Wireless Festival 2011

Record breaking crowds hit Hyde Park

11:45, Monday, 4 July 2011

Hyde Park - July 1st - 3rd

My friend told me that Wireless Festival has absolutely nothing to do with actual Wi-Fi. Therefore I should stop whinging about being unable to check Twitter and I should just have fun. Besides the weather is too glorious to bemoan technology and the musical fare served up at this year's Wireless was too spectacular to be ignoring. So I agreed with my friend's declaration to have fun, but not until a swift visit to the very proficient beer tent.

It was Saturday and London's premiere inner-city festival was in full swing. The gathered masses were leisurely soaking up the sun and cider as pop-step princess, Katy B was tearing down the main stage. This was the second day of Wireless. The day before had seen Hyde Park taken over by Tinie Tempah, Plan B, the omnipotent David Guetta and the entertainment juggernaut that is The Black Eyed Peas. But on the alternating genre-rota that Wireless offers, Saturday was all about dance.

Heading over to the second stage, we saw Battles take position in front of an expectant congregation of chin-rubbers. They didn't expect to hear just three notes though as the American math-rockers blew their amps before their set began; leaving an awkward forty-five minutes of panicked roadies and a very quiet and bemused band. This was a mere blip of silence as Chase and Status promptly dished out their brand of chart-friendly heavy breaks on the main stage before Aphex Twin salvaged the second stage and sent a packed tent mental with his IDM break-core hits like 'Windowlicker' and 'Vordhosbn'. After the audience had retrieved their ears, there was a mass migration to the main stage for headliners The Chemical Brothers. The sun was setting and the crowd was a sea of drunken sun burnt faces and limbs nodding and flailing to the dance veterans' catalogue of classics like 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl', 'Believe' and 'Block Rockin' Beats'.

Then somehow it was Sunday and Hyde Park was full of hangovers as an indie sun shone down over Wireless. A notably older audience than the previous day - but nevertheless, just as excitable - saw people warm up their indie appetites with a late lunch of Metromony and the sonic-wash of The Horrors who showcased new album 'Skying'. It didn't take the crowd long or many ciders to forget that it was a Sunday and they duly loosened-up when New York indie-funk mavericks TV On The Radio took to the stage to get Hyde Park's hips moving. The second stage was packed to its tarpaulin roof as Oxford-sextet Foals entertained the receptive audience with angular-pop classics 'Cassius', 'Miami' and the written for festivals anthem, 'Spanish Sahara'.

As evening crept in the Sundayers, woozy with cider, flocked the main stage and jostled for the best vantage point. A palpable sense of expectation filled central London as indie legends Pulp were just seconds away from taking to the stage.

Skulking around like a spindly-champion Jarvis and co treated an enrapt audience to a set packed with classics as they triumphantly headlined with hits including 'Mile End', 'This is Hardcore', and 'Disco 2000'. The audience was putty in Pulp's hand and were dancing and swaggering in true '95 style. After closing the evening with 'Common People', Jarvis attempted to bring some trademark gloom to the victorious weekend with the partying shot "See you again in 15 years'. An admission lost on an audience content in enjoying the final moments of a weekend that had truly been different class.

By Michael Currell

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