Electric Picnic, Day 1 (Stradbally, Co. Laois)

Review Snapshot:  A long yet rewarding first day of Electric Picnic highlighted the huge differences between the Irish new and old guards and everything from pies, ticker tape and Icelandic orchestral manoeuvers in the dark in between.

The Cluas Verdict? 7.5 out of 10

Full Review:
After an early start, repeated to-ing and fro-ing from car to campsite and prolonged tent pitching – it seems the term ‘four man tent’ refers to how many people it takes to erect the tent as opposed to how many people fit in it – Electric Picnic, day one, kicked off with an invitation to a mass orgy at the main stage from Ronan Ó Snodaigh of Kíla, “We’ve got 50 minutes to make love to you” and with that we were off.

Despite a relatively early slot at 4.30pm, Kíla pulled a large crowd and set about getting the party started. There were Brazilian carnival dancers, Cirque de Soleil type aerial acrobatics and a gospel choir, not to mention explosions of ticker tape! With its philosophy of living life to the full as your own self completely, ‘Leanfaidh Mé’, from their sophomore album ‘Tóg go Bog É’, proved a statement of intent for the weekend. From there it was straight into ‘Four Skinhead Reels’ and free-form ceilí dancing ensued as far as the eye could see. This was the perfect start to the picnic. Kíla’s inimitable energy and sheer force of being would leave no toe untapped and no heart unmoved.

Feeling sufficiently festive it was time for man of the moment Richie Egan and Jape. Two years ago he drew a modest crowd early in the day on a small stage curated by Damien Rice. This time around the Crawdaddy stage was packed to bursting with a swell of sweaty and swarthy revellers, a clear testament to the popularity of songs like ‘I Was A Man’, ‘Streetwise’ and ‘Floating’, all of which were met with frenzied applause, whopping and general limb flailing. Most encouraging of all was the airing of some new material in front of a festival crowd - a sure sign of an artist brimming with confidence. The set list was largely drawn from the brilliant ‘Ritual’ – a shoe-in for several album of the year accolades come December - and despite one or two technical hiccups, Mr. Egan had the crowd eating out of his hand from beginning to end. Highlights included an extended sample of ‘Put ‘em under Pressure’ tagged onto the end of ‘Streetwise’ and a rousing rendition of ‘Phil Lynott’.

Next up in the Crawdaddy tent was Christy Moore, but ten minutes was all this reviewer could stand. In much the same way as annoying backpacker types ‘DO’ Thailand/Cambodia/Chile/Argentina, the vast majority of people seemed to have come along just to tick Christy Moore off their ‘list of legends to see before they, or I, die’. Incessant chat, hustle and bustle proved too irritating to stand. More recent material was met with indifference and old favourites such as ‘City of Chicago’ and ‘North and South of the River’ sent the audience into sing-along overdrive to the point of drowning out the man himself.

As the light began to fade over the main stage, Allison Goldfrapp, donned in harlequin-esque garb, appeared to the strains of ‘Utopia’ from her debut album ‘Felt Mountain’. Her, at times, operatic voice was a stark reminder of just how versatile a performer she is. From there it was straight into lead single ‘A&E’ from most recent album ‘Seventh Tree’ and this set the tone for the next half hour of so. Although beautiful and expertly performed there was a danger that the whole set could descend into something much more suited to a marquee in the body and soul area. However as darkness fell and ‘Little Bird’ drew to a close, the bass was turned up and the synthesisers were unleashed. Chests thumped as crowd favourites from ‘Black Cherry’ and ‘Supernature’ came thick and fast, ratcheting up the energy levels and the complexity of the dance moves! A truly stonking ‘Strict Machine’ brought a slick, yet sublime, set to a close.

Having gorged on some of the gastronomic delights available from the likes of Pieminister and Diep Noodles, it was back to the main stage for Friday headliners Sigur Ros. Given the Icelanders predilection for album titles such as ( ) and songs named in an invented language, it’s a little difficult to give a comprehensive review of their set list!! They opened with the anthemic, ethereal and other-worldy ‘Svefn-g-Englar’ from their second album ‘Ágætis Byrjun’ which planted smiles squarely on most faces. Stars were shining brightly in the sky for stunning renditions of ‘Hoppípolla’ and ‘Glósóli’ from 2005’s ‘Takk’, pleasing the crowd no end. However, 90mins of blissed out, orchestral genius, proved a little too much to take. It was a set more suited to a marquee, post-midnight, drink in hand, bum on seat than an opening night, headline slot on the main stage. So with the strains of Amiina’s string arrangements ringing in our ears and sleep teasing our eyes, it was time to return to the welcome floatation of inflatable mattresses, where the distant thump of the dance tent rocked us to sleep.

