Photos: Kieran Frost
So as with most years we had two reviewers down at Electric Picnic. We decided this year we would get thoughts on each day individually from the two reviewers and put them together with pictures from each day. So here is Saranne Murray and Deirdre Harrison’s thoughts on Friday at Electric Picnic.
Deirdre Harrison…
First act caught was Sinéad O’Connor on the Main Stage; given the early hour of her performance on the first day of the festival she gathered a very healthy crowd. Couldn’t help but wonder if the crowd were there for the same reason as myself; in the hope that she might do something a bit mental. If this was the case we were all left disappointed as there was very little interaction with the audience. While Sinéad may still have an incredible voice unfortunately her new material was, well boring to put it mildly.
Over in the Electric Arena New York based The Rapture gave fans a sensational set, filled with hits and new material from their latest release In The Grace of Your Love. The catchy upbeat sounds made it impossible not to dance along for the entire duration and for many they were the first act to capture that elusive “festival atmosphere”.
The latest Mercury Prize winner, PJ Harvey, and her very impressive headwear, gave a soulful performance. However, it was hard not to think that some of the magic of her performance was lost on the vast main stage and would have been far more suited to one of the more intimate stages.
The artist formally known as Santogold now for legal reasons known as Santigold arrived on stage at the Electric Arena to a loud chorus of cheers. Until you see Santigold live you really do not realise just how many of her songs you know word for word. For an artist who seems to have only been around for several years she has a back catalogue most artists should be envious of. If there was one thing better than Santigold’s performance it was that of her two dancers; who were quite possibly the coolest people of the entire weekend.
Arriving with headliners Interpol was the Irish festival staple, the rain. It may well have been the influence rain or it may have been the fact that Interpol just aren’t headline material yet but just was something lacking about their performance. The crowd lacked energy and began to drift away as the band failed to provide that all important festival atmosphere. While they still gave a tight performance there just seemed to be a feeling of indifference from the majority of the crowd.
Saranne Murray…..
We arrived down early Friday to set up our tents in the Jimi Hendrix site and headed off to see some bands. The band that made the biggest impression on me was the Rapture. They put on a very energetic set and had the whole crowd dancing from start to finish. I had never seen them live before and they did not disappoint. They kept their best songs until last and already I had a weekend highlight and it was only Friday.
I hung around the Electric arena after The Rapture until Santigold was due on. The crowd filled up quite a lot during the wait and by the time she came on stage the tent was packed. A lot of the same crowd near the stage had remained on after The Raptures gig and continued the upbeat dancing energy. She put on a great set and vindicated my decision to stay entirely.
With Santigold over it was now time to catch my first headliner in the form of Interpol. I had high expectations for them and was a little disappointed with their set. There was just no energy or excitement in their performance. It was no different than listening to one of their records. It was hard to tell the difference between their songs and the sound and atmosphere was very lacking.