Live Review: V Festival! | MTV Skip to main content
  • News
  • Watch MTV
    • All shows
    • Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club
    • Ex On The Beach USA
    • Teen Mom 2
    • The Charlotte Show
    • Geordie Shore
  • Music
    • MTV Unplugged
    • Upload
    • Call & Response
    • Stripped
    • MTV Push
    • MTV Live Sessions
  • Style
  • Travel
  • Movies
  • Latest Videos
  • movies
  • Pictures
  • Win
  • Download
  • TV Guide
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Search
  • movies
  • Pictures
  • Win
  • Download
  • TV Guide
Home
  • News
  • Watch MTV
    • All shows
    • Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club
    • Ex On The Beach USA
    • Teen Mom 2
    • The Charlotte Show
    • Geordie Shore
  • Music
    • MTV Unplugged
    • Upload
    • Call & Response
    • Stripped
    • MTV Push
    • MTV Live Sessions
  • Style
  • Travel
  • Movies
  • Latest Videos
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Search

The Killers

  • Main
  • Videos
  • News

Live Review: V Festival!

  • Share to Facebook
  • Tweet to Twitter
  • Share to Google plus
Thursday, April 2, 2009 - 11:00

Virgin does it again for the third year in Australia with bands including The Killers, Snow Patrol, Kaiser Chiefs, and The Madness rocking out on a perfect Sydney day.



How would one describe V Festival? Well, if we were to compare to earthly pleasures of the other sort, this festival would not be your run of the mill missionary position, instead, it should be likened to something a bit more risqué. V Festival was chill, stimulating and ended with a big explosion and lots of incessant screaming that goes with such a climax. It’s enough to leave a big smile on your face, to say the least.


The metaphor works because this is one Festival that doesn’t necessarily follow the now-tired formula of forty minutes sets, multitude of clashing acts, and the thousands of fluro-clad munters that are regularly associated with such events. V Fest let artists play their full shows and allowed bands to bring in all sorts of spectaculars – including pyro, cool lighting and theatrics. The other major difference? The V Fest line-up showcased small indie acts (Children’s Collide, Louie XIV, Jackson Jackson) who played alongside bands of the past (Madness, Vanilla Ice) and today’s best acts (The Killers, Snow Patrol, Duffy).

Duffy started in the early afternoon showcasing her strong husky voice and soulful tunes, while The Madness brought us back to our childhood or reminded us of insurance and nappy ads, playing classics like 'Our House' and 'It Must Be Love' and the Jagermeister tent ensured punters with itchy feet had a place to jump around and party as if they were in, um, a really fun Jagerermeister commercial.



But with so many awesome bands on the bill, this reviewer had to be biased and pick his favorites. The highlights came in the form of the Kaiser-Chiefs, Snow Patrol and The Killers. It was a tad frustrating that three of the biggest acts on the bill actually had their sets clash for 20 minutes; lucky for us they played over an hour long set.

The Kaiser Chiefs, fresh off a killer performance at the Vodafone MTV Australia Awards 2009, brought the crowd to its feet as the sun set on Centennial Park. The five-piece indie act rocked out with the high energy one would expect of the band that bought us songs like 'Never Miss a Beat' and 'Oh My God'. Front man Rick Wilson moved with his music at times seemingly desperate to stage dive into the pumped out crowd. The one complaint one might have is that after a while, many of their songs blend into one due to their consistent sound. The band got its biggest reaction to its perfectly executed 'Ruby' and with good reason.


Snow Patrol took to the stage on the other side of festival. Detractors may lament that this one-time struggling indie-act has defaced its own street cred of late - primarily due 'Chasing Cars' featuring in cheesy medical drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and a huge surge in popularity. Despite that, this is a band is still consistently delivering elegant tracks, with poignant lyrics, while continuously evolving the sound that the indie kids loved so much in their early album 'Final Straw'.

Their live show is amazing, lead singer Gary Lightbody truly knows how to engage an audience with self depreciating humour, genuine enthusiasm and flawless delivery of the band’s melodic music. Their set included a plethora of songs from their last three albums including 'Chasing Cars', 'Open Your Eyes', 'Chocolate' and 'Take Back This City'. There were enough 'Grey’s Anatomy' moments to make straight guys uncomfortable, peaking when the band performs their first song hit single 'Run'. The awkwardness is no doubt highlighted by the light show and flashing images taking place behind the band (think snow flakes and other images that evoke tears). That being said, the set looked amazing and one cannot doubt the talent displayed by this five-some; we’re sure many couples had their own very special chick flick moment.


The Killers brought their Las Vegas style spectacle to the festival playing a set of the best songs from their albums 'Hot Fuss', 'Sam’s Town' and their latest effort 'Day and Age', ending the day with a big bang.


The band opened with 'Spaceman' which immediately demanded the large crowd to respond by going absolutely ape-shit.


Having seen the Killers eight times previously, I was unsure they were going to give me something I haven’t seen before. I was wrong. The band has evolved to a point where the have enough epic anthems, showmanship and diverse ranging songs to give the audience a complete music experience. Add this to Brandon Flowers antics, cool backdrop (with palm trees and fairy lights in toe) with sporadic pyro and some the best tracks to come out this decade ('Mr Brightside', 'All These Things That I Have Done') you have one of the best festival performances Australia has seen this year. Hands down this set shows the Killers at their best.


