Wireless Festival 2013 Review

Images: Jessica Gilbert

Having upped sticks and moved from Hyde Park to the lush surroundings of Olympic Park, this year’s Wireless Festival was quite literally sizzling. With temperatures soaring, the three day event saw the cream of the transatlantic urban crop descend on the capital for a no holds barred attack. Justin Timerblake and Jay Z provided the wow factor serving as Friday and Saturday night headliners before coming together to premiere their Legends of Summer show as a festival finale on the Sunday, but was it worthy of all the hype?

Despite the line-up being steeped in big American names with the likes of John Legend, Miguel and Trey Songz pulling humongous crowds, the British contingent wasn’t one to be sniffed at, with Emeli Sande (quelle surprise!), Rita Ora and Calvin Harris amongst those flying the flag across the weekend to much adoration from the 50,000 strong crowd.

Keen not to be merely swayed by the big guns we decided to shun the main arena and kick things off on a balmy Friday night with our favourite girl Chlöe Howl who was playing over on the SBTV Stage. Unperturbed by the humble sized crowd and no doubt relishing her second from top billing, the young gun, who seems to be winning the hearts of everyone at the moment, nailed it. Spurred on by some seasoned fans and with an ever growing confidence, she gesticulated her way through a savvy set exuding all the hallmarks of a first-rate diva in the making.

Suitably energised it was on to the Pepsi Max Stage, for one the most anticipated sets of the weekend, the lubricious Mr Frank Ocean. Having continually had channel ORANGE on repeat since its release last year, the opportunity to finally see the saccharine voiced one in person has had us in something of a fervent state. And hot off the back of his Brixton shows earlier in the week, the Louisiana lovely did not disappoint, which is fortunate given the throng of revellers spilling out of the tent scrambling for a glimpse. 

Commencing with new track ‘Feel California’ and sporting his trademark red and white bandana whilst backed up by a dapper six-piece band, Frank abated us all with his suave romanticism. Ostensibly a man of few words (his on stage patter near enough non-existent), his sincerity however was exuded tenfold in his introspective offerings. ‘Thinking About You’, with its supplicating falsetto, and ‘Pyramids’, with its convulsive synth, both provided pivotal moments, whilst all the tracks were met with a word perfect accompaniment from a visibly infatuated crowd. Despite only having an album and mixtape to his name it wasn’t hard to see why his endearing vulnerability and tentative honesty has captured the hearts of so many. And with hairs on the back of neck fully alert, we left with a definite sense that it is indeed a sweet, sweet life (sweetie pie).

Thanks to the staggering of headliners we managed to hot foot it over to the main stage just in time for Friday’s crowning glory, a man that needs no introduction, the Trousersnake himself Justin Timberlake. And what ensued was 90 minutes of supreme polished pop perfection. Hitting the ground running with a triple bill of ‘Like I Love You’, ‘My Love’ and ‘Cry Me a River’, there was a slight worry that he may have peaked too soon but that was dashed when we were reminded of just how many hits this blue eyed boy actually has.  

With a hefty back catalogue up for delectation we were treated to a barrage of his best work and a sneaky peak of new single ‘Take Back The Night’. Oozing charisma, he flirtatiously wooed every woman and had every guy in fits of envy. And just as we thought excitement levels couldn’t get any higher, he sent us all into a tail spin with the addition of a certain Jay-Z to the stage for ‘Suit & Tie’. We all knew it might happen but the reality of it was far greater than any of us could have imagined.

Cue a mass surge forward and yelps of ‘OH MY GOD IT’S JAY F*CKING Z’. However, as quickly as he emerged he was gone again, leaving Mr Timberlake to wrap things up with a rip-roaring rendition of the ever infectious and damn right glorious ‘Sexy Back’. It ensured that every grown woman, this writer included, reverted to their 13 year old self with high pitched screeches and declarations of love aplenty.

Despite desperate prayers for a slightly more bearable climate for Saturday’s proceedings, we returned to Stratford with echoes of JT still ringing in our ears ready for day two. With a line-up consisting of yet more heavyweights we were a little spoilt for choice it has to be said, but after much deliberation, we decided to kick things off with Kendrick Lamar. Now despite his fondness for profanities and in need of his mouth to be washed out with soap, we found him to be most beguiling - not all about the swagger and dollar bills as we imagined him to be.

