Photo: WENN.com
Comparatively speaking, Wireless this year - across most fronts anyway - trumped last year’s festival by a mile. Weather. Perfect. Line-up. Epic. Vibe. Electrifying. What more could you possibly want from a festival?
Held at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, the walk to the venue alone heightened the weekend’s buzz. Seeing the same stadiums used in last year’s British Olympics reignited a sense of pride within the hearts of many. With that said, there really was no denying how beautiful the backdrop to this year’s Wireless Festival was. The green banks, witnessed perfectly from the Guest Area, looked more like perfectly laid astro turf under the [close to] 30 degree sun rays than naturally grown grass blades.
With not too much to grumble about, the fact that the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is so great in size the traveling distance between stages became more and more like a mission as the days went on. Last year’s ability to hop from one stage to another meant more acts could be digested. This year however you were lucky if you saw any acts at all with the time spent putting one foot in front of the other marching to see your favourite act [and then later discovering that the next act you wanted to see was on a stage at the opposite end of the park].
Regardless, with a sore throat, ringing ears and blistered feet the show still went on...
DAY ONE
Friday’s line-up was one dominated by R&B. Arguably the weekend’s better selection of acts, the likes of Miguel, Waka Flocka Flame, Wretch 32, Sub Focus, and Snoop Dogg/Lion garnered much attention on varying stages, but the most talked about moments came elsewhere.
Setting out to dazzle the ladies of the audience with his chiseled physical features and strong vocals, Trey Songz earned himself a few new fans with his performance on the main stage. Not hitting a single bum note, there’s a reason he’s considered one of the genre’s most consistent vocalists. Not one to jump on trends, the dance/R&B/pop wave that has struck both Chris Brown and Ne-Yo has never even been a factor for Trey Songz. Sticking to the script, his intimate choreography and sexually driven ballads have helped him keep a foothold on the authentic 90’s sound that paved the way for today’s many genre-tweaking artists.
John Legend was also on hand to fly the flag for R&B on the main stage running through some of his classic hits, as well as his new record “Made To Love” and “Tonight (Best You Ever Had)”, the theme song for the hit movie Think Like A Man. Even with some poor sound issues heard through one set of speakers on one side of the stage he still managed to keep it professional and keep it moving.
However, besides the day’s main headliner, Friday’s show stealing moment came when the Pepsi Max Stage bore witness to a performance from man-of-the-moment Frank Ocean. Complete with trademark bandana, the Odd Future singer packed out the tent covered stage to the point it was overflowing out of the shelter and in to the field. So much so that the neighboring Yahoo! Stage was completely empty (no exaggeration) when Fazer of N-Dubz fame came to perform.
More a watch and singalong type of performance, Ocean’s album hits “Forrest Gump” - which was met with huge applause - and “Super Rich Kids” sung live were incredible. Belting out the extended long play that is “Pyramids” had the audience moving around a bit more, but funnily enough one of the singer’s oldest records, “Novacane”, received the most attention from the packed house. Frank Ocean continues to go from strength to strength. He’s heading for iconic status at an alarming rate. His Wireless performance is the perfect evidence of his progression.
Trekking back to the main stage for the day’s finale, a mass crowd of people swarm the bottom end of the park like bees to a honeypot. With drinks flowing and excitement running high, the time had come for Justin Timberlake to hit the stage. Aided by his band The Tennessee Kids, JT’s arrival was [of course] met with screams, cries and some serious amounts of flash photography.
Playing a similar set to the one he performed at the Brit Awards after show party a few months back at the Kentish Town Forum, Timberlake’s musical mash ups, that included working Juicy J’s “Bandz A Make Her Dance” and Jay-Z & Kanye West’s “Ni**as In Paris” in to some of his own songs, hyped the fans up to no end. The deafening screams continued when the former N Sync frontman dropped pop classics such as “Like I Love You” and “Cry Me A River” - to which the former had one festival goer shout, “F**k you Britney”.
Of course hitting fans over the head [musically] with iconic records like “SexyBack”, “Señorita” and “Rock Your Body” were bound to unlock masses of nostalgia, although when tracks from his new album The 20/20 Experience took flight there was no stopping his reign on the Wireless main stage.
His performance of new track “Take Back The Night”, with its Jackson 5 feel, kept the buzz going, but no one was prepared for what was about to happen. Closing out the night with his hit “Suit & Tie”, guess who just so happened to show up? That’s right... Jay-Z. Himself performing the following night, Jay’s verse on the record was met with genuinely surprised screams of thrilling sensation. This put the night to bed perfectly.
