(Reviews by Jess Kemp & Mark Kelly)
‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – VICTORIOUS FESTIVAL, SOUTHSEA 23-25.8.24
The UK’s biggest metropolitan festival, ‘Victorious Festival’, is held annually in the stunning seaside location of Southsea overlooking the Solent, near Portsmouth. It is billed as “the ultimate family-friendly festival experience” and this is reflected by the expansive selection of varying music artists across many genres plus an incredible collection of other artists and comedians. The Bank Holiday extravaganza event is held across 13 stages on three days – 23rd, 24th and 25th August 2024.
This year’s headliners were Fatboy Slim, Snow Patrol, Jamie T, & Biffy Clyro. The bumper line-up also included Courteeners, Pixies, Becky Hill, Wet Leg, Idles, Louis Tomlinson and Jess Glynne to name just a few.
So without further ado, we get down to business…………
DAY THREE – SUNDAY 25TH AUGUST
This is article three of three and concentrates on the happenings on Day Three. Day One’s account can be found HERE and Day Two’s account can be found HERE.
PERSONAL TRAINER – Castle Stage (12:05pm – 12:35pm)
My first band on Sunday is Personal Trainer at the Castle Stage just after midday. This is clearly an ungodly hour to be reviewing a band, but it’s Personal Trainer and I simply can’t miss them. They are never less than interesting, and at times border on the transcendental. Their set today is unusual, in that nearly all of it is from their new album ‘Still Willing’ which was released all of three weeks ago.
The set starts with a song from the new album called ‘Intangible’, which features guitarist Franti Maresova indulging in some quite impressive slide guitar. Early on vocalist and kingpin Willem Smit takes his shirt off. This is possibly ill-advised as he looks like he may be in need of a personal trainer. The quality of the musicians in Personal Trainer is astonishing. Most of them seem to be multi-instrumentalists. Guitarist Mart Boumans also plays sax for example. Keyboardist Abel Tuinstra also plays trumpet. At one point he plays keys and trumpet simultaneously! Most of the material is quite upbeat, but they can do laid back too. There is always something interesting going on with this band. For example, while Marti is soloing on sax, Franti is tapping along with the sax solo on guitar. There are so many different textures to their music, it makes it near impossible to classify, which to my mind is a very good thing. However, in a recent review of their new album I saw them described as “indie-prog”. I think that’s as close as you’re going to get. Personal Trainer return to these shores in February, playing Hackney EartH on the 26th, Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms on the 27th, and Brighton Chalk on 1st March.
(Mark Kelly)
BROOKE COMBE – Common Stage (12:15pm – 12:45pm)
Brooke Combe was a welcome revelation at the start of the day. She brought sunshine when the weather did not. The Edinburgh-born, East Lothian-based singer and multi-instrumentalist broke through in 2021 by winning a Scottish Music Festival Award. Her 2022 single ‘Are You With Me?’, (written in 2018) topped the official vinyl singles chart on release.
In 2023, Combe became the darling of the indie scene. She supported Courteeners and The Snuts. Now, she looks forward to opening for The Coral and Miles Kane. In April last year, she released her debut album ‘Black Is The New Gold’. The album, inspired by her family history, charts her journey as a person and artist.
Combe’s vocals are formidable, immediately grabbing the listener’s ear. Her voice has an unexpected maturity. It sets her apart from her peers and even her predecessors. She did not mess around. As soon as she got on stage, she went straight into the first song. With an impressive voice, you should always lead with it. Not only a formidable voice but also an adept multi-instrumentalist. She shifted seamlessly among instruments during the performance. Combe and her band mix modern music with classic R&B and Soul. Their blend gives a new edge. The new single, ‘Dancing At The Edge Of The World’, released in August, provides a good overview of what to expect from Combe and her band. It has a little added big-bang polish.
‘A-Game’ a 2021 single is a smooth slower-tempo song about infatuation addressed to a new lover. Songs in the set originated primarily from the album. They ran the classic gamut of love. It is all simple fare, but Combe has a special touch. It leaves you wanting more.
(Jess Kemp)
PANIC SHACK – Castle Stage (1:05pm – 1:35pm)
In short order Personal Trainer are followed on the Castle Stage by Panic Shack. They are another interesting band who are also very entertaining. Many of their songs also contain important messages too. Set opener ‘I Don’t Really Like It’ is a case in point, basically being about women’s response to leering men. The song starts quite quietly and slowly with one of the band singing. Then more join in with some pretty harmonies, but as the song builds it becomes louder, angrier, and far more powerful. It is a superb piece of work. I’m not sure whether it’s one of their best songs, but it’s up there. They play a new song that may be called ‘Vape, Phone, Keys, Lipgloss’ which they’ve been road testing for a while. Most of the rest of the set is comprised of old faves such as ‘Baby’, ‘Meal Deal’, ‘Jiu Jits You’, ‘The Ick’ and ‘Who’s Got My Lighter?’ at the end of which the band all collapse onto the stage. The band’s stage act is humorous, their songs are very witty, and they rock like hell. If you leave a Panic Shack gig without a smile on your face, then there must be something very seriously wrong with you!
