As the sun sets in Stradbally after a hectic weekend for all, Electric Picnic has once again proven itself as the top Irish festival on the circuit. I was given the mammoth task of trying to cover as much it as possible for our lovely Goldenplec readers, but as anyone who has been to EP will know it is impossible to see everything, and it’s not just a case of bands clashing, for instance I missed The Sugarhill Gang because I was playing bingo! Electric Picnic is all about what can be experienced outside the music, but I will give you a run down of the acts I did make it to see.
Friday
I arrived on site quite early on the Friday and enjoyed the annual car park to campsite hike. First act who was on my must see list was The Temper Trap in the Crawdaddy Stage and I have to say the highly rated Aussies were the perfect start to a festival. There is nothing worse than seeing an underwhelming act at the start of the festival when you are still on the ‘I have everything set up now the weekend starts here’ buzz . Thankfully, The Temper Trap were excellent, and ‘Sweet Desposition’ is a song that deserves to close a festival on the main stage rather than open it in a tent.
Bit of wandering and a delicious chicken and mushroom pie from Pie Minister later, I found myself at the Little Big Tent to see the next act on my must see list, Fake Blood. One of the biggest electro acts at the moment, it was strange to find him at such an early slot but the judging by the size of the crowd he could have been on first thing Sunday morning and still got a full tent. The former Wiseguy impressed and showed that he knows how to get a crowd going with his Fatboy Slim style of party-electro.
I arrive late into the Electric Arena to catch every ones favorite traveling blues musician Seasick Steve. The tent was packed and the biggest mystery by the end of the set is how it took so long for him to be discovered. A rip roaring set of tales of life on the road, delivered in a deep weathered voice that in itself tells you those stories are true.
Saturday
I woke up a bit worse for wear on Saturday morning and after a delicious breakfast sandwich I was finally starting to function like a normal person. Thankfully the next band I was to see were perfect for the state of my head. The XX were marked as a must see act by most media sources before the festival and I too was a big fan of their album but wondered how their minimalist sound would translate to a live performance, but it was a perfect performance. The biggest surprise was that all the percussion was impressively done through a drum pad rather a live drummer. The band definitly delivered on the pre-festival hype.
I spent the next while having a good wander around the arena, took in a talk at the Leviathan stage, caught a burlesque show in the Spegieltent and even managed to fit in a game Bingo before heading to see the much maligned Klaxons in the Electric Arena. Rumours of their second album being scrapped and the band being sent back to the drawing board by their label made this the most intriguing act on the bill, will they be one album wonders? I have to say they weren’t bad, even their new stuff seemed okay but its fair to say they won’t reach the heights they experienced from their first album.
Afterwards I made my way to the main stage to catch Madness, who I have to say put on the best show of the weekend. The evergreen Suggs and co. were full of energy and you forget how many great songs they have. Coming off a summer festival tour that saw them being one of the best acts at this years Glastonbury festival obviously had them full of confidence and got everyone dancing in what was one of the biggest crowds of the weekend.
As I waited for the headline act 2 Many DJs, the crowd got bigger and bigger. They had a tough act to follow but I had a feeling that everyone there was willing it to be a good show, and that good will was rewarded as the Belgian duo brought their A game. Great show, great Atmosphere and worthy festival headliners.
Sunday
You know you are not a young as you used to be when you wake up on the Sunday of a festival and feel like you slept in a tumble drier. I blame the specatcular Lucient Dossier performances in the Body and Soul arena that I may have tried to replicate at the Neutronyx Stage deep in the forest and the cursed Salty Dog Saloon for its late night entertainment. Luckily the body and soul area is the perfect place to recharge, physically and mentally.
First act of the day I checked out was Simian Mobile Disco in the Electric Arena. With a new album out I was hoping to enjoy the new tracks live as much I did their first album but i have to say it was the most disappointing performance of the weekend. It wasn’t all down to the lads on stage though, I felt that they were on too early. Sunday at a festival takes a while to get going, and an international dance act playing a half full tent of hungover people is not going to be a good vibe.
Contrast that to the next act in the Electric Arena, Florence and the Machine, and you can see the difference that hour makes to the crowd because the tent was buzzing. I was lucky enough to see them play the Red Bull Arena at Oxegen and was impressed, but wondered how they would handle a big stage. They were as good, if not better. A big stage is where Florence and the Machine belong. The set had everything, the crowd knowing every word, Florence climbing the stage rigging and finished with a cover version of ‘You’ve got the love’ that everyone will be humming to themselves for the rest of the day.
The last in my hattrick of Electric Arena acts were Fleet Foxes, one of my favorite acts to emerge this year. With an act so popular as this it was strange seeing them doing their own set-up but its nice to see that even with their success they have their feet on he ground, and this is more than evident in their honest indie folk sound. They are a band that deserved to be on the main stage as dancing to their vocal folk harmonious in a dark tent instead out in the sunshine felt wrong. There is nothing better than a band you rate highly sound as good, if not better live as on album and I’m sure it won’t be long until they are back as festival headliners.
After a well deserved portion of Jerk Chicken in Trenchtown it was over to Cosby Stage the to catch Passion Pit, another act who had a breakout year. The tent was packed and it was clear the crowd knew every word of both the bands ‘Chunk of Change’ EP and their new album ‘Manners’. The atmosphere was electric as the band mixed the old and new, and while I am more of a fan of the lo fi EP tracks like ‘Smile Upon Me’ and ‘Better Things’, the more ambitious album tracks like ‘Little Secrets’ and ‘Moths Wings’ really took the roof off the place.
I decided to stay in the Cosby Stage to check out dubstep pioneers Skream & Benga who I heard good things about. Not being a big fan of dubstep I thought this was a great chance to see the best of the genre in action. Unfortunately while I could appreciate the quality of the performance, dubstep is not quite my cup of tea, but judging by the crowd in attendance it the genre is definitely going places, with these two at the forefront.
Overall
This year, Ireland’s premier boutique festival faced more competition than ever before with numerous specialist boutique festivals such as Castlepalooza and Cois Farraige crowding the summer schedule. Added to that, people where worried what influence new shareholders Festival Republic would have after their buy out of Aiken Promotion’s interest in the festival. Well this worry now seems unfounded as POD and Festival Republic delivered a top class experience. It is true that in the last 5 years, a certain element of what made the original Electric Picnic festival a great experience has been lost. The festival is not as small and intimate as it once was, and there is a certain amount of generic commercialism creeping in. But this is the price of success, and credit to the promoters they have actively tried to ensure that the larger crowds does not dilute the overall festival experience. And judging by the positive feedback from everyone who went they have once again delivered, they even managed to keep the rain clouds at bay. Roll on Electric Picnic 2010.
Words by Kev Meagher