Seconded, and any reasonably popular Irish band, if I want to go see the Frames I'll buy a ticket for one of their gigs. Seeing local bands taking up top festival slots here is a bit of a cop out on the part of the bookers.

i don't want anyone big (commercially) whatsoever... the tickets will then be snapped up by fans of that band / artist therefore diluting the vibe... examples - prince was being bandied about - he's far too big, new order and pet shop boys may swamp the festival also... i'd go as far as saying i don't want morrisey for the same reason (although that's pushing the boat out a bit)... i'd be a fan of the frames but i'd hate to see them announced with 10,000 frames fans flocking to laois if they're going to be of the calibre of the recent point gig audience

The Bodytonic tent could do more that just house the usual superstar dj suspects and a bit of hip-hop. A real eclectic electronic line-up would be far more interesting. Don't want to see too many nostalgia acts like The Human League either. Hopefully the delay in releasing the line-up means they're putting a bit of thought into it and not just grabbing the dregs of the festival season. I'd rather the prospect of seeing lots of bands i hadn't seen before, than big headline acts who've been doing the rounds for ages.

Great question. My list would be: The Frames/Glen Hansard Mundy Turn The Thrills The Streets Bell X1 Red Hot Chili Peppers Rufus Wainright Arctic Monkeys Primal Scream Faithless Paddy Casey Snow Patrol The Prodigy Razorlight Kaiser Chiefs Pete Doherty Feeder

can someone move this post to the Oxegen forum? :-) bordering on snobbery, HA

To be fair to the bodytonic lads, they are the biggest supporters of irish djs in the country. Every week Irish djs play at their clubs. Would hope EP stays away from any big name band that would attract throngs of fans that would dilute the atmosphere for the rest of the day they are on. I would go along with all of Antistar's suggestions tho

There are legitimate reasons why these bands should not be allowed play.It's nothing to do with snobbery. The Frames play this country so many times that surely their own fans are getting sick of them now! I've seen Primal Scream twice and they are rubbish live. Snow Patrol are too formulaic, bell X1 too dull,etc, etc....too many bands out there simply going through the motions, too many bands that offer nothing new to seasoned gig-goers...What was great about last year's EP was Kraftwerk being included in the line-up.They just stood motionless behind their laptops, unsmiling, no interaction with crowd yet it was one of the best gigs I've ever attended. I hope to have a similar experience at EP '06. Somehow I don't think Bell X1 are going to provide it.

I dont want my Boss to be there

I'd love to see The Streets. Mike Skinner is one of the best UK artists ever. There's some stuff being said here that I really don't understand. How could people NOT want Prince to be there? That would make it the best festival ever! I don't want s**t bands. I want good bands that I like. Returnees I would like to see would be: Be Your Own Pet JJ72 Nick Cave Flaming Lips Arcade Fire Kraftwerk The Pricillas Silent Disco One thing I don't want is the comedy tent. What a waste. Put on more music instead.

"One thing I don't want is the comedy tent". well where do you expect jj72 to play

Always harboured a secret desire to organise a micro-festival. I ask myself how difficult can it be organising a venue, contacting my favourite bands' managers, sponsorhip, advertising etc. I'm sure it's much more difficult than i think. Anyway, i agree with the insipid and ubiquitous Irish bands listed above. I suppose between all there different festivals there's a perfect line up if one could pick 'n' mix acts and shuffle them around.

"insipid and ubiquitous " thank you for bringing these words to my attention. i could have lived a whole lifetime and never knew they existed. I have to say Mike Skinner has totally lost the plot.

una, the reason i don't want prince there is that as soon as he's announced, 25,000 prince fans will snap up the tickets (for his day at least) in approximately 15 seconds... your average prince fan has probably never heard of arcade fire, let alone someone like nurse with wound... the good time vibe would be completely goosed... people would be chatting over everything and there would be some seriously empty tents

The Streets are dreadful live. Made a tit of himself when he played witness a few years ago slipping the word Guinness into his lyrics. I wanted to kill him. His schtick doesn't translate well to the stage

Nurse with Wound won't be playing. But it'd be nice to have some earshock, like Boris or Merzbow or Wolf Eyes. Something we never have at festivals here. Oh, and I wasn't really dissing the Bodytonic lads for their DJ selections, I would just like to see some 'live' electronic music as opposed to DJs having a rinse. Might not appeal to those who want to take jiggers all weekend, but would make the tent more interesting.

sounds just like ryan adams alright... lightning bolt are playing in whelans at the end of may... should be LOUD in there

"your average prince fan has probably never heard of arcade fire" so? Hmm, that JJ72 'joke' is a bit missfired - have you seen any of their recent gigs? Or even the gig at EP last year? Or, perhaps tracks from the new album? Hardly a 'comedy act'. Then again, slagging them seems to be a national sport, so it would be a shame to see that discontinue...right? I understand the complaint of having tickets snapped up by Prince fans, but it's not difficult to get tickets if you're quick off the mark anyway. In a perfect world, Prince would play and there would be free Electric Picnic tickets for all! I remember that Streets gig when Skinner kept saying 'Witness Is In This For One More Pint Of Guinness', I thought it was funny, but maybe you had to be wasted to see the humour. Actually, that particular gig was absolutely brilliant in my memory, but opinions differ I guess. At Oxegen last year, the gig wasn't the best at all, because I think he was out of it on stage and the crowd reacted badly, and the sound was s**tE because it was the main stage, so obviously, everything sounded like a f**king broadcast from a Fien Gael councillor shouting election plans through a megaphone attached to the roof of a clapped out Ford Orion, if you weren't in the pit. Anyway. The moral is, I like Prince and I like The Streets. Kind Regards, Una