Photo: Jules Annan
As anyone who has been there will know, there’s a certain unspoiled charm about Jersey – the UK’s most boutique Channel Island. Although it only measures 9 by 5 miles across, Jersey’s detachment from the mainland has helped the island retain a largely sepia-tinged approach to life. Its narrow maze of roads separate buildings which are predominantly rustic, broken only by a few modern brush strokes; well kept picturesque landscapes, and symbols of the Island’s diverse history - which is treated as respectfully as its future.
It’s along these same roads that some 8000 festivalgoers – 10 percent of the Island’s population – now stomp annually in anticipation of Jersey Live. Since its initial conception four years ago, the festival has grown from a humble gathering into a not-so-secret haven for the Island’s music lovers. Consequently, this year’s line up – which included The Prodigy, The Zutons, Foals, Cage The Elephant and Black Kids – was the festivals most appealing, and diverse, to date.
After spending much of Saturday afternoon integrating with Islanders on a boat trip, We Are Scientists emerge on the festival’s only outdoor stage looking like they’ve just stumbled into their back garden. The music is tight and well delivered - with guitar driven tracks from their debut ‘With Love and Squalor’ sliding seamlessly into the more evocative, synth-driven sounds of 2008’s ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’.
“It’s a lot more fun to play with the pace with our set list now,” singer Keith Murray tells me earlier in the day, in between reciting words from the Phonetic alphabet which are sketched on stones along the quayside. “And we fail a lot of times. We try a lot of experimental pacing and watch as we subdue our audience or whip them into too great a frenzy.”
Their performance only takes a slight turn for the worse when bassist Chris Cain asks how many of the crowd are from the nearby Channel Island of Guernsey. After a volley of cheers and boos, he adds: "When I asked that question, I don't think you guys even realised you were standing amongst each other. Let this be a lesson - are you really so different?”
Any possible uprising is quashed by the emergence of day one headliners The Zutons, who promptly deliver a lavish set which is only tarnished for a few moments when their sound cuts out during 'Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?'. Luckily, however, it’s restored in time for a rapturous rendition of ‘Valerie’, which sends Jersey’s residents home smiling.
Sunday's overcast conditions and spells of drizzle – a steep contrast the blistering heat of day one– mean many of the crowd take salvage in the dance tent as the likes of Black Kids and Cage The Elephant deliver stellar sets on the main stage during the afternoon. “You really are amazing Jersey,” says Cage The Elephant frontman Matt Shultz, often.
Just as amazing are The Prodigy, who fuse songs from their four studio albums, including ‘Firestarter’, ‘Breathe’ and ‘Spitfire’, with their impending fifth during their headline set. Two new tracks especially - 'Worlds On Fire' and 'Warrior's Dance' - seem to evoke nostalgic rave influences that suggest The Prodigy's warehouse days aren't behind them just yet.
As with most developing festivals, Jersey Live was not without its problems. Queues for the diverse food stalls were often long (although three outlets dropped out in the run up to the event), as was the wait to leave the festival site at night.
But the outlook for the future is one of undoubted optimism. Plans are in place, for example, to re-introduce camping at next year’s event – which in turn should help bring the festival, and the Island of Jersey, a deserved influx of festivalgoers from neighbouring countries. And then the best kept secret on the summer festival calendar really will be let out bag.
CLICK HERE to see Jersey Live 2008 in stunning pictures!
