I decided to travel by train, as parking and driving into Portsmouth and Southsea would be ridiculous with the number of people attending. This meant arriving at Portsmouth and Southsea station and then walking up to the seafront which was about a 20 minute walk. Along the way I grabbed a tuna and pasta salad and drink from Sainsbury's and I ate that on the walk. Side note, this was the worst tuna and pasta salad ever!
Last year had been an amazing day and was great weather, this year the forecast was slightly different with more than the occasional cloud and rain predicted. So no flip-flops this time instead walking shoes, instead of shorts I wore jeans, and last years jumper had been joined by a coat.
I arrived just after 1pm and walked to the entrance. At this time there was no queue and I did not have a bag, so the entry process was quick. I had arranged to meet some friends at 2pm. So I had a while to walk around and see what was here. The venue had been extended this year to include more of the common and an additional stage. It does feel like the event is growing each year and gradually turning into a great festival event. There seemed to be plenty to do if you had a family, with an area away from the larger stages where you could find small rides, games, circus skills, small tennis courts, a painting wall and Disney princesses.
As I walked around the one thing I thought was missing was something resembling the lounge tent I'd visited at the Common People Festival in Southampton. That had a great vibe and was a really interesting setting.
I met up with Mike, Ellie, Marcus, Mike, Lucy and Amy round by one of the tanks. We had a quick chat and started to walk around the venue and tried to work out the acts we wanted to see and the times and stages we needed to be at.
The first act I wanted to see was Jerry Williams. I had seen that a friend, Amba, was playing at victorious on Instagram and found out when she was performing. This was a great set, I really enjoyed hearing Jerry sing on the acoustic stage. She has one additional fan in me. I'm even attaching a link - Jerry Williams Music
After this we walked around a bit more, I even bumped into Tracey from Speed Dating. I say bumped into, we had been texting so we both knew we were there. It was great to have a brief chat and a dance with the girls (Tracey was there with Emma and another friend, who's name I can't remember, sorry!). I found out we were also both going to the Foo Fighters gig in Milton Keynes the following week, unfortunately on different days though.
With Mike and the crew we moved round to the Common Stage, to see The Magic Numbers and The Fratellis sets, we also grabbed food in between, or possibly before not exactly sure. I went for burger and chips, which was ok. I think I had gotten to the stage where as long as it was food I'd be happy, haha. most of the guys went for noodles, which looked good (There maybe mention of noodles at the next event...). The performances were great and we really enjoyed listening to the music and, well, kind of dancing around. The rain did really change the atmosphere from what I had experienced the year before, and even at Common People earlier in this year.
At this point we split up with the guys going over to another stage to watch Mystery Jets, I stayed for Primal Scream. At this point I finally managed to get through to Olivia who was also at the event. Olivia has been a friend since preschool, but we've not seen each other for a couple of years. So I went over to say hi to her and her friends (finding them in the crowd was actually not too difficult) as we watched Primal Scream. It was great to catch up, have a chat, find out what she was up to and meet her boyfriend Nick, who I believe works for National Geographic.
We then made our way over to watch Tiny Temper close the event. While dancing around in the mud was fun, my legs were seriously starting to fail me. I knew I'd be ok once we where walking back to the station, but dancing on the spot wasn't great.
All in all I enjoyed victorious this year, but it has to be said it's a very different event when you can't sit down or lay the grass, just look up at the sunny sky and listen to music as you close your eyes. The other difference this year, I would say the Sunday was a stronger lined up than Saturday. I would have loved to have seen Texas and I'm sure Ray Davies, The Darkness and Hayseed Dixie would have been great to see live too.
I'll definitely go again next year, I'm even considering going for both days. I would love to see a couple more smaller stages such as the one that was the Common People for smaller acts in a more intimate setting. It was great to manage to see a few people there too, I enjoyed catching up and spend time with these guys.
Walking to the train station with Olivia and friends
Mike and the crew after I lost them.
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