Now in it’s eigth year, Indiependence has proved itself as one of the best small festivals in the country. With its eclectic line-up, Indiependence’s artists cater to almost everyone. However, Friday’s acts seemed to divide everyone too. “Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, or Tom Odell?” seemed to be the question on everyone’s lips at Deer Park in Mitchelstown. Between our writers Fionnuala Jones and Ben Panter, GoldenPlec caught both. First though, other bands were on the platter.

Tvvins

Friday’s showings were as consistent as the showers. As Tvvins take to the Main Stage, singer Conor Adams, “is the drink working yet?” He is funny and warm throughout the set, and has no qualms acknowledging the small, but lively crowd. The three men fill the stage were their enormous swelling sound – vicious guitars drenched in synth, conveyed best on track Two Worlds. The bass and drums throb through songs like Book, as the band’s drummer schools the other members in performance technique. The short set doesn’t do them justice, with their sprawling sound inciting frenzied dancing as the set draws to a close. “It’ll all be all right in the end …” Adams croons – but this is certainly not the end of Tvvins. FJ

Dan Croll

Dan Croll is next on the Main Stage. It’s the British singer songwriter’s first time in Ireland, and he’s keen to show the crowd a good time. His youth lends to his exuberant indie-pop vocals and he embodies cool when performing. Compliment Your Soul takes on a life of its own in a live setting – ambient, yet still maintaining energy. Croll strikes the right balance between audience interaction and performance: there are no awkward pauses or long drones of jabber.

Wanna Know is a happy medium between rock jam and electro anthem. The rhythm is relentless as the band – full of snappy guitars, piano – play perfectly in sync. The slower songs of the set, like Can You Hear Me, are not as well received, but still delivered masterfully. Croll’s first single From Nowhere brings the house down, and the set to a close, with broad percussion and flawless vocals. FJ

Vann Music

Dublin electro lads Vann Music, meanwhile were making The Big Top Stage their own. The band’s synth/rock/pop style set the mood to dance, which helped the steam rises off the downpour saturated crowd. Lead vocalist Aaron Smyth has a range which stretches to a high pitch and the band switched between rock and dance tracks keeping the set varied and the audience interested. BP

Walking On Cars

Kerry band Walking On Cars take to the Main Stage next, having just released their ‘Hand In Hand’ EP. The band have the same air of confidence they had this time last year, as they stepped out to support Paramore in The O2 in Dublin. They grapple with the crowd on belter Two Stones, as they charge the high octane set at full speed. Little interaction is made up for in powerful performances. Slower songs such as Catch Me If You Can lost the crowd at times, only to snatch them back at the explosive choruses. Latest track Hand In Hand sends the crowd into a tail-spin, as singer Patrick Sheehy balances gravelly rock vocals with his searing falsetto. FJ

We Cut Corners

A lot of hype surrounded this band in the run up to their set on the back of the release of their second album ‘THINKNOTHING’. Unfortunately, on the night it was just wishful thinking judging by a staid crowd. In fairness, though lead singer and drummer Conall Ó Breacháin can do a decent Sinead O’Connor impression which is something to be proud of. His cover of Mandinka was the highlight of a set the didn’t sparkle like the music from their back catalogue may have suggested. BP

Tom Odell

Headliner Tom Odell proves his worth as performer as the final act to grace the Main Stage. Emblazoned with light bulbs spelling out ‘Tom Odell’, (naturally), Odell throws himself into the performance, delivering a suitably dramatic and atmospheric set. The crowd is bristling with intense energy as it gets equally rowdy on stage, with Odell throwing his weight around the piano.

“Are there any lovers?” he asks, “tell me you remember this one”, as he launches into Grow Old With Me. The crowd – particularly the females – are emotional and lapping up the melodrama of Odell’s heartbreaking back catalogue. He is oblivious to the crowd at times, but they are still very responsive.

The set gains momentum half way through – Hold Me is percussion filled, will Odell enveloping the stage. “I’m gonna try a song”, he says, “I completely fucked it up the last time. If you know any of the words, sing along.” This precedes Odell’s surprising and wonderful cover of Your Song. If the crowd wasn’t infatuated prior to this, they are now. Can’t Pretend transforms the onstage cast into a busy and jazzy ensemble.

Penultimate song Another Love causes a furore no one would expect from a power ballad. Set closer Cruel lacks restraint at times, laced with guitar solos and shouty lyrics. Odell makes mince-meat of his piano and dives into an elongated outro which shouldn’t work but does. The crowd look on, awestruck at the powerhouse force that is Tom Odell. FJ

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip

And, while it may seem that Odell had won the night, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip had something to say on that matter on The Big Top Stage. Scroobius Pip’s intriguing word play and social commentary and a vocal delivery that doesn’t quite match his genre, coupled with the quality production of Dan Le Sac, who looks like he’d just finished filming a Simon Pegg movie, make up a quality band.

This is the pair’s “victory lap” as they described it, in the Hotpress/free Pringles tent, before the set. They talked a lot about lasts, it is poignant to think how many last times we have already passed without even knowing it.

The set was delivered with high octane, with the front a dangerous place to be with elbows and fists flying. Scroobius Pip seemed particularly angry, with Israel on his mind. He manages to redefine couch surfing when the inflatable couch he was so enamoured with in the Hotpress tent was hoisted onto the crowd, toppling the defiant Scroobius into the non-impressed security.

Get Better with its positive safe sex message would please parents and an encore of My name is Johnny Depp was a fitting end to what is, perhaps, the last time we’ll see them in Ireland.

The only downside was Tom Odell on the main stage denying too many youngsters the real spirit of rock and roll. BP

Photo: Rory Coomey