So we got the chance to go to Wireless this year on the Friday and Saturday (the Sunday lineup wasn't really our or Kiss' cup of tea). Each day was billed as "[Headline act] and friends" but was just your typical festival. There were four stages, and we mainly checked out those we feature on the site, along with some others.
Friday
Example (Main Stage)
Despite being the first act on he really stole the day in many senses. None of the acts after could quite top his energy-filled set, which was filled with all his singles from 'Won't Go Quietly', 'Sea the Sea', 'Changed The Way You Kiss Me', 'Stay Awake' and 'Natural Disaster'. The crowd really didn't take much encouragement to move about apart from the occasional "Jump!" from Elliot. His set blended together the live and electronic aspects of his songs with drums, guitars, keyboards, backing tracks but no DJ in sight.
Bruno Mars/Time Takers/Far East Movement (Main Stage/Bandstand/Pepsi Max Stage)
We managed to catch ten minutes of each of these in quick succession. Bruno Mars began with a faster version of 'The Lazy Song' which kind of ruined the whole essence of the song as there was none of the whistling that has made the song so popular. There's no doubt that he is a stellar singer, with him showing off his range from what we saw. We then moved onto Time Takers, who we saw mix a few tracks such as Bodyrox's 'Yeah Yeah' but having not seen much we cannot pass judgement on their set (but we presume it was amazing). Then Far East Movement, who half shouted, half rapped their set were okay, but we were more excited by their special guest, Frankmusik. They performed together about half of 'Do It In The AM', and then Frankmusik moved onto the piano as they played 'Rocketeer'. They also brought out Dev for 'Like a G6', but it goes to show they really need guest performers to give their act some kind of substance.
Alexis Jordan (Pepsi Max Stage)
A mixed bag really. She left her more well known hits to the end but most of the crowd had no clue (they were probably waiting for the next act, more below). Again she is another strong vocalist and her songs translated well live. She managed to keep dancing throughout and generally put on a good performance, but nothing too controversial.
David Guetta (Pepsi Max Stage)
This man really showed how much you have to do to become a successful DJ these days. A set which consisted almost exclusively his own songs, he managed to keep the crowd pumped the whole time. His set did seem to get a bit laborious though, as it almost seemed like every song was an FMIF remix with nothing outstanding - probably showing how ubiquitous Guetta has become. He did bring out a special guest in Fergie to perform 'Gettin' Over You', but she didn't seem when to know when to come in which was a bit of a disappointment. It did seem quite odd for Guetta to finish with the FMIF remix of 'I Gotta Feeling'; it's a bit like playing the songs of a DJ who's on after you.
Black Eyed Peas (Main Stage)
Being a festival they obviously went through all their hits from 'Where is the Love?' all the way up to 'Don't Stop The Party'. They were entertaining but not brilliant performers on the whole, especially with will.i.am solely reliant on Auto-Tune. After they had performed for a while they then disappeared and Fergie came on to sing 'Big Girls Don't Cry', which cooled down emotions. Then, will.i.am did a short DJ set, with some interesting song choices such as Michael Jackson and Britney Spears. Also, he was elevated from his booth half way through which did seem a little unnecessary. They then reunited at the end (pun most definitely not intended) to play songs such as 'The Time (Dirty Bit)' and 'I Gotta Feeling', and bizarrely they decided to bring David Guetta on with them for the latter. He mainly just stood there and jumped around occasionally. What a crazy Frenchman.
Saturday
Janelle Monae (Main Stage)
The last thing you want to be doing at a festival when you've been standing around for ages is to start squatting, and that's what she made the crowd do half way through! She put on a consistent if unknown performance with bundles of energy. Whether she fitted into the traditional "dance day" we don't know but she definitely opened it well.
Katy B (Main Stage)
Her story's amazing but her music is not outstanding. Solid vocals but she really loses the edge her music has in a live capacity. Interestingly she never sang her breakthrough hit 'Katy On A Mission', but managed to get all the decent tracks off her debut album in. Her MC seemed unnecessary really; I'm sure Katy could address the crowd appropriately herself.
Ke$ha (Main Stage)
Definitely the weirdest performer of the weekend. Confetti cannons, tranny dancers and drinking blood from a heart. It was also clear to hear her lack of live singing skills. Nt matter what is done to her vocals in the studio, she can't sing live at all. Sure her rapping is not bad but she relies on her backing singers and pre-recorded vocals consistently when it came to singing. She did play instruments too, said some interesting things to the crowd ("Get off with the person next to you" etc) and brought on a dancing penis. All in all quite a 'fun' performance.
Nero (Barclaycard Unwind Stage)
So before Dan from Nero took to the decks, Michael Franti and Spearhead had been on before who had quite a lively funk/reggae/rock performance. However they over ran and the tent kept filling up, with most people waiting for Nero, with even chants for them by the end. Then Dan started and it went off.
Tons of people moshing in a confined space and an amazing selection of tunes. Along with Nero's own, he played Wolfgang Gartner, Skrillex and Justice, including the proper version of Ruffneck Bass by Skrillex. A great set with a intuitive blend of mainly Dubstep and Drum & Bass.
Chase & Status (Main Stage)
Chase & Status was quite intriguing if anything. A mixture of live and backing, with drums and guitars. They brought on many guest vocalists too such as Tempa T, Delilah, Liam Bailey and Mali. It worked quite well live with their MC encouraging as much moshing as possible. Their set seemed quite short in terms of what they had on offer, and the fact that 'Chase' and 'Status' never took the limelight was quite effective. They can't seem to do anything wrong at the moment.
The Chemical Brothers (Main Stage)
A worthy finish to dance day. A creative set with lots of amazing visuals that they have clearly taken years perfecting. They really have kept true to their own sound over the years and this was evident in the consistency of their music. There isn't really much more to say on The Chemical Brothers as you really have to experience them performing to get a feel; words, pictures and video do not really do them justice.
Overall Wireless was pretty awesome. Not just in terms of personal experience but also lineup choice and delivery. After many complaining of inconsistency in previous years they seem to have carved out a winning formula with distinct audiences for each day. Nero and Example really stood out for us with their creative performances and also shows how good their own material is. Obviously we can't speak for the Sunday but they appeared to have a good range of acts too. Maybe not the biggest festival around but definitely quite compelling.
(All photos © 2011 Live Nation (Music) Limited)
