V2000 (Chelmsford) 2000
Saturday 19th to Sunday 20th August 2000Hylands Park, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 8WQ, England MAP
weekend around £75 (with camping)
With everyone having relaxed into the growing atmosphere, v2000 has started to feel more like a festival than a corporate showcase. Even the Bacardi B-Bar became more than an ad campaign with great music and a great atmosphere.
In the Club Tent, the DJ's did their bit, but there just didn't seem enough big names to draw a full crowd - without the chance to dance all night, people seemed to prefer to catch the live acts. It didn't help that the light show was the same short-looping projection, leaving little to keep anyone there for long.
The JJB Arena - too small for the more popular acts (the entrances being closed by the stewards when it filled up) had Groove Armada blow the crowd away... they deliver so much more live than just repeating the songs album style that you couldn't fail to be impressed.
The Peoplesound Stage saw band of the moment Coldplay show why they're gaining such a reputation, while Beth Orton delivered in confident style... even if she did destroy The Beatles 'Norwegian Wood'. Followed by Moby, we had fears of crowd size growing beyond the space available, but it didn't happen, although the (still large) crowd loved every second. How fast did he say "thank you thank you thank you" between each song? Not as fast as we've seen before... seeming to show that even he's loosing his enthusiasm for playing those same songs live every night for months on end. Regardless, those catching him for the first time loved it.
The V Stage, with a great view for the audience, has seen some great acts... The Brand New Heavies played a slick set to a slacked out crowd, who enjoyed but didn't enthuse.
Next up was the Barenaked Ladies - Canada's version of the Bloodhound Gang. The similarities in their acts jumped straight out at us, and although the Barenaked Ladies were good, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, we couldn't help but feel that BHG do it funnier and better.
Later, Paul Weller had his fans loving every second, mixing songs from his albums that were delivered with passion.
Richard Ashcroft closed the stage, playing a mixture of new solo songs and some Verve classics. Bitter Sweet Symphony gave everyone a chance to sing along before sending them home happy.
review by: Neil Greenway
photos by: Neil Greenway
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