The band played anthems such as 'Jenny Was a Friend of Mine' and 'Somebody Told Me' as well as their criminally underplayed 'Shadowplay' (a Joy Division cover) ensured the show turned into a one and half hour sing along. New tracks like 'Human' actually translates better live with a light show than it does on the ipod.


The band’s Las Vegas style theatrics was further highlighted as the set came to a climax with 'When We Were Young'. The fire balls, a pyro waterfall and random explosions were seemingly visual representation of the amped up audiences reaction to this track.



Ultimately V Festival is fast becoming one of my favorite festivals and this year, it ended with an explosion, a literal one thanks to The Killers, and a metaphorical one (emotional explosion?) thanks to the musical depth demonstrated by many of the V Fest bands.


Thanks for the memories... We look forward to coming … um…I mean visiting again next year.

For more information on V Festival, get to the Tours page by clicking here

Latest News

UNPOPULAR OPINION: Farrah Abraham Is The Actual Queen Of 'Ex On The Beach USA'

Miley Cyrus Talks About Being A "Queer Person In A Hetero Relationship" In Revealing New Interview

Taron Egerton Becomes Elton John In All His Glory In New 'Rocketman' Trailer

Teen Mom's Tyler & Catelynn Baltierra Welcome A Baby Girl With The Cutest Name Ever

Kim Kardashian Speaks Out For The FIrst Time On Khloe's Cheating Drama

Khloe Kardashian Responds To Tristan Thompson/Jordyn Woods Cheating Scandal On Instagram

MTV Upload Of The Week: Lola Scott

Police Charge 'Empire' Star Jussie Smollett With Filing A False Report

Ooop It Looks Like Jordyn Woods Has Moved Out Of Kylie Jenner's House

Matthew From 'MAFs' Debuts His New GF & Claims Ex-Wife Lauren Has Been Sending Him Angry Texts

The Best Memes To Come Out Of The Tristan Thompson/Jordyn Woods Cheating Scandal

YAAAAS QUEEN: We Have Your Mardi Gras Party Spots Sorted

Beyonce & Jay-Z Accept Brit Award In Front Of A Royal Meghan Markle Portrait

All The Fancy AF Red Carpet Looks From The 2019 BRIT Awards

Halsey Is All For A Gay Twilight Remake & So Are We

REPORTS: How The Kardashians Feel About Jordyn Woods After Tristan Thompson Cheating Scandal

The First Guest Performers For TRL Have Been Announced & We're Truly Frothin'

RECAP: ANOTHER Ambassador Is Sent Packing On This Week's 'Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club'

EXCLUSIVE: This Is Cub Sport's Ultimate Pride Playlist

THIRSTY: Noah Centineo, Kendall Jenner & A$AP Rocky Strip Off For Calvin Klein

More From The Killers

2017 MTV EMA

2017 MTV EMA | The Killers 'The Man'

The Killers

Run For Cover

Smile Like You Mean It Coz The Killers Just Announced A HUGE Tour Of Aus & NZ

Watch The Killers Entire Evolution Through Their Iconic Music Videos

The Killers to perform at the ‘2013 MTV EMA’!

Justin Bieber to perform at the Singapore Grand Prix

Harry Styles crowned Villain of the Year at NME Awards!

Australia makes its MTV World Stage debut at Big Day Out!

Review: The Killers Big Day Out side show in Sydney

Review: Big Day Out 2013 Sydney

Review: The Killers at Big Day Out Sydney

Big Day Out 2013 Timetables and Maps released!

Trending Articles

REPORTS: Khloe Kardashian Dumps Tristan Thompson Over Jordyn Woods Affair

REPORTS: How The Kardashians Feel About Jordyn Woods After Tristan Thompson Cheating Scandal

Kim Kardashian Speaks Out For The FIrst Time On Khloe's Cheating Drama

Ooop It Looks Like Jordyn Woods Has Moved Out Of Kylie Jenner's House

Khloe Kardashian Responds To Tristan Thompson/Jordyn Woods Cheating Scandal On Instagram

Matthew From 'MAFs' Debuts His New GF & Claims Ex-Wife Lauren Has Been Sending Him Angry Texts

The Best Memes To Come Out Of The Tristan Thompson/Jordyn Woods Cheating Scandal

Tristan Thompson Responds To Jordyn Woods Cheating Allegations

Teen Mom's Tyler & Catelynn Baltierra Welcome A Baby Girl With The Cutest Name Ever

Khloe Kardashian & BFF Malika Haqq Weigh In On Tristan Thompson 'Cheating' Drama

Miley Cyrus Talks About Being A "Queer Person In A Hetero Relationship" In Revealing New Interview

UNPOPULAR OPINION: Farrah Abraham Is The Actual Queen Of 'Ex On The Beach USA'

  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • MTV Press
  • Advertising Opportunities
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Collection Statement
  • Site Feedback
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Google Plus
Hit us with some keywords!