Main Stage
You could forgive Dizzee Rascal if he ever felt somewhat distracted in his set on the Main Stage. Of course, his presence has become a staple at this summer's main events but for the past few weeks the only sightings of the rapper have been as judge on the TV show 'Must Be The Music'. Back to the dayjob then and a carnival atmosphere for opener 'Jus A Rascal' where one and all were obliged to bounce.
His show has developed from looped beats with a posse of backing MC's to a bona fide live performance. The results justified the demand with 'Fix Up, Look Sharp' suitably backed by an irksome Mick Hucknall lookalike and grandiose riffs from a poodle rocker. The set could even claim some rock festival kudos with the Nirvana classic 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' reworked with the lyrics to 'Stand Up Tall', even if many preferred singing along to the former track. 'Pussyole' was also revamped to a downbeat old skool remix complete with appropriate dance moves to scatty rhythm guitar and saxophone.
Whilst he may have been playing to an unfamiliar crowd, the hits kept coming as 'Dirty Disco' delivered with the belated use of the brass section and soulful backing singers. Foolishly, many attempted to keep up with the rapper for 'Dance Wiv Me' before realising that the absent Calvin Harris had the far easier vocal parts. To bright sunshine 'Holiday' brought another serving of lightweight hip hop, or should that be good natured R 'n' B? The problem is, Dizzee has reworked himself to the extent that his set can hit more than its fair share of genres all in under an hour. What was never in doubt was the choice of closing track, the now festival anthem; Bonkers.