Oxegen 2004 (Day 1)
So the big Oxegen (note I think their official website is down at the moment) weekend has come and gone, and despite the poor weather, music-wise it was as good as last year's Witnness.
Early on Saturday afternoon myself and five of my friends booked a minibus out to Punchestown, Co Kildare, for €26 return each, which was much more direct than getting the Dublin Bus trips from the city centre. We arrived at around 1.30 in the afternoon, which was a good time to get our bearings, get a few pints in, meet up with a couple of other friends in there, and just relax for a while. Last year the weather was scorching, and made the festival memorable. However, this year there was no such luck with the weather. Frequent showers were the order of the day, some quote heavy. Luckily Meteor, the mobile phone company, were handing out free rain covers, which kept us dry when we were at the outdoor stages.
Thanks to the Chemical Brothers, we had free VIP passes for the weekend. This entitled us to access the hospitality area and VIP bar, which really just meant a greater choice of drinks, nicer toilets and extra cover from the rain.
The first band we saw were the Scissor Sisters on the main stage, who had a great sound, and put on a good show. However, about halfway through their set the heavens opened for a massive downpour, which sent everyone rushing for cover in one of the covered stages, so we missed a good chuck of the latter part of their set, which was a pity. They are a band I'd like to see at one of their own gigs sometime soon. Following Scissor Sisters, we saw a little bit of Franz Ferdinand, which I expected a bit more from, but I guess I didn't see that much of their set.
That was about the last of the Main Stage I saw for the rest of the day, as most of the rest of the acts I wanted to see were on some of the minor stages. Over on the Ticket Stage next were Snow Patrol, and I have to say they were brilliant, and definitely one of the highlights of the weekend. The atmosphere they created was brilliant, and the large crowd which they drew weren't disappointed, and sand along to their more popular songs, including "Run". Snow Patrol seem to be getting bigger and bigger at the moment, and seem to be getting especially popular in the UK.
Towards the end of Snow Patrol's set, I headed over to the nearby Dance Arena, for The Complete Stone Roses. The Complete Stone Roses are unusual as they are the only cover band to play at the festival, and just like last year, I find it amazing that a cover band get to play such a festival. And also just like last year, they were one of the biggest draws of the festival. Goes to show how popular The Stones Roses were, and the enduring appeal they still have. God knows what it would be like if the real Stones Roses played. The atmosphere for the Complete Stones Roses was fantastic, with most of the punters singing along to much of the set, which included a good mixture of album tracks and b-sides aswell as the classics such as "She Bangs The Drums", "Fools Gold", "Love Spreads" and of course the seminal end-of-set rouser "I Am The Resurrection". I was also surprised (like I was when they played last year) with the age profile of those in attendance and singing along. Quite a lot of people considerably younger than me well into it and singing all the words.
Next was the predicament as to whether to see The Strokes on the Main Stage, or Orbital's last ever live European date before they split up at the end of the summer. Even though I have seen Orbital live three or four times before, I decided to go see them once again, as they never disappoint live. They are one of the best, if not the best, live dance act around, and always excite. I'm sure I will get the chance to see The Strokes in the future, but never again Orbital. Their first track was playing when I entered the tent, and the second track they played was the seminal "Belfast", which is not just my favourite Orbital track ever, but one of my all-time favourite tracks (although it wasn’t my preferred "Belfast/Wasted" version, with the vocal). I think it was the first time I have heard them play it live, so it was a real treat for me. As the set went on, they played lots of their best work (including "The Box", "Halcyon" and ", plus some material I didn't recognise. I had to leave before they finished their encore, which I'm sure was going to be "Chime".
I had to make the sacrifice to leave before "Chime" to get back over the Dance Arena in time for The Chemical Brothers, who were headlining that stage. First up was a very cool version of "Tomorrow Never Knows". It may have been a modified version of the Junior Parker cover of the Beatles' classic, but I'm not too sure. The Chems took to the stage to that track anyhow, and it sounded wonderful, and built up the anticipation of what was to come. "Tomorrow Never Knows" then gave way to a full-on "Hey Boy Hey Girl", to which the crowd went pretty much apeshit to! Next up was "Get Yourself High", which I had never heard live before, but it worked really well. It is one of the better Chems tracks of the last couple of years. "Music: Response", "Block Rockin' Beats" were "Chemical Beats" followed by a snippet of what I think was a new track which I had not heard before. Because it was a new track, unrecognised by the crowd, it didn't get much of a response, which was a pity. The crowd soon got going and the atmosphere build up for the subsequent "Under The Influence" and the storming "It Doesn’t Matter", from "Dig Your Own Hole".
Next up was one of my all-time favourite dance tracks, "Out of Control", which on the album features Bernard Sumner from New Order on vocals. The New Order theme continued with the Chems playing their own version of "Temptation", the New Order classic from the 80's. It gave way then to "Star Guitar". The "Temptation"/"Star Guitar" combination has been part of the Chems live performance now for a while, including as part of the "American EP" from 2002. One of the highlights of the set was what I think was another new track, with a fantastic intro, and a kind of trance feel. No idea what it is called. "Electronic Battle Weapon 6" followed, as did "Setting Sun", "The Golden Path" (significantly reworked from the single release, with only a minimal amount of the vocal track used), and I think another new track. "Got Glint" was played towards the end, before the final, and normal set ender, "The Private Psychedelic Reel".
All in all is was a good set, and the first time I had seen the Chems live in four years. Hopefully it won't be another four years!
