Jesus and Mary Chain are among these for many and they were sure to delight. But the earliest acts were dropped as the official start time was postponed until 2pm.

Sadly the days of rain beforehand had turned most of the venue into a muddy slop-fest (that smelled like manure in places) but it failed to dampen spirits despite claiming many pairs of thongs in the boggy holes that were knee deep in some parts.

But we were there for the music. And after wading our way through the bar line and across the crowded fields, there were more problems as the first band on the main stage, Hot Hot Heat, were delayed a further 30 minutes before microphone problems caused more chaos.

But the show did go on and fans were treated to a cracker set from Modest Mouse and Cut Copy, and while Roisin Murphy did nothing to thrill me, a large crowd was singing along to her latest hit.

As the sun set the action picked up as the big names hit the stages.

Queens Of The Stone Age, led by founding member Josh Homme delivered all their hits with high energy and power.

And in the name of safety it was good to see them halt their set when one loser fan threw a can at the stage, only to find himself berated and belittled by Josh before the music continued.

Seeing The Pumpkins was a thrill for me and it was awesome to see them come out on stage and kick off with Today, my personal favourite, for which the crowd sang the first verse without Corgan whose grin and applause for the crowd gave way to a set of sing-a-longs from their biggest albums Siamese Dream and Mellan Collie and The Infinite Sadness as well as newer hits from the 2007 release Zeitgeist.

Rounding out the day, The Presets had a huge dance space cranking in the mud with young and old bouncing up and down to My People, Are You The One, Down Down Down and more, with their live performance assuring fans that the forthcoming new album is sure to be another winner.

Once again Mr Branson has delivered a great festival. The transport out of the venue seemed to go well with shuttles to park and ride stations. The only downside seems to be the $9.50 drinks and $4 waters, far too few toilets and the dodgy stage lateness.

But if you were there I’m sure you didn’t care.

As the final summer festival for 2008, we now look towards Splendour In The Grass which has now been confirmed as the first weekend in August.