DAY TWO
Saturday proved to be the busiest of the three days, yet quite possibly the worst performance-wise. While the weather was unbelievable and the drinks were once again being poured up, the stages were still way too far apart.
With the likes of Iggy Azalea and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis doing their bit. Miguel seemed to be unhappy with his set, due to apparent technical issues, which was a shame being that he’s one of the most sought after performers in the R&B field.
Macklemore @ Wireless
A surprising hero from the day came over at the Bandstand stage, which was found at the end of a hidden and not so easily identifiable trail. UK rapper Clement Marfo, whose fusing of rock and rap, has earned himself a bit of a following over the years. With his hit “Champion” used on the BBC during Wimbledon last year, in the WWE, and a few other places, his name is on the up and up. Once with The Frontline, Marfo seems like he’s just one hit away from that recognition he deserves.
Just finishing on the main stage, the always popular Kendrick Lamar had a huge crowd tipping their drinks in the air whilst shouting the lyrics to his addictive drinking anthem “Swimming Pools (Drank)”. Also performing “Money Trees” and “Backseat Freestyle”, he and his band satisfied many hip-hop fans who might have felt short changed the previous day. Sounding like he may have been full of cold, he still managed to pull out a memorable performance.
The main stage once again became the best point of call when Britain’s own Emeli Sande chalked up a one hour set that showcased the reason why she is where she is. Belting out “Read All About It Pt. III”, she helped start off yet another singalong moment at Wireless. Then jumping on the piano to play the intro to possibly her biggest hit to date, “Next To Me”, Sande then got up and walked the stage singing the rest of the song. This was a great moment for the commercial listener who might not have been familiar with many of the day’s other acts.
Emeli Sande @ Wireless
Saturday’s headliner was Justin Timberlake’s Friday night guest, Jay-Z. As one of the world’s most recognised rappers, he’s part responsible for helping the genre of rap reach the audiences that it now does. While no Beyonce, like many festival goers had hoped for, Timberlake did return the favor and make an appearance with Hova singing his part of Jay’s new record “Holy Grail”. Looking like he’d just gotten out of bed, JT, donning a red baseball cap and gripping what looked like a coffee cup, hit the notes while Jay rapped the lyrics. Even though it’s only been out a week, bar or bar, lyric for lyric, the excited Wireless audience mirrored with their own voices the content that helped Jay-Z earn his first number one album (Magna Carta Holy Grail) in the UK this week.
With technical issues, that appeared to be a fault of the DJ - he played the instrumental to Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” at one point, to which Jay appeared to be confused. The track soon came to a halt and Jay’s own instrumentals reappeared. A few mishaps like this one added to Jay-Z’s almost stale performance. There’s no doubt that he has the hits, but he seemed a little lackluster with his stride on this particular day.
Highlights came when he sped up his flow on “Jigga What, Jigga Who” and when he took it back on “Where I’m From”, where he introduced the commercial followers to the grimy side of Hova. Other than that, of course “Empire State Of Mind” struck a chord with the audience, but his set seemed a little stale. The audience weren’t really familiar with his back catalogue, his non-musical dialogue came across like a poorly trained actor, and his sluggish demeanor, which might have come from being thrown off a few times by the DJ, lacked that star quality fans have come to expect from Jay-Z.
DAY THREE
Feeling like the hottest day of the three, it was a busy one. Hopping from stage to stage, the day started on the main stage with Big Sean. Signed to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label, as one of rap’s catchphrase Kings - responsible for “Swerve” and “Oh God” - his slick-tongued raps have earned him quite a following. Why he was on so early (12:45) is a question for the organisers. While the park was still filling up, Sean dropped off his Nicki Minaj featured hit “A$$”, as well as his street smash “Mercy”.
Immediately heading over to the Pepsi Max stage, soul singer Daley received a lot of love for his smooth moments of musical brilliance. Jessie Ware back on the main stage entertained the still-filling-up main arena, while over at the Yahoo! Stage Rudimental affiliated vocalist Sinead Harnett - see her underground hip-hop soul takeover tune “Lights Off” - vocally gave listeners a reason to keep an eye on her future movements.
One of the day’s best performances actually came with a little controversy. Over at the Pepsi Max Stage rapper 2 Chainz commanded his audience with a hop and a skip, and probably a few swinging arm movements. He may not be listed as one of the top tier emcees in rap, but he makes undeniable hits. With affiliations galore - Drake, Rick Ross, Lil’ Wayne and Nicki Minaj - his wacky outfits and overall energy give him a presence like no other. His Tru personality certainly drew a crowd.