The ever increasing potentially sunstroked crowd lapped it up whilst he ran through tracks from his now platinum selling album, good kid MAAD CITY. ‘Swimming Pools’ saw him implore an already frenzied crowd to “drank” while he told the story of an unruly teen going off the rails. And With a thunderous bassline ‘B*tch Don’t Kill My Vibe’ had us all hands aloft trying to do something remotely hip and street (sadly some more successful than others).

Now accustomed headliner Calvin Harris was given the job of closing the Yahoo tent and it’s fair to say he went ‘all out’. You name it, he had it. Strobes, ticker tape, confetti…..and that was just in the first 10 minutes. A full on extravaganza, but I guess when it’s just you and electronic music you have to add a bit of frivolity right? Thankfully it wasn’t a case of all show and no substance though, love him or hate him, you can’t deny that this Scotsman’s got some hits and he certainly knows how to tease a crowd and drop a beat at the most irresistible moment . A never ending barrage of chart anthems resulted in utter pandemonium with all manner of limbs (and drinks) being flung around. Saturday night was in full swing.

Approaching the main stage ahead of Jay Z’s headline set, expectations were high, easily the world’s most recognised and celebrated rapper, star quality and a sense of grandiose was envisioned. But sadly there was a definite sense of lacklustre; that’s not to say he wasn’t good but just not as astonishing as we had imagined, a sense that he wasn’t running at 100% more a mediocre 70%. Granted the technical glitches and the fact the crowd weren’t acquainted with his entire back catalogue didn’t necessarily help things.

With Magna Carta Holy Grail having provided him with his first UK number one, ‘Jigga What, Jigga Who’ saw him step it up a gear and hint at the juggernaut performance we all know he is capable of. ‘Where I’m From’ similarly showcasing his more affecting and valiant side with a definite surge of pride. JT naturally joined him on stage for a rendition of new single ‘Holy Grail’ and this saw the gauge move on up again but quickly dropped back down again as soon as he left. I guess even Jay Z is allowed an off day.

Sadly Sunday was all too soon upon us and it was time to put Wireless 2013 to bed, but not before we witnessed what had been widely billed as the greatest show on earth. But before that small matter, the delightful home-grown Jessie Ware was ready to serenade us with her honey like nodes. Fresh from a plethora of festival dates, including a rousing set at Glastonbury, Miss Ware was back in her hometown and ready to rejoice.

Smooth, slick and serene and with a mega watt smile she crooned her way through crowd favourites ‘Running’, ‘Wildest Moments’ and a disco’ed version of ‘Imagine It Was Us’ with an ardent crowd in the palm of her hand. There’s something so lovable about Miss Ware, striding around with not an air of pretence, the way she works the crowd is effortless, a genuine character with a Herculean set of lungs.

And then we had the climax, the moment we’d all been waiting for; the official meeting of minds, JT and Jay Z and their modestly named ‘Legends of Summer’ show. It was clear from the outset that staggering showmanship was key. Spanning a hefty two and a half hours and cramming in over 40 hits, backed by a big band decked out in flaming red, they skyrocketed. With each having their own time to shine, they meandered between solo material and merged together for amongst others, an amalgamation of two Neptunes’ productions, ‘Rock Your Body’ and ‘I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)’.

Justin providing the idyllic guitar accompaniment to Jay Z’s ’99 Problems’ adding Aerosmith and Run DMC's ‘Walk This Way’ riff to raucous applause. What was most evident was the genuine rapport between the two, candidly laughing and smiling at each other throughout, a sense that they actually are mates that might share a pint down the pub. Having heard whispers throughout the day that a certain Rihanna might pop by, it didn’t come as too much of a surprise that she popped out for ‘Run This Town’. And there we had it, three of the biggest musical icons in the world all on stage together in a dusty car park in Stratford, just an average Sunday night really.

But like everything, all good things must come to an end and as expected they left us in no doubt of their legendary status; with the sun going down ‘Empire State of Mind’ was belted out, topped and tailed with Justin’s very own rendition of Sinatra’s ‘New York’, something quite special indeed. And if we had to call it we’d say Justin just about pipped Mr. Z to the post; Wireless Festival 2013 was most definitely the year of The Trousersnake. Swoon.

Check out some of the festival highlights below.