Along with its grand mascot Sir Richard Branson who was in the country to mark the occasion, the V Festival returned to Australia over the weekend with shows in Sydney and Gold Coast.

THE PHOTOS FROM SYDNEY’S V FESTIVAL ARE RIGHT HERE!

CHECK OUT THE FIRST REVIEW FROM SYDNEY’S V FESTIVAL HERE.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS FROM GOLD COAST V FESTIVAL HERE.

AND HERE’S THE REVIEW FROM GOLD COAST V FESTIVAL.

The standout feature of Sydney’s event on Saturday was clear – it showed the value of great organisation and fantastic production, and how far these two things can go towards providing an enjoyable experience. While festivals can sometimes be a lesson in hard work and endurance, for the 30,000+ punters in Centennial Park on Saturday it was all smooth sailing: heaps of space, not a single lengthy bar or toilet queue to be seen and most importantly, crystal clear sound wherever you happened to be standing.

For this reason, the V Festival was one of the most relaxed large-scale festivals we’ve seen in a long time. Even during hard-rocking acts like Queens of the Stone Age, the vibe remained cruisy and this was even more so during Air, the French act who’re touring the country for the very first time. If their show was anymore laidback then the crowd probably would have started floating up into the sky, until things ramped up a little towards the end with hits like Sexy Boy and Kelly Watch the Stars.

One of the few upsets of the day came from CSS playing well before their scheduled timeslot, but otherwise it was the local indie/dance acts that got all the attention. We got some early afternoon euphoria courtesy of Cut Copy, while The Presets smashed it home as the closing act at one of the smaller stages; both pointing to the fact that when it comes to indie/dance, Australia acts hold just as much sway as the international guests.

In spite of a mixed response to their sideshow in Sydney on Thursday night, it was all guns firing for headline act Smashing Pumpkins who wound the festival up with a rousing version of Cherub Rock. All up it was a refreshing change of pace, reflected in the – œV Etiquette’ that was outlined in the festival program: urging punters to drop the attitude, keep their shirts on and avoid pissing all over the portaloo seats, it even found space to make a cheeky dig at their competitors while telling people to leave their fluro fashions at home. “Save it for Good Vibrations.”