Living it up in the Virgin Media Louder Lounge

I'VE mentioned the Virgin Media Louder Lounge several times during my coverage of the V Festival, so I thought I'd give my readers a little insight into this flipside.

Set up about five minutes from the main stage - but well out of range of the hoi polloi - is this little oasis of decadence and showboating that caters for performing artists and other musicians, celebrities and specially-invited guests - including me.

Each year has a theme - this year's appears to be a psychedelic twister of Mad Hatters tea party meets a nutty professors laboratory, which all glows in UV at night - but essentially it's there to give guests privacy and luxury at a festival.

Fancy a jacuzzi?

It's clever, fun  - and there is also lots of free stuff.

For those inclined this year you could get your make-up done, a fake tan, fashion tips, hairdressing and free headphones. You could even take a jacuzzi. But despite the VIP status of the guests, they still have to queue - sometimes for hours.

You are also granted two free meals a day at a selection of outlets and free drinks - ahh yes! - as well as other little treats.

And - perhaps most interesting for you music lovers (except for the free beer) - are the acoustic sets played by some of the festival artists on a much smaller stage. This year the likes of Paloma Faith and Labrinth performed. There are also some top, top DJs playing party music all day and long into the night.

Jim Shaw's hairdressing gang

As mentioned earlier, this is where the great and the good get to hang out. I'm not a big one for "celebrity" so a lot of the people passing by may or may not be famous. But the likes of Niall Horan from One Direction and Tulisa are noticeable, as are ex-England and Tottenham Hotspur footballer Ledley King and ex-England cricketer Darren Gough, who kindly posed for pictures with me this year.

Paloma Faith performs to the Louder Lounge crowd

In previous years I've seen the likes of Jason Statham, Drew Barrymore, Stephen Graham, Rupert Grint and countless other notable actors and I even got to fist-bump Doctor Who himself, Matt Smith.

Whether these faces ever go out in to the main arena, I don't know. Although Rupert Grint did once put on a horse's head to avoid being spotted by the masses. It didn't work.

The Louder Lounge is a bit of an odd place. A sort of twilight zone that sucks you in. You should be at the festival to go and see bands. And that is mainly what I do. But sometimes it is nice just to put your feet up for half hour and sup back a couple of cold Carlings.

Some of the accommodation on offer to LL guests

Although, to be honest, in previous years the main festival areas have descended into chaos. Filled with bare-chested fellas, pissed up and spoiling for a row with anyone and anything, as litter flies through the air in a whirlwind of "it's my weekend and I can do what the fuck I like."

In these instances - and when the claustrophobia of a packed festival kicks in - I need the Virgin Media Louder Lounge to get me through.

Thankfully this year - I think because more women were there to see the likes of Beyonce and Jessie J - the mood was less macho and threatening. 

Yet the Louder Lounge was still as needed as ever, as I'm sure it will be next year - if they have me back!

V Festival Day One in review

SO it's Sunday morning and my head is banging after a very full day at Virgin Media's V Festival. Here's a blow by blow account of how my Saturday panned out....can you keep up?

I arrived at Hylands Park in Chelmsford a little before midday. This is good because there is no traffic, but bad because the first band I want to see starts at 12.15pm and I have to get my entry wristband yet. 

I've been very kindly given passes for Saturday and Sunday via the Virgin Media Louder Lounge, the place where the beer floweth freely (literally), the celebs hang out and gain freebies and the odd act pops in for an acoustic set.

Stroke of luck, my two day passes are upgraded to a weekend pass to save on time and I can now also camp rather than sleep in the back of the motor - my luck is in.

Vox Empire's Matt Linnen on the Futures Stage

Two free beers picked up, I hurry round to the Futures Stage - bumping into  few old faces on the way - in time to see Vox Empire. These boys are relatively local to the festival coming from down the road in Southend. Their sound is spot on. An indie rock n roll that there is definitely a place for at a festival that - as I blogged pre-weekend - has lost its indie edge in recent years. Definitely a band I will download some tunes from and try and catch live again sometime soon. Plus the lovely buggers retweeted me after their set!

After picking up some more free beer I head to the main Virgin Media Stage for veteran Brit rock group James, who feel a little out of place in front of an audience that looks half the age of the band themselves. Even frontman Tim Booth commented about playing to a bunch of 15-year-old girls. They did their bit though and played all the favourites, but came across - perhaps understandably - a little disengaged.

On the way back from James - yes, to get more free beer - I catch another local boy Ed Drewett in the Futures tent. He's written hit tracks for pop acts - including Glad You Came for The Wanted - and is trying to make a name for himself. He comes across as a cheeky chappy and a likeable guy, but his songs really aren't up my street. Glad You Came? Not really mate, sorry.

At some point during my forays back to the Virgin Media Louder Lounge I also catch acoustic sets from Paloma Faith and Labrinth. Neither are much to write home about for me - which may be why I'm not sure when I saw them - but you have to try these things once in a while just to see.

Back out in the main area and my next stop is Goldie Lookin' Chain. These guys have been V Fest regulars for years and they never fail to put a smile on your face. Ten guys, no is it 12, maybe more, maybe fewer, but there's lots of them wearing cheap tracksuits and cheaper jewellery rapping about very childish things in a very childish way. Fun? You knows it.

It's not long after that the day gets a little hazy. More free beer was consumed you see.

But still, Two Door Cinema Club deliver a decent if relatively unspectacular set, although I must say I was glad to have seen them live for the first time. They have some good songs and are an OK band.

After that I took in some dinner and some more beer before heading out to see Beyonce. Yeah, I know. But I figured, it's not often a pop act that big drops into your local festival so why not? Plus, it seemed she brought a much more chilled vibe to this year's festival with many of the bovver boys pissing in cups and lobbing them across the crowd and fighting with one another missing this year or at least behaving under the thumb of their other half, who wanted to come along to see one of the queens of pop. I owed her one.

Was I impressed? Did she win me over? Was it a whirlwind show? Er, no. She came on very late, played some songs - some of which I recognised - before toddling off again with her diva-ish antics. But it says a lot about an artist when people are talking about her haircut and costume changes rather than the show.

Me? I walked away early, headed back to the Louder Lounge for some more free beer and ended up dancing with some mates for an hour or so with UV paint on my face and legs before heading back to my tent and falling sound asleep oblivious to the party 10 yards away that went on for at least another couple of hours. Well, there's another day of music to come.