Sunday 16/06/08 Day Three, Isle of Wight Festival @ Seaclose Park, Newport

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Sundays on the festival circuit always begin a bit subdued. The majority are now nursing a two-day hangover and the thought of returning to the office has started to creep in. Hence, the pivotal importance of ‘the Sunday afternoon slot.’ A shit one and people start to discuss packing up the car early or escaping to the pub for a roast and use of the facilities. A good one however, gets everybody back on the sauce – the carefree attitude of Friday night returns and taking down the tent is about as likely as Sting queuing up for a meat’n’tatey pie.

Unfortunately, over to Newton Faulkner – the habitual butcherer of iconic tracks – he tore through karaoke versions of 2Unlimited’s ‘No Limit', Pete Burns’ 'Spin Me Right Round', Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop.’ His own material all fit the same pattern, descending into an acapella before building back up – his subjects of dreams and pirates smacked of a man with nothing to song about.

The Police were little better, playing the kind of self-indulgent extended-version rock we’ve come to expect. Their set – in front of a now obviously lagging crowd – included ‘Message In A Bottle,’ ‘Walking on The Moon’ and ‘Every Little Thing That She Does Is Magic.’ Starsailor were thankfully much better. Always good for a Sunday afternoon festival slot, they sauntered through ‘Alcoholic,’ ‘Poor Misguided Fool,’ and ‘Silence Is Easy,’ before concluding with ‘Good Souls’ which included a worthy cover of U2’s ‘Where The Street’s Have No Name.’

It was The Music who stole the show though. There’d been a buzz all weekend about what they would be like after their break but the crowd’s reaction to opener ‘Take The Long Road And Walk It’ left us in little doubt. Lead singer Robert Harvey, sporting a skinhead and trackys, grinned from ear-to-ear throughout, firing through ‘The People’ and 'Getaway’ as the crowd raved and bounced with Harvey-esque smiles of their own. The band have gone back to what they do best  with their new material – big beat, dancey riff and repetitive chorus – ‘No Weapon Sharper Than Will’ and ‘The Spike’ encapsulated the mood all round. Set closer ‘Believe From Within’ culminated in all three band members on separate drums and Harvey dancing like Bez could only dream.

Catching up with Feeder backstage, Gigwise got an exclusive insight into the thinking behind new single ‘We Are The People’ and a look ahead towards their concluding set for IOW 2008. As promised, ‘Feeder’ delivered ‘a greatest hits’ of sorts – with something from every album. ‘My Perfect Day’ stood out before a huge finish that included ‘Today,’ ‘Buck Rogers’ and ‘Just A Day.’ Their new single didn’t quite go down as planned though.

‘We Are The People’ is a “song about change, designed to bring everybody together, like the Lennon – Come Together thing – it’s meant to be a rock anthem take on that.” Live, it was a bit of disappointment and fell well short of the anthemic sound Nicholl’s was aiming for. Maybe because it is new and the crowd didn’t know the words but more likely because it doesn’t really mean anything. “There’s so many things happening in the paper at the moment but it’s not meant to be overly political. It can mean any kind of change and you can take that anyway you want.”

Feeder proved that this year’s IOW wasn’t about the headliners. It was about two bands and one legend that have depth to their lyrics and tune to their verse. Artists that have gone quietly about their business over the years, but have consistently produced the highest levels of performance. The Duke Spirit on Friday, Ian Brown on Saturday and The Music on Sunday take this year’s proverbial biscuit, without question.