REVIEW: Creamfields 2014

It's hard to believe that it was only two years ago that the annual dance music festival was cancelled part way through due to exceptional heavy rain.

This time around despite rain earlier in the week and showers on the Saturday the weather was largely good and the sun even made an appearance from time to time.

SATURDAY

**

Saturday was the day of showers. Arriving in the early afternoon the rain had clearly taken its toll on some of the fields as they begun to turn to mud. Festival-goers were slipping and sliding all over the place, but that didn't deter those keen to see their favourite DJs.

While Showtek known for their 2013 top 5 song ‘Booyah’ were on the North Stage, eighteen-year-old Dutch DJ Martin Garrix was on the South Stage. Garrix has been playing the festival circuit for a couple of years now so he knows how to get the crowds pumping and his Creamfields set was no exception, including his number one ‘Animals’ and an impressive mix of Sebastian Ingrosso's 'Reload' with Calvin Harris' 'Flashback' a few showers drenched the ravers, but they didn’t care.

Saturday's headline acts on the stages were deadmau5 and Avicii and as you'd expect both acts attracted many thousands of fans. Having seen Avicii at Creamfields last year and EDC UK earlier this year we thought we'd see what the Canadian DJ, deadmau5 had to offer.

deadmau5 took to the stage wearing his trademark mouse head for the duration of his set. For anyone who hasn't experienced deadmau5's sets they are cleverly put together, but never really get the crowd jumping frantically. His set this year was quite laid back, which made a nice change at Creamfields, which at times can be incredibly frantic. However, when he played his top 12 song ‘Ghosts N Stuff’ the crowd came alive.

By now the outside entertainment had finished so all the tents were filling up. Former Swedish House Mafia member,* Steve Angello** headlined his own tent, Size Matters*, starting his set the way he always does and although it's a great opener, for those who have seen him a number of times it would be nice to hear something different. Still the crowd loved him and his set.

The final act we saw that night was Annie Mac who was again hosting her own arena, Annie Mac Presents (AMP). The broadcaster and DJ has continued to see her popularity grow over the years. After a bit of a shaky start Annie Mac got the crowd moving and continued to keep them entertained throughout her set, it was just a shame it was late in the day as a lot of people's energy was waning by this point.

SUNDAY

**

Sunday was the stronger line up in our opinion with Fatboy Slim and Calvin Harris performing on the North Stage and Axwell Λ Ingrosso (former members of Swedish House Mafia) and chart-topper Duke Dumont performing undercover.

Australian twins NERVO took to the stage at 3.45pm and delighted the crowd playing a selection of old and new tracks, including their track with Nicky Romero, 'Like Home'. Although the duo haven't seen huge commercial chart success here in the UK they have been working behind the scenes for many years and penned some massive tunes, including David Guetta and Kelly Rowland's 'When Love Takes Over' and tracks for Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Cheryl.

Halfway through NERVO's set an announcement appeared on the screens to inform the crowd that Tiesto was unable to make it to Creamfields due to a cancelled flight from Vegas, at which point the crowd booed. This wasn't a reflection on NERVO's set, but briefly put a bit of a downer on spirits.

As the evening drew in it was time to see the headliners of the Departures tent, Axwell Λ Ingrosso. When Swedish House Mafia split last year Axwell Λ Ingrosso continued touring together and formed the brand Departures which hosts a weekly night at the Ibizan open air club, Ushuaia.

This year Departures came to Creamfields bringing the regulars from the white isle, including Oliver Helden's who hit the top spot in the UK with Gecko (Overdrive) and Alesso, who collaborated with Calvin Harris on 'Under Control' and remixed OneRepublic's 'If I Lose Myself'.

Axwell Λ Ingrosso drew the biggest crowd in the Departures tent and deservedly so. Starting with their latest track and what seems to be their 'show opener' this year, 'This Time We Can't Go Home' set the mood as it seamlessly flowed into 'We Come We Rave We Love'.

Their entire set had the crowd jumping up and down as a united sea of fans that had come from across Europe and beyond. Not scared of playing some mainstream songs, the two DJs played Ed Sheeran's 'Sing' and even a mix of Daft Punk's 'One More Time' and their classic 'Save The World'.

It wouldn't be right for them to end a set without playing their ridiculously popular 'Don't You Worry Child' which they released as Swedish House Mafia. Two years after being released it is still on radio playlists and played in clubs up and down the country.

The crowd was singing at the top of their voices and it was clear that for many this wasn't their first Axwell Λ Ingrosso gig as they even did an impromptu 'sit down' before the drop, something Swedish House Mafia did on their last tour in 2012/13.

The set ended with visualisations of white birds on the screen behind them, 'transforming' into tissue paper birds which were dropped over the audience, an excellent end to an impressive set.

While Axwell Λ Ingrosso were delighting fans in the Departures tent, bare-footed, dance DJ veteran, Fatboy Slim had the North Stage raving to his timeless hits including 'Right Here, Right Now' and his more recent release 'Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat' amongst a whole host of others.

After the announcement that Tiesto was unable to perform it was clear that Calvin Harris was going to attract the majority of the crowd to end the festival on the North Stage. Standing near the stage looking towards the festival there was just a sea of people desperate to see the ‘one-man hit factory’.

Opening with his 2013 number one hit with Alesso 'Under Control' he got the crowd off to a fantastic start. But, thirty minutes into his set he was rudely interrupted when some revellers climbed a speaker rig. The show was stopped temporarily while the intruders were firmly told to get down.

A few minutes later and the show resumed with yet another of Calvin Harris' chart topping hits, 'Feel So Close'. The set then continued without any further interruptions, with Calvin Harris playing mixes of his hits with Florence and Rihanna and ending on a high with his latest hit, 'Summer'. As the track came to a close the fireworks were set off bringing an end to another fantastic festival.

CREAMFIELDS 2015

Creamfields 2015 tickets will be available soon so keep your eyes peeled and pick up some tickets while they're cheap. Check out www.creamfields.com or their .

Photos provided by Marc de Groot