(Mark Kelly)
THE KOOKS – Common Stage (1:15pm – 2:00pm)
Following a few departures, The Kooks now consist of: Luke Pritchard (vocals/rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/keys/bass), and Alexis Nunez (drums). Their key influences were the ’60s British Invasion and the 2000s post-punk revival. Since then, they have flirted with many genres. These include rock, Britpop, pop, reggae, ska, and more recently, funk and hip-hop.
At Victorious, Luke Prichard took the stage in an outfit that suggested he wanted a piece of Harry Styles’ style. Only it looked like he had asked for silk and ended up with satin. Given the gales of wind now sweeping the festival it was a poor choice of outfit all round. The band are harmless crowd-pleasers aimed at a wide audience. Indeed, an extensive age group had made a point of getting to the Common Stage to sing along to their chart favourites.
The band peppers many songs with ‘non-lexicon vocals,’ or nonsense syllables, like “Woo Hoo Uh Uh Oh” and “Doo Doo Do Do Do”. This is best heard in songs like ‘Ooh La’, ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’, and ‘Always Where I Need To Be’. The latter two were ubiquitous in the charts if not every shop on the high street after release. This is one of the things that makes their songs so catchy and easy to sing. Add to this the tinge of ’60s nostalgia in the early chart hits and you have the winning combination that ensures continued popularity.
The crowd at the Common Stage joyfully sang along. They did so throughout a twelve-song set of the band’s greatest hits. The band know how to deliver exactly what their audience wants.
(Jess Kemp)
SIGNATURE GOLD – Introducing Stage (1:50pm – 2:20pm)
I enter new territory for this year’s Victorious by venturing to the Introducing Stage to see Signature Gold, who are a grunge influenced trio from Brighton, comprised of Milo Hill on guitar and vocals, Nathan Haynes on bass, and Jordan Hambling on drums. Milo has a very good scream, which he only uses occasionally, which makes it all the more effective. The band’s songs are based on cool chunky riffs with some nice use of wah-wah. The musicianship of all three of the band members is very impressive. Drummer Jordan Hambling is particularly good. Some of the songs are brilliant headbangers, and make me miss my long hair which I foolishly had cut off a couple of months ago. Milo occasionally lets rip with some awesome solos, and taps too. Their final song is ‘Cointreau’, which is the song that convinced me that I ought to review them. It certainly doesn’t disappoint live, and neither do they. They’re a young band who are superb live and have some excellent material. I expect to see and hear a lot more of them in the future.
(Mark Kelly)
RED RUM CLUB – Common Stage (2:30pm – 3:00pm)
Staying at the Common Stage next on the lineup for the day were Red Rum Club. Described as a “Brass-infused indie sextet”, the band hails from Liverpool. Having built an extensive following from touring. They have headlined two UK tours, debuted at SXSW 2022, and supported Miles Kane. After a summer of festivals in 2024, they have returned from their second North American tour. They will be embarking on a nearly sold-out tour of the UK and Ireland in November this year. The band are expected to release their 4th studio album in 2025.
The band is composed of Fran Doran (vocals), Tom Williams (guitar and backing vocals), Michael McDermott (guitar and backing vocals), Simon Hepworth (bass guitar), Joe “the Blow” Corby (trumpet) and Neil Lawson (drums).
The first song of the performance, ‘Black Cat’, set the tone for what was to follow. It began with a hint of ’80s goth guitar. Then, the brass blasted, and a mariachi vibe stalked through the song. The sudden wall of sound was impressive, ambitious, pacy and electric. Doran is a fantastic lead singer. He uses the whole stage and energizes the audience with his boundless stage presence. The second song ‘Hole In My Home’ employed the title as a catchy as hell chorus. The third song, ‘Vibrate’, felt familiar. The chorus recalled another track that I could not pin down. The standout songs from the set were ‘Black Cat’ and ‘Angelina’ which mixed brass and a mariachi feel with pacy Rock. Incredibly enjoyable from start to finish, Red Rum Cub broke up the day with something a little different.