Jan ní Fhlanagáin

• Check out as well CLUAS.com's reviews of Day 2 and Day 3 of Electric Picnic 2008.

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There are probably lots of people making their way down to Stradbally this morning, hoping that the traffic jams for Electric Picnic won’t be as bad as in previous years. But what will they do if all that time spent in traffic today and coming home on Monday gets too much for them? Well, they could do worse than make their way down to Cois Fharraige, taking place next weekend (September 5 to 7) in Kilkee, Co. Clare. Cois Fharraige, of course, was the winner of “Best New Festival 2007″ at the Irish Festival Awards, and has been critically acclaimed for its original festival concept and line up.

Friday September 5
Friday night will see performances from Kanyu Tree, The Coronas, The Futureheads and The Zutons. The Zutons, of course, have enjoyed huge success since the release of their debut album Who Killed The Zutons. They have just released their third album, You Can Do Anything, and one can expect to hear songs such as Valerie, Why Wont You Give Me Your Love, as well as their new single Always Right Behind You.

Saturday September 6
Saturday sees a diverse range of bands strut their stuff along the western shore. 28 Costumes, The Broken Family Band, Simon & Oscar, Seasick Steve and Supergrass will ensure an action packed day. If only because the aforementioned Supergrass will be performing twice this week in The Academy it is undoubtedly Seasick Steve who will generate the most excitement following his stunning performance at this years Oxegen festival. For those of you not familiar with the man; he has built a reputation for himself thanks to his custom made stringed instruments that give him a unique style. Expect songs from the eagerly anticipated (rumoured to be released in September) follow up to Doghouse Music.

Sunday September 7
With no disrespect to Joe Brown, the man with more albums than Key Notes has had hot dinners (and if you know Key Notes, that's quite a few!); Sunday's headliners Travis will be the star attraction. Having burst unto the scene in 1999 with The Man Who,  containing songs such as Driftwood and Turn, the Scottish folk rockers flattered to deceive during the intervening years until the release of their critically acclaimed album The Boy With No Name last summer.  Well worth seeing if only for how appropriate it is that Why Does It Always Rain On Me? will bring to an end this year's Summer festivals.

There are still some tickets for Cois Fharraige available from here.

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Friday 19th
Bridge Bar: The Unwanted (Cathy Jordan & Seamie O'Dowd) 7.00pm

Jumping Jacks:  Donal Dineen 12.00pm

Paris:  Belle & Sebastian (DJ Set) 11.30pm / David Kitt (DJ Set)  1.30am

Saturday 20th
Marquee:    Onya 12.00pm
                Stewart Agnew 1.15pm
                Ultan 2.30pm
                Juno Falls 3.45pm
                David Kitt 5.30pm
                Kila 7.15pm
                Republic of Loose 9.15pm
                Asian Dub Foundation 10.45pm

Bar Tent:    Indoor Growers League, Mark Black,
                Modal Citizen Quartet etc.. All Day

Sunday 21st
Bridge Bar:   Sofa SundayAll Ireland Final 1.00pm
                 Model Citizen Quartet
                 D.J. Kid Cam Till late

Festival kicks off Friday in the Bridge Bar at 7.00pm with Cathy Jordan aka Dervish with her new band The Unwanted. Exclusive gig and were delighted to have her and her new band followed by Sligo man Samie O'dowd and his four piece rock outfit that is sure to blow you away.

Today FM's top indie D.J. Donal Dineen is kicking of in Jumping Jacks from 11pm.

Also in Paris Rich from Belle & Sebastian kicks off his D.J. set at 11.30pm followed by the illustrious David Kitt rocking into the night.

On Saturday the action moves to the Marquee. Bundoran local surf rock chick Onya kicks off the festival at 12.00.

Stewart Agnew hails from the spirit store in Dundalk with his Six piece folk and blues. He will ease us into the day followed closely by this years main stage electric picnic opener Ultan Conlon.

