21/07/13: With thirty-degree sunshine and barely a cloud to see, the sky was as skimpily covered as the many excited boys and girls basking and dancing beneath it.
We were out in force for the next festival event of the summer with more hot mince than a bowl o’ chilli, and in such an array of short-shorts that we might have just raided Joey Essex’s wardrobe. We started at the East Side Strut Tent where Mark-Ashley Dupe wowed the early arrivers with his debut LoveBox performance. Scene favourites Kris Di Angelis, Jodie Harsh and Dan Beaumont continued to impress. Meanwhile Solomun proved exactly why he won the DJ of the Year title from Mixmag, and Frankie Knuckles delivered an effortless blend of classic and up-to-the-minute house.
As the day went on, Victoria Park heated up even further, drying up the ground which found itself up our noses resulting in many trips to the gaping cess-pit toilets (that a festival just wouldn’t be a festival without) and blowing black chunks out of our nostrils that a coal miner would be proud of. Dirty faced and dripping with sweat, we packed into the main stage area to watch Kelis perform. She took to the stage in a feather creation that she must have melted beneath, and sang all our favourites, with ‘Bounce’ making the crowd (and the drag queens’ chicken fillets) do just that. ‘Lil Kim was a no show. The LoveBox official statement reads “Lil Kim did not turn up to her set on time. The festival had no other option but to maintain the scheduled running order to ensure the other main stage acts were not disrupted.” Kim says it was out of her control. Boo!
We continued to party as make-up started dribbling down people’s faces, tranny wigs got even dryer and skets lost even more layers. After 768 margaritas, we were barely conscious by the time headlining act Goldfrapp stormed the stage, building from a slow, chilled start to a dazzling finish. Our feet hurt and we’re still coughing up the earthy deposits of Victoria Park, but we’ve got a whole year to recover ‘til the next one and we can’t wait!
Victoria Park, Hackney, E8
Words by Darren Palfrey
