The Best of V Festival

The first night of the two-part Best of the V Festival established itself as a winner for fans of indie-rock. This was largely due to the brilliant performance of legendary act, Pixies, who have been on hiatus for the past 11 years.

However, the night’s other acts also proved to be rather enjoyable with an opening from the New York Dolls. Despite the fact that there were only two original members remaining, they still managed to take everyone on a trip down memory lane with hits such as Jet Boy, Trash, and an amazing performance of Personality Crisis.

After them, French band Phoenix, who seem to be rather Strokes-esque, took to the stage and continued to warm up the crowd with hits such as Consolation Prizes and Napoleon Says.

Next up was Jarvis Cocker, ex-lead singer of British band, Pulp, and possibly one of the finest lyricists in modern pop. For some reason he seemed to hold the key to what the audience was looking for, & managed to awaken the crowd & get them going. This was clearly reciprocated as we saw Jarvis let himself go & dance about in his own quirky way on stage.

Although his entire set was made up entirely from his self-titled debut album, the audience still enjoyed themselves immensely as they were treated to such beauties such as Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time.

As soon as Jarvis finished his set, the Thebarton Theatre was alive with a whole new level of excitement as the audience was growing impatient waiting for the arrival of Pixies.

The quartet walked serenely onto stage & it was as the first beats of Bone Machine exploded from the speakers, that the entire crowd erupted, confirming the fact that this was the single reason why anyone had attended the night at all. The whole set was a highlight as they produced their mega-hits such as Monkey Gone to Heaven, Debaser, Wave of Mutilation and Here Comes Your Man.

As Pixies finished up their set with an amazing performance of Where Is My Mind, the audience seemed to be transported back in time and it was all as if the band had never broken up.

At the end, the deafening applause coaxed them back for a two song encore, and they played as good as they ever would.

Their brilliant performance yet again proved that they truly should be the benchmark for all indie pop.

Some say that seeing Pixies live is an almost religious experience, and I tell you what – they’re damn right.

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