Late by approximately 15 minutes, but quickly getting through “I’m Different”, “Bandz A Make Her Dance”, and “Duffle Bag Boy” - a track from his days as part of duo Playaz Circle - it was his verse from Nicki Minaj’s “Beez In The Trap” that created an ear-splitting whirlwind of screams. Forcing the crowd louder, his smash “Birthday Song” then blew the top off the stage. However, cut off mid way through a track, it appeared as if the wireless staff were instructed to cut his set short due to his lateness. WIth that said, 2 Chainz, after throwing the mic down, walked off and the audience were left puzzled, and fans didn’t get to see him perform “No Lie”; his biggest hit to date.
Back on the main stage, fan favourite A$AP Rocky performed with some of his A$AP clique in front of the black and white American flag (upside down) they use regularly but didn’t really seem to have the attention you’d expect. That is until “F**kin’ Problems” exploded through the speakers.
A$ap Rocky @ Wireless
Nas has had a long standing relationship with hip-hop. Regarded as one of the best lyricists to have ever blessed a mic, his name alone is one that could well be placed underneath the word hip-hop in the dictionary as a way to describe what the culture is. His Wireless performance had everything. Running, jumping, a cappella bars, rowdy records, thought provoking moments, and even two dedications to two fallen musicians (Heavy D and Amy Winehouse).
With hardcore fans pushing their way to the front and hip-hop heads at the back repeating every lyric bar for bar, this was evidence enough that Nas is definitely one of the best to ever do it. He was outstanding. With Green Lantern on the ones and twos, there were no faults, no mishaps, and no reason to hate on “God’s Son”. Whether he was explaining that all you need is one mic for your voice to be heard (“One Mic”), or taking it back to Illmatic and spitting “The World Is Yours”, Nas had everyone sweating, rapping, and bopping. And did anyone care? Not at all. All they cared about was the quality of the music. Kudos to Nas for such a stellar performance.
A Tribe Called Quest added to the love felt by 90’s babies who were in love with hip-hop at such an early age. Having only recently started touring together again after a group split, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad reminded festival goers what it is to unconditionally love something. That something is music.
With the sun still beating down, it didn’t stop the audience from diving side to side engulfed in a cloak of energy with their arms in the air listening to old hits such as “Can I Kick It?”, “Scenario”, and “Buggin’ Out”. Some simplistic yet effective beat boxing from Q-Tip introduced “Jazz (We’ve Got)” and then the fan favourites “Find A Way” and “Bonita Applebum” sealed the deal. Seeing ATCQ live is something every fan of hip-hop has to see. Hip-hop was definitely in the building on this day.
Two other acts that seemed to fetch some festival goers to their stage (Pepsi Max) were Katy B and WILL.I.AM, but the main event was set to start on the main stage and those wanting to witness the closing of the festival headed over to the stage early to get their spot.
Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake debuted their “Legends Of The Summer” show to close out Wireless. With mountains of star power, the rap/R&B duo pulled out their greatest hits, mashed a few together and even added a special guest in to the mix.
Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z @ Wireless Festival
Overall Jay-Z’s performance was a lot better than the previous night. With JT’s band once again helping out on instrumental duty, all decked out in red The Tennessee Boys proved to be the instrumental masters of the live stage. Sharing hype men duties - both Jay and JT added different dynamics to each others songs - the majority of the show appeared to be dominated by Justin Timberlake.
Opening with “Holy Grail”, Jay and JT then began to play double dutch with their music. Running through “Give It To Me”, “Senorita”, “Big Pimpin’”, and “Tunnel Vision”, the same sets performed on both of their individual headlining nights were then repeated. With no DJ setbacks or sluggish rhyme delivery, “PSA”, “Clique”, and “99 Problems” sounded much better. Together performing “Song Cry” and “Tom Ford”, their adaptation of “Empire State Of Mind”, which featured a Frank Sinatra-esque intro from JT, proved flawless.
Causing a stir up front by coming out to see the show, Rihanna was in attendance. This meant only one thing. Surprise guest. Popping up to sing her hook on “Run This Town”, the Barbadian beauty caused just about as much hysteria as when both Jay-Z and JT took to the stage at the beginning of the night.
Closing with “Encore”, “SexyBack”, and then “Suit & Tie”, the end of Wireless signaled possibly one of its most successful years. With celebs galore coming out to watch, quality acts on the bill, and the most amazing weather anyone could ask for, there really was no better place in the world to be this past weekend. The question now however is, who will headline next year? Whoever it is will need to do a lot to top this year’s.
Below: day three of Wireless Festival, 2013
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