On Saturday 26th August 2023, I went to the Victorious Festival in Portsmouth – my first music festival since the Covid pandemic hit – and it was amazing and exceeded all my expectations.
This was my second time attending Victorious Festival after first going in 2018 when The Prodigy were headlining. This year the main acts included Kaiser Chiefs and Kasabian, which was the main reason for picking this day.
Afternoon performances
I was initially not bothered about most of the other acts on the lineup but during the mid-afternoon, we were walking towards the main stage and I could hear a performance that sounded rather good. So after a quick trip to the loos, we headed to the viewing platform. They turned out to be an indie rock band called Pale Waves, which has a female vocalist. They had a likeness to Paramore and Avril Lavigne I thought.
After that, we decided to stick around at the main stage as we had good seats on the viewing platform and we didn’t want to lose them ahead of the main headliners in the evening.
Next on the bill was The Divine Comedy. When I first read that name I wasn’t sure if it was a stand-up comedian who blagged their way onto the main stage instead of the comedy tent or just a silly comical band – apparently neither. They are simply an alternative rock band from Northern Ireland who’ve actually been around since 1989. They were okay and definitely brought the Irish sounds with them. I did recognise their penultimate song National Express, which I must’ve heard on TV shows, films and adverts over the years.
Solo artist Kate Nash then took the stage but had a bit of a rocky start with tech issues and we couldn’t hear what she was singing. I don’t know her music that well apart from her iconic debut track Foundations, which she of course closed her set with. My favourite moment was when she played a song called Dickhead and asked the crowd to dedicate this song to all the dickheads in their lives.
Following Kate Nash was a Scottish 7-piece band called Belle & Sebastian, which was founded in 1996. This was another act I’m not aware of but they were really good. They reminded me a bit of Reverend & the Makers.
My only disappointment was that we didn’t get there sooner as apparently McFly did a surprise appearance on the Castle Stage. I’ve never had the chance to see them live and I’ve always loved the music since I was a kid.
Kaiser Chiefs and Kasabian
Then the part we were all waiting for – the main acts. Kaiser Chiefs were up first and did a smashing job as always. Just a shame they only had a 45-minute set, which felt like it went far too quickly. However, they managed to still fit in their greatest hits including Ruby, I Predict A Riot, Never Miss A Beat, The Angry Mob and Oh My God.
Following the departure of the former member of Kasabian, Tom Meighan, this was my first time seeing Serge at centre stage and he was phenomenal. The whole set was incredible, playing classic and new tracks.
There were a couple of random but fun moments where they played parts of One More Time by Daft Punk and Insomnia by Faithless. When the latter played I felt a burst of love and emotion for two of my lost friends – Lucy Hale and Lottie Rapson. Lucy because she introduced me to the incredible experience of music festivals and we both saw Kasabian together at Reading Festival in 2012. Lottie because she introduced me to live music and loves her dance and drum & bass music and would have loved hearing Faithless play. These girls are always in my thoughts every time I attend live music events because I would never have gone if it wasn’t for them.
Another moment just before Kasabian got on stage, they played out Sweet Caroline on the sound system and the whole crowd we’re singing along. It was a bittersweet moment as it would have been nicer if England had won the Women’s World Cup last week. Instead, I just pictured myself at Wembley celebrating last year’s Euro win.
Kasabian’s 90-minute set had 16 songs in total, with a majority of them being fan favourites including Club Foot, Underdog, You’re in Love With a Psycho, Shoot the Runner, Re-Wired, Empire and Bless This Acid House.
Of course, every Kasabian fan’s favourite track to join in with live is L.S.F and the iconic crowd participation of “la la la, la la la la la laa”. Plus I was buzzing that they included Fatboy Slim’s Praise You at the beginning, which sadly they didn’t do when I last saw them live in 2017, but they are usually known to do so at their live shows.
They closed the show the same way they always do with their signature song Fire. My only criticism would be they had green lights instead of orange, which I think would’ve visually represented the song better. Although they did make up for it with a spectacular fireworks show at the very end.
Overall, the whole day was great fun – discovering new bands and enjoying classic favourites. The perfect way to sign off the summer!
Accessibility at the Victorious Festival 2023
Accessibility was very good at the Victorious Festival. This year my Dad dropped my Mum and me off so we didn’t have to worry about parking but accessible parking is available. We had a short walk to the accessible entrance, had our bags “briefly” checked, gave us wristbands and off we went.
As we were so fortunate with the weather the ground was fairly even and easy to navigate in my wheelchair, which was good. The festival does have a Changing Places Toilet on the site, which is ideal for those who require it.
Also, British Sign Language interpreters were available for guests who were deaf or hard of hearing, which I always find fascinating and wish I was able to see.
The viewing platforms are available at the Common Stage (main stage) and Castle Stage. I only used the one at the Common Stage. It was fine for me but I did feel it was limited capacity and there were many people in wheelchairs queueing to get on when it was held up with extra carers and family members that really shouldn’t have been on there.
Personally, I think they need at least two viewing platforms, one for wheelchair users and their carers and a second for other disabilities such as limited mobility, hearing loss and cognitive impairments.
The other irritating thing was when my Mum went off the platform to go to the toilet or get drinks and she came back on again, the stewards were trying to refuse her entry and every time she kept having to tell them that her daughter was already up there and needs support, even though she clearly had a PA lanyard on.
Despite a couple of issues, I think the accessibility overall is really good and well-catered for disabled guests.
You can find out more about the accessibility features available on the Victorious Festival website.
