V Festival 2009, Royal Melbourne Showgrounds

With its relatively recent foray into the Southern Hemisphere, the V Festival continues to unleash its merriment, mayhem and nostalgia onto these shores. First up is the Welsh superpower soul singer Duffy, who is heralded on That Stage by the grand orchestral sounds of The Shangri-Las’ ‘Past Present And Future.’ Decked out in denim overalls, with short shorts, she has the crowd bewitched as she launches into the epic majesty of ‘Rain On Your Parade.’ As twin sister back-up singers, like mini-me characters, indulge in some uniform choreography with Duffy, the show resembles a ‘60s-style soul revue. Amid stirring violins, Duffy displays Macy Gray style vocals on ‘Delayed Devotion.’ However, she saves the best ‘til last, declaring, “Please show me some mercy, bitch !” before the raucous jazzy synths of ‘Mercy’ emerge from the stage, much to the crowd’s delight, as the girls in the front rows sing along.

On the Virgin Mobile Stage, startling all and sundry is none other than one of Miami rap’s most infamous characters, Vanilla Ice. Beleaguered by technical problems, he nevertheless manages to fill the stage area to maximum capacity as he bobs his head, and launches into ‘Ice Ice Baby,’ and ‘Play That Funky Music.’ Dressed in a black T-shirt and cap with gold medallions dangling from his neck, he elicits a frenzied response from fans who may not have been born when the rapper’s songs first charted. However, they seem thrilled by his kitsch value, as a crazy clown in a Santa suit and some girls frolic on stage with the MC who recently ‘apologised’ for ‘crimes’ against pop music in a Virgin ad. Finishing with Cypress Hill’s ‘I Love You Mary Jane,’ he says, “Thank you very much!” before nodding a lot, clasping his hands in a prayer-like fashion. Over on This Stage, Razorlight enthrall punters with furious guitars on ‘In The Morning’ and ‘Stumble & Fall,’ before singer Johnny Borrell displays a rather Nick Cave-esque bellowing vocal style upon launching into ‘North London Trash.’

Ska-pop ‘80s funsters Madness take That Stage with much aplomb, decked out in suits and surrounded by jazzy trumpeters. After the band launches into an enlivening version of ‘Embarrassment,’ lead singer Suggs appears quite dazed, wondering aloud about the time-span between visits to these shores. “It’s been 23 years since we were last here,” he ponders. “I don’t understand it myself. Where does the time go?” he ruminates, before the group delivers the reggae-tinged grooves and rousing trumpets of Max Romeo’s ‘Chase The Devil.’ After the sorrowful trumpets and bluesy piano refrains of ‘Forever Young,’ the band proceeds to blitz through a long-awaited greatest hits set, starting with a stunning version of ‘House Of Fun,’ which has the crowd singing along. Then, it’s time for the joyous ‘Baggy Trousers,’ the ode to suburbia ‘Our House,’ and the familiar piano tinkling of ‘It Must Be Love,’ launching a huge sing-song in the arena, before Suggs says, “May you all reach your destination. Love is the best! Thank you. Hope to see you all again sometime.” Kaiser Chiefs appear on This Stage, quickly launching into a raucous version of ‘Every Day I Love You Less And Less,’ with singer Ricky Wilson bellowing his vocals over explosive synths. During a superb rendition of ‘Everything Is Average Nowadays,’ Ricky leaps from the stage and over the barricades while girls in the front attempt to grab his shirt. Needless to say, pandemonium ensues. Quickly leaping back on the stage, Ricky asks, “Is everybody alright?” to an affirmative response, before the familiar bass grooves and guitar lines of ‘You Want History’ ring out. Then, the rousing guitar riffs of ‘Ruby’ emanate from the stage, eliciting delighted screams from the crowd, as singer belts out the wonderfully romantic couplet: “Let it never be said, that romance is dead,” before adoring fans sing the chorus.

On the Other Stage, ‘80s electro-pop pioneers Human League appear amid a drum machine and haunting synths, immediately launching into ‘The Things That Dreams Are Made Of’ as Phil Oakey delivers his trademark booming vocals. Indeed, judging by the delirious reaction from the crowd, Human League’s appearance is the stuff dreams are made of, it would seem. As singers Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall slink around in sparkly, sequined, figure-hugging dresses, replete with ‘80s neon-style make up, punters in the front row, clearly re-living their blue-light disco era, are in absolute ecstasy. Sweeping synths and pumping beats descend on the crowd, as the group delivers a haunting version of ‘Open Your Heart.’ “Nice to be here in beautiful Melbourne,” says Phil Oakey. As the group delves into dark and menacing bass-lines and a maelstrom of electro synths, Susan, ever the statuesque disco dancer, with her blonde hair in a bun, and raised arms outstretched, enchants the crowd with all the grace of a poised ballerina. While the whirring electro refrains of ‘Don’t You Want Me’ ring out, punters sing along to the chorus and whistle when the divine Susan takes centre stage with her verses. Certainly, she points the microphone to the crowd for the line, “I still love you!” a sentiment which is undoubtedly echoed by the love-struck throng. And as this Atari-generation deliriously sings along to the chorus of ‘Together In Electric Dreams,’ they seem to pledge their love to these electro-pop legendary figures. “Thank you, you’ve been brilliant,” says Phil. “Melbourne, Australia, we love you,” leaving the crowd in absolute raptures.

The love affair continues with the arrival of The Killers on This Stage. As punters gleefully dance around in wild abandonment, the band launches into the ferocious grooves of ‘Somebody Told Me,’ while flashing lights illuminate the stage. “Anybody out there in love?” asks singer Brandon Flowers. Just as well punters tonight seem to be head over heels in love with The Killers. Dressed in their uniform of black shirts and black pants, like hipster versions of Johnny Cash and friends, they deliver powerfully rumbling bass-lines and wailing guitar sols on ‘Human,’ with its ‘Never Ending Story’ style refrains. The melancholic synths of ‘Mr. Brightside’ have punters singing along, while fireworks explode from the back of the stage. Returning to the roar of the crowd, the band delivers a rousing version of ‘Bones,’ as punters swoon to Brandon’s seductive vocals. They then launch into the wall of tremulous guitars during ‘When You Were Young,’ as the crowd is quite literally swept off its feet, and fireworks explode at the back of the stage. As crashing guitars descend over the crowd, Brandon says, “Thank you, good night,” to a shrieking roar. Overall, from start to finish, this festival is quite clearly an extended love-in. And with the much-loved artists sending their enamoured sentiments to a clearly besotted crowd, the love here is most certainly reciprocated. Undoubtedly, punters are already counting the days until the next V Festival arrives in town once more.