(Jess Kemp)
SOUND OF THE SIRENS – Under The Trees (2:40pm – 3:10pm)
I head for more new territory at the Under The Trees Stage where Sound Of The Sirens are playing. They are an acoustic duo with foot drums and percussion, and they’re from Devon. Opening song ‘The Confession’ showcases their wonderful harmonies. Whilst ‘These Are The Days’ is fittingly about being at a festival. Someone at the side of the stage switches on a bubble machine which is somewhat unexpected! The bubbles actually make everything seem slightly psychedelic! ‘In It’s Time’ features a mandolin as does final song ‘Next Year’. With this song they want everybody to fall down and then jump up again. Luckily I have the rail at the front to hang onto! The song speeds up considerably towards the end and has a mandolin solo too! It’s a nice end to a very entertaining set.
(Mark Kelly)
THE FUTUREHEADS – Castle Stage (3:05pm – 3:35pm)
The Futureheads appeared in the ’00s. They are still best known for their cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds Of Love’. Singing in their own accents and accentuating their playful and spiky personalities in their live act, they quickly set themselves apart from the other burgeoning guitar acts. The quartet consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David “Jaff” Craig (vocals and bass guitar) and brothers Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar) and Dave Hyde (drums).
Twenty years after their debut, the band have returned with their sixth album, ‘Powers’. It avoids nostalgia and forges forward with a new sound, although today they only played two songs from the new album and instead stuck to a setlist drawn mainly from their first three albums. The set was a thunderous tour de force which kept the audience on their toes from start to finish. Memorable hit after hit from the early ’00s filled the air around the castle stage with its acoustics delivered by a natural amphitheatre.
Of course, the audience’s favourite was the famous cover. Everyone sang it at the top of their lungs. Hopefully, the new album will reach a new fan base and finally allow the band to break free of their famous cover. However, if they are tired of playing the hits they made no sign of it at any point in the set.
(Jess Kemp)
THE HUNNA – Castle Stage (4:05pm – 4:35pm)
I return to the more familiar environs of the Castle Stage for The Hunna. They’re a punky sounding four piece from Watford. The music is largely fast and loud with shouted lyrics, although they do occasionally inject the odd reggae flavour. They’re very kinetic onstage, and at one point vocalist Ryan Potter climbs up onto the bass drum and jumps off backwards. They perform the first song that they wrote. I don’t know it but the majority of the crowd do, and bellow the lyrics back at the band. It’s really good! I clearly need to listen to more Hunna. That’s what festivals are all about really. They are places where bands can find new audiences, and audiences can find new bands! There’s a nice synchronicity about that. The Hunna tour the UK in September and October.
(Mark Kelly)
YARD ACT – Common Stage (4:45pm – 5:30pm)
Next it’s time to make today’s only visit to the Common Stage for the ever irrepressible Yard Act. Vocalist James Smith looks a little smarter than usual. I think he may have a new coat. Since I last saw them at the End Of The Road Festival in 2022 the band have acquired a couple of backing singers/dancers. Indeed, I believe that one of them is wearing Smith’s old raincoat! Astonishingly they have a much smaller crowd than Natasha Bedingfield who preceded them on the Common Stage. Hoards of people are heading away as we arrive. Some people simply have no musical taste!!! In March this year they released a new album entitled ‘Where’s My Utopia?’ and they play four songs from it today, including ‘We Make Hits’, which seems to be a relatively accurate statement. They play enough oldies to keep the faithful happy, including ‘Witness (Can I Get A?)’, ‘The Overload’, and ‘100% Endurance’. James proves that the audience are with the band by getting everybody to scream. The majority comply with his instruction. For the final song, ‘The Trench Coat Museum’, the backing singers indulge in a mad dance routine, which James joins in whilst playing a small synth. Top entertainment indeed!
(Mark Kelly)
THE PIGEON DETECTIVES – Castle Stage (5:05pm – 5:50pm)
The Pigeon Detectives were a ubiquitous festival band. It was easy to dismiss them and forget how fun they can be live. The Indie rock band from West Yorkshire Leeds formed in 2004, they have since released six albums from 2007 to present. The band hail from Leeds to be precise and consists of Matt Bowman (vocals), Oliver Main (guitar), Ryan Wilson (guitar), Dave Best (bass), and Jimmi Naylor (drums).
Matt Bowman is renowned for clowning around during their set. He runs around the stage, spraying the audience with his drink. But he ends up soaking himself more than anyone else. The set included all their hit songs that you did not know you knew. It reminded me how many of their songs I had absorbed. They can all be immediately recognised by their intros.