Fresh off his 2fFM Tour Juno Falls will shock and awe with his one man orchestra of sounds.

Kicking off his tour with this gig we are delighted to present David Kitt and then from 7.00pm till late we have four hours of dancing with Kila, Republic of Loose and Asian Dub Foundations only Irish gig.

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A review of the DownloadMusic.ie USB Compilation (Various artists)

Review Snapshot:  Possibly the most difficult album I’ve ever had to review for CLUAS, Downloadmusic.ie’s first ever USB Compilation Album also turned out to be one of the most rewarding, proving, for the most part, that Irish music is in good shape.

The Cluas Verdict? 7 out of 10

Full Review:
For me, great albums have always told a story; each song being delicately structured to fit snugly into the ebb and flow of the overall musical tapestry of the LP. My favourite albums generally come with memorable artwork, lyrics, out of focus photographs, scribbled drunken meanderings or multicoloured feathers. So to be presented with a compilation album on a USB key was always going to be a challenge.

How should I approach this; should I take it on a song by song basis? That’s not really going to result in an album review though is it? Plus, with 15 songs most of you would have stopped reading by the third song. No, I had to approach this one differently and so I took what appears to be the central theme of the compilation, namely the present and future of Irish music and considered how representative this album was.

For the most part this album achieves what it set out to. Bands like The Flaws, CODES and The Kinetiks, if attendance at their gigs is anything to go by, are certainly representative of Irish musical tastes. However, what lets the album down is its noble effort to shoehorn multiple genres of music onto the same compilation. Ro Tierney’s The Voice and Justin Manville’s Tonight, while both good songs in their own right, sound out of place on an album containing bands like Dirty Epics and Vesta Varro.

Stand out tracks are This is Goodbye (CODES), Letting Go (SUDDYN) and The Cure (Dirty Epics) and for very different reasons. This is Goodbye and The Cure both represent the current drive by Irish musicians towards musical landscaping; creating mountains of sound from the foundations of catchy melodies and lyrics. Letting Go on the other hand has an understated charm that’s reminiscent of Damien Rice’s O period (insert ‘he certainly milked that period’ joke here).

Of course, the upside of compilations is that there is generally something for everyone. Tracks I didn’t like, such as Manmade (The Radio) and Shadows (Roberta Howett) may well be other people’s favourites.

Overall, while the idea is commendable, perhaps having fewer genre’s on one album would make for a less disjointed listening experience. Despite that, those writing about the demise of quality Irish music should have a listen to this compilation because the future really is bright. 

Steven O'Rourke

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Can MGMT be influential? Already?!

This is by Empire of the Sun who are a collaboration between Sleepy Jackson (who made the rather wonderful Lovers) and PNAU (read more about them in a previous blog here).

An album is due soon and if it's as good as this lead-off single, we are in for a treat! Also reminiscent of Phoenix, I think? 

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All of us have people who teach us about music. Mat was one of those people for me and, upon the shocking news of his untimely death on Sunday morning, I present to you all some of the music that he led me to.

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1) Metallica are a nostalgia band. Their career peak was 1991 with the release of 'Metallica' aka the Black album. After that they got into orchestral arrangements of their work, hunting bears in Russia and suing their fans. Not cool.

2) There appears to be an implied but pronounced influence on their career from the movie, and touring band of the same name, Spinal Tap, notably in the tragic Cliff Burton Twister Tour Bus incident.

3) As a result, having released an album with a black cover in homage of Spinal Tap's 14th studio release 'Smell The Glove',  Metallica have now ventured into the realm of free jazz championed by Spinal Tap in 'Jazz Odyssey' with the impeding release of 'Death Magnetic', a track from which was showcased at Marley Park with the title, 'Cyanide'.

4) Metallica have also worked 'pyros', so beloved of 80's bands such as Poison, into their stage show.

5) The band managed to be boring and exciting at the same time during their live set.

6) At one stage in proceedings, James Hetfield entertained the crowd with a display of shadow puppetry.

7) Some fans were disappointed at the band's failure to follow up a scorching live rendition of 'Whiskey In The Jar' with a cover of 'Seven Drunken Nights' in honour of the late Ronnie Drew.

8) You can't beat a good song (see above).

The Sound Waves Verdict? Bring on the minature version of Stonehenge lads.

Photo Credit: The band depicted may or may not be Metallica.

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