Time to find the minibus and our driver then, which we duly did, and eventually got home for around 2.30am, which was quite respectable, to get some rest for Day Two!
Early on Saturday afternoon myself and five of my friends booked a minibus out to Punchestown, Co Kildare, for €26 return each, which was much more direct than getting the Dublin Bus trips from the city centre. We arrived at around 1.30 in the afternoon, which was a good time to get our bearings, get a few pints in, meet up with a couple of other friends in there, and just relax for a while. Last year the weather was scorching, and made the festival memorable. However, this year there was no such luck with the weather. Frequent showers were the order of the day, some quote heavy. Luckily Meteor, the mobile phone company, were handing out free rain covers, which kept us dry when we were at the outdoor stages.
Thanks to the Chemical Brothers, we had free VIP passes for the weekend. This entitled us to access the hospitality area and VIP bar, which really just meant a greater choice of drinks, nicer toilets and extra cover from the rain.
The first band we saw were the Scissor Sisters on the main stage, who had a great sound, and put on a good show. However, about halfway through their set the heavens opened for a massive downpour, which sent everyone rushing for cover in one of the covered stages, so we missed a good chuck of the latter part of their set, which was a pity. They are a band I'd like to see at one of their own gigs sometime soon. Following Scissor Sisters, we saw a little bit of Franz Ferdinand, which I expected a bit more from, but I guess I didn't see that much of their set.
That was about the last of the Main Stage I saw for the rest of the day, as most of the rest of the acts I wanted to see were on some of the minor stages. Over on the Ticket Stage next were Snow Patrol, and I have to say they were brilliant, and definitely one of the highlights of the weekend. The atmosphere they created was brilliant, and the large crowd which they drew weren't disappointed, and sand along to their more popular songs, including "Run". Snow Patrol seem to be getting bigger and bigger at the moment, and seem to be getting especially popular in the UK.
Towards the end of Snow Patrol's set, I headed over to the nearby Dance Arena, for The Complete Stone Roses. The Complete Stone Roses are unusual as they are the only cover band to play at the festival, and just like last year, I find it amazing that a cover band get to play such a festival. And also just like last year, they were one of the biggest draws of the festival. Goes to show how popular The Stones Roses were, and the enduring appeal they still have. God knows what it would be like if the real Stones Roses played. The atmosphere for the Complete Stones Roses was fantastic, with most of the punters singing along to much of the set, which included a good mixture of album tracks and b-sides aswell as the classics such as "She Bangs The Drums", "Fools Gold", "Love Spreads" and of course the seminal end-of-set rouser "I Am The Resurrection". I was also surprised (like I was when they played last year) with the age profile of those in attendance and singing along. Quite a lot of people considerably younger than me well into it and singing all the words.
Next was the predicament as to whether to see The Strokes on the Main Stage, or Orbital's last ever live European date before they split up at the end of the summer. Even though I have seen Orbital live three or four times before, I decided to go see them once again, as they never disappoint live. They are one of the best, if not the best, live dance act around, and always excite. I'm sure I will get the chance to see The Strokes in the future, but never again Orbital. Their first track was playing when I entered the tent, and the second track they played was the seminal "Belfast", which is not just my favourite Orbital track ever, but one of my all-time favourite tracks (although it wasn’t my preferred "Belfast/Wasted" version, with the vocal). I think it was the first time I have heard them play it live, so it was a real treat for me. As the set went on, they played lots of their best work (including "The Box", "Halcyon" and ", plus some material I didn't recognise. I had to leave before they finished their encore, which I'm sure was going to be "Chime".
I had to make the sacrifice to leave before "Chime" to get back over the Dance Arena in time for The Chemical Brothers, who were headlining that stage. First up was a very cool version of "Tomorrow Never Knows". It may have been a modified version of the Junior Parker cover of the Beatles' classic, but I'm not too sure. The Chems took to the stage to that track anyhow, and it sounded wonderful, and built up the anticipation of what was to come. "Tomorrow Never Knows" then gave way to a full-on "Hey Boy Hey Girl", to which the crowd went pretty much apeshit to! Next up was "Get Yourself High", which I had never heard live before, but it worked really well. It is one of the better Chems tracks of the last couple of years. "Music: Response", "Block Rockin' Beats" were "Chemical Beats" followed by a snippet of what I think was a new track which I had not heard before. Because it was a new track, unrecognised by the crowd, it didn't get much of a response, which was a pity. The crowd soon got going and the atmosphere build up for the subsequent "Under The Influence" and the storming "It Doesn’t Matter", from "Dig Your Own Hole".
Next up was one of my all-time favourite dance tracks, "Out of Control", which on the album features Bernard Sumner from New Order on vocals. The New Order theme continued with the Chems playing their own version of "Temptation", the New Order classic from the 80's. It gave way then to "Star Guitar". The "Temptation"/"Star Guitar" combination has been part of the Chems live performance now for a while, including as part of the "American EP" from 2002. One of the highlights of the set was what I think was another new track, with a fantastic intro, and a kind of trance feel. No idea what it is called. "Electronic Battle Weapon 6" followed, as did "Setting Sun", "The Golden Path" (significantly reworked from the single release, with only a minimal amount of the vocal track used), and I think another new track. "Got Glint" was played towards the end, before the final, and normal set ender, "The Private Psychedelic Reel".
All in all is was a good set, and the first time I had seen the Chems live in four years. Hopefully it won't be another four years!
Time to find the minibus and our driver then, which we duly did, and eventually got home for around 2.30am, which was quite respectable, to get some rest for Day Two!