The set had familiar hits, including ‘I Found Out’, ‘Take Her Back’ and ‘This Is An Emergency’. The band were surprised to see a full crowd for their set and they thanked the audience for attending, but to be honest they should not have been surprised as many of the audience would have remembered them from past festivals. A core set of fans stuck to the front of the stage. Bowman jokingly thanked the audience for walking miles from the Common Stage to find them on the Castle Stage.
Matt is an engaging lead singer and is eager to entertain and he even managed to include the audience at the back of the Castle Stage on the raised earth. He playfully lambasted them for not coming forward to dance. The band have always gelled. All are practised musicians who know their material inside out. They left the stage having lifted the crowd’s spirits.
(Jess Kemp)
SALVO – Introducing Stage (6:00pm – 6:30pm)
I wander back to the Introducing Stage for Salvo, who are a punky four piece from Portsmouth. The singer’s guitar is way too loud. When he plays a solo it pretty much drowns out everything else, including the drums. The pity about this is that the band are really good, but sonically the singer dominates everything. Either a) he has an ego the size of Saturn, or b) the sound engineer at this stage has cloth ears, or at least hasn’t been out front to check the sound for a while. I suspect that it’s the latter case. He’s probably had a hard weekend. The verses of one song have something of a samba beat. I certainly wasn’t expecting that! Miraculously, for the last song, the sound seems to have been sorted out! Then, the singer’s guitar volume descends so far as to be barely audible for a minute or so, before being restored. Ah well, I guess it just wasn’t their day. If there was any justice, after their set the singer would have been backstage forcefully telling the sound engineer some home truths. He wasn’t though, I checked. Overall, sound problems aside, Salvo are quite an interesting band, and certainly worth checking out.
(Mark Kelly)
SOFT PLAY – Castle Stage (6:35pm – 7:20pm)
SOFT PLAY were once called SLAVES. They changed their name in 2022 due to its unwanted connotations. The Punk band formed as the duo of Isaac Holman (vocals, drums) and Laurie Vincent (backing vocals, guitar, bass) as nobody else wanted to join. Later in the set, Isaac told the crowd that it had worked to their advantage. It was now easier to tour and compose with just the two of them.
The band had been on hiatus since 2019. A breakdown in communication between the bandmates and other close friends necessitated a break. They were then hit by several personal tragedies and challenges while they took time out which delayed the reunion further. Issac took the time to discuss this candidly later during their set without going into too much detail. The death of Laurie’s partner in 2019 and Isaac’s mental health crisis and subsequent diagnosis of OCD led to both of them getting therapy and working on themselves, making it possible for them to reconnect.
The duo returned with the new album ‘Heavy Jelly’ in 2024. The new set-up oscillates between punk-rock, hard-core punk rock, and alt-metal, far heavier and perhaps far less chart-friendly than Slaves. The sheer volume of sound that the duo produce is as impressive as the intensity with which they do it. There was a slightly feral, tribal feel to the set. Issac pounded the drums like a man possessed. Laurie raced across the stage with his flying V guitars. The playful inter-song chatter, mainly from Isaac, contrasted with the heavy sound and visuals.
The pair are charmingly disarming and incredibly endearing. They showed constant concern for their fans in the moshpit, checking in on them frequently. At one point Laurie asked for the music to stop while he called for security to rescue a woman who appeared to have injured her knee in the moshpit. The duo waited until security had taken her to safety and then asked the crowd to thank security for ensuring everyone’s safety.
The starkly honest songs ‘Issac Is Typing…’ and ‘Worms On Tarmac’ are about Issac’s ongoing battles with OCD. The former’s title arises from his inability to think and type as he composes responses to messages. ‘Punk’s Dead’, the first single from ‘HEAVY JELLY’, featured Issac screaming insults at the audience. On occasion, he was so hoarse the delivery was almost unintelligible. The song is a response to the ‘Slaves’ fans’ objections to the new name and change in musical direction. The lyrics are a humorous parody of the insults they received.
In a departure from the rest of the set, ‘Everything And Nothing’ was played with just Laurie playing a mandolin and Issac singing. The effect was both mesmerising and emotional bringing the whole of the audience to a standstill. It was one of the most stunning moments of the weekend, the connection between the audience and the duo tangible.
The duo say they chose the name SOFT PLAY as they felt it better reflected who they truly were as men: playful and tender. At the end of this phenomenal live set, the audience could not have seen them any other way.
