Saturday was fancy dress day down on the Isle of Wight and upon it descended Sid Vicious, Nancy, three sparkly, eye-blinding, wig wearing 70s Bee-Gee wannabes and Cher. There were fewer acts I was desperate to see so the day itself felt a lot more relaxed. I started off with a bit of Dry the River who were fantastic. A good crowd turned out to support and they didn't disappoint. 'No Rest' was a particular highlight and the video that comes with it is a corker:
Alice Russell.
Although scheduled to follow Dry the River, I found myself in the Psychedelic Worm tent watching a three piece band from Sweden. Either Alice Russell had changed her sound and look and swapped her husky rich tones for some awkward wolf howling or this wasn't her. Turns out she had been pushed back to later in the evening after a Mr Ed Sheeran. She was worth the wait and provided something different to my weekend of acoustic or ethereal performances. She had stage presence, a fantastic belt, accompanied by a fun-loving jazz band and yet she still could be someone you'd see in your local karoake bar. Not to everyone's taste but I loved her.
Ed Sheeran.
The man of the moment. Even the fact that his songs are now being sung on the X-Factor hasn't put me off. And it seemed the rest of Bestival felt the same. For some ridiculous reason Sheeran was put in the Psychedelic Worm Tent - which was by no means sizeable and meant that if you wanted to hear him (there was no chance of actually catching a glimpse unless you were at the front) you had to either be packed shoulder to shoulder at the back of the tent or be packed shoulder to shoulder in the queue outside the tent. He did give a great performance (from what I could hear) but next year he'll be gracing the main stage. Where he should have been all along...
This lucky person managed to get to the front to see Sheeran and hear the crowds singing along to A-Team. They were probably crushed by the end of it though.
Tall Ships.
These boys were probably my highlight of the day. On the smaller stage of Sailor Jerry's their relatively large crowd adored them and the band were clearly delighted with the turn out. Definitely one to watch (and to listen to) and will no doubt be gracing one of the larger stages next year. Sadly I couldn't find any good-quality videos of their performance but this is 'Plate Tectonics' from last year's EP 'There is nothing but chemistry here':
Sunday soon to come...
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