(Jess Kemp)
THE CLOCKWORKS – Under The Trees (7:45pm – 8:15pm)
Next, I’m back at the Under The Trees stage for The Clockworks. They’re running late and are not having a good time. Apparently they have been having “trials and tribulations” according to vocalist James McGregor, although he doesn’t go into details. Suffice to say that drummer Damian Greaney is playing an electronic kit, having never used one before. It doesn’t have cymbals either. What could possibly go wrong? Actually, surprisingly little. Because of their late start they’re only allowed to play three songs, but they’re three very good songs, and they really rip it up! They tear the place to pieces! The material is excellent. Here’s some sample lyrics:
“Mayday! Mayday! I need a payday!”
“The future is not what it was”
“These fingers were made for pointing”.
It’s not just me who thinks that they’re a bit good. The crowd are chanting for “one more song!”. The stage manager allows them to play one, and it’s another punchy indie banger! The band are from Galway but are now based in London. They play at Highbury Garage on 8th November. Go see them – you won’t be disappointed!
(Mark Kelly)
BIFFY CLYRO – Common Stage (9:20pm – 10:50pm)
It’s now headliner time and I have to flit between the Common Stage and the Castle Stage to review both Biffy Clyro and Wet Leg. This is going to be no mean feat. I manage to catch the first part of Biffy Clyro’s set. They are clearly very comfortable about headlining festivals. I saw them headlining Download a couple of years ago, and then, as now, they were utterly majestic.
Their sound is all encompassing, and they just seem to be effortlessly tight. Longtime touring guitarist Mike Vennart is treated like a member of the band. The other band members interact with him onstage, and he is obviously really into Biffy Clyro’s music. He is also a member of Empire State Bastard with Biffy vocalist Simon Neil. Biffy have fireworks at the beginning of their set! You really can’t beat a bit of good pyro. The light show is as impressive as the music itself. There are lasers too! The set provides a tour through the band’s back catalogue, and they play my own personal favourite ‘Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies’. The end of show fireworks commence while the band is playing their final encore, ‘Many Of Horror’. I’m not sure if they’ve gone past the curfew, but they must have been perilously close. It’s been a great show, and makes me wish that I’d been quick enough to get tickets for one of their Shepherds Bush Empire gigs in October.
(Mark Kelly)
WET LEG – Castle Stage (9:40pm – 10:50pm)
Wet Leg take the stage to a classical organ intro and go straight into ‘Being In Love’. Their set is based around their album as it has been for the last couple of years, together with unreleased song ‘I Wanna Be Abducted (By A UFO)’. Rhian Teasdale is in a long raincoat (it’s been a very wet day!) which she soon discards. She doesn’t actually say anything until after ‘Supermarket’, which is three songs in. She says that it feels strange “that this is the last time that we’ll be playing these songs” before they go to make some new music. This elicits a huge cheer. Rhian tells the crowd not to “get too excited, as it may take a while”. So far, so normal.
However, I’ve seen Wet Leg four times before, the last time being when they supported Pulp at Finsbury Park just over a year ago, and as their set progresses, it appears that something is amiss. For most of the gig Hester Chambers’ mic stand at the front of the stage remains mostly unused. At first I wonder whether she’s onstage at all, and then I spot her in the shadows towards the back of the stage. She only occasionally comes to the front to adjust her pedals, and then she’s back in the shadows again. She’s not wearing stage clothes, being clad in jeans and a hoodie. There is no interaction between her and Rhian whatsoever. Rhian is being the frontperson, and Hester is more or less absent. When she’s not playing she stands cradling her guitar. She certainly does not look a happy camper. She’s playing all of the right notes, in the right order, but that’s as far as her involvement goes. She looks disengaged, as if she is a semi-detached member of the band.
The only time she does become noticeably involved is during final song ‘Chaise Longue’ when she comes to the front to sing backing vocals, and she and one of the live musicians play back-to-back, leaning against each other. As soon as the song ends she puts her guitar back in its rack and she’s gone. The gig does end very abruptly. Rhian thanks the audience and waves, and that’s it. There’s none of the fooling around or the humour that I’ve seen at other Wet Leg gigs. It all seemed a bit forced, the set being something to just get through. Maybe Hester didn’t feel well tonight, but it looked like more than that. Since their debut album came out more than two years ago they have absolutely toured the sh*t out of it, all over the world. That kind of work rate is going to cause strain in any working relationship. I hope that things in the Wet Leg camp aren’t as bad as they looked, and that they are able in time to work on creating a new album. Having a break probably should be their highest priority now though.
(Mark Kelly)
‘Victorious Festival’ will return next year! The dates for your diary are 22nd to 24th August 2025. Tickets are on sale now and the various options can be viewed HERE.
The Brighton & Hove News team attended the 2023 and 2022 ‘Victorious Festivals’. You can read and enjoy our reviews below:
