Great weekend. So knackered now though. On Friday, we got lost on our way there, but arrived eventually, and after confusion about media passes (there didn't seem to be much joined-up thinking or organisation amongst the various agencies there) we got in.
Camping in the boutique area meant real toilets and an all-night bar, which was cool.
I could go review-tastic on it, but I have no brain left, so I'll just give a summary I guess:
Uppers
- Hercules and Love Affair. According to my mates who had been @ the Academy gig, they said their Picnic performance was ten times better. Nomi and Kim Ann Foxman are two of the sexiest band members in the universe.
- Chromeo. A bit of a surprise, because I didn't intend on going to the gig, but it was so much fun, and a great crowd.
Camping in the boutique area meant real toilets and an all-night bar, which was cool.
I could go review-tastic on it, but I have no brain left, so I'll just give a summary I guess:
Uppers
- Hercules and Love Affair. According to my mates who had been @ the Academy gig, they said their Picnic performance was ten times better. Nomi and Kim Ann Foxman are two of the sexiest band members in the universe.
- Chromeo. A bit of a surprise, because I didn't intend on going to the gig, but it was so much fun, and a great crowd.
- The Big Wheel, funsies.
- The Bacardi Bar's excellent mojitos.
- The weather! Well, up until Sunday night, anyway.
- The Gossip. Especially because Beth Ditto caught our flowers and said she was going to give them straight to Henry Rollins.
- The food; steak sandwiches in the rainbow tent in the boutique area, lentil soup at the soup place beside the Pussy Parlure, yummy burgers beside the Big Wheel
- The artist area (was hanging out here before my backing singing debut with The Radio). Brilliant catering, really nice staff, great little hang out spots, pool table and multiple golf buggy action.
- Loads of bars on site - and hardly ever any giant queues.
- thisispopbaby. Great fun in here all weekend, from Youre Only Massive, to Justin Bond's gig and Jonny Woo's unbelievable gorilla suit performance, and all round good vibes.
- The Gramophone disco. Mental, but fun.
- Arcadia: the fire and water spurting fountain freaking everyone out with the robotic fire-breathing horse.
- Grace Jones. Just AWESOME.
- Adrian Crowley. Big crowd, and soothing sounds.
Downers
- The lashing LASHING rain on Sunday night. Made the burning of the temple a bit of a damp squib, and got our car stuck in mud come Monday morning. Shelly and Tainer tried to leave at 7.30pm, came back to me and Fionn's tent at ten saying it was stuck in mud and tractors were charging €50 to tow them out. We returned to the car to find no car and no Tainer, spent a few hours looking for her, eventually found the car in a far flung corner of a field, with no Tainer. Got home yesterday at 4.30pm. Nightmare. The whole site was a mess after the rain. Just goes to show how fucked up it can get with a bit of water. The Picnic has been very lucky with weather over the years, but they will need to sort out some walkways and stuff in future to prevent chaotic scenes if a downpour occurs. John Reynolds clearly wasn't expecting it either, given the shit fit he was throwing on his phone outside one of the car parks on Monday afternoon.
- Duffy being annoying "shit. Oh, I'm going to get in trouble now for swearing." Shut up.
- The PA blowing in Fossets circus before Rigo's Game Boy DJ set.
- My mate's tent getting robbed, and the fucker's mate headbutting him giving him a black eye, when he tried to chase him out of the campsite. Not cool.
- thisispopbaby. Great fun in here all weekend, from Youre Only Massive, to Justin Bond's gig and Jonny Woo's unbelievable gorilla suit performance, and all round good vibes.
- The Gramophone disco. Mental, but fun.
- Arcadia: the fire and water spurting fountain freaking everyone out with the robotic fire-breathing horse.
- Grace Jones. Just AWESOME.
- Adrian Crowley. Big crowd, and soothing sounds.
Downers
- The lashing LASHING rain on Sunday night. Made the burning of the temple a bit of a damp squib, and got our car stuck in mud come Monday morning. Shelly and Tainer tried to leave at 7.30pm, came back to me and Fionn's tent at ten saying it was stuck in mud and tractors were charging €50 to tow them out. We returned to the car to find no car and no Tainer, spent a few hours looking for her, eventually found the car in a far flung corner of a field, with no Tainer. Got home yesterday at 4.30pm. Nightmare. The whole site was a mess after the rain. Just goes to show how fucked up it can get with a bit of water. The Picnic has been very lucky with weather over the years, but they will need to sort out some walkways and stuff in future to prevent chaotic scenes if a downpour occurs. John Reynolds clearly wasn't expecting it either, given the shit fit he was throwing on his phone outside one of the car parks on Monday afternoon.
- Duffy being annoying "shit. Oh, I'm going to get in trouble now for swearing." Shut up.
- The PA blowing in Fossets circus before Rigo's Game Boy DJ set.
- My mate's tent getting robbed, and the fucker's mate headbutting him giving him a black eye, when he tried to chase him out of the campsite. Not cool.
- The Bodytonic area - one vaguely sizeable and two pissy little tents. Pretty pathetic - and why was it in a campsite, totally seperate from eveything else?! I know the 'Bodytonic Village' was near camping the last few years, but still. They should sort this out from next year.
- Breaches of security. There were a fair few people there who had clearly jumped the fence, namely about five scumbags (who ranged in age from about 13 to 17) who tried to get into the thisispopbaby tent in the early hours of Monday morning and cause hassle.
- Packed tents. Couldn't get near CSS, Santogold and Crystal Castles. I guess given that they were three of the biggest or most exciting acts on the line-up (whereas at another line-up with more superstars, they wouldn't be so in demand) everyone got there early.
- Bars closing at ten in the main arena. Though there were lots of ways of getting around it; 10.30pm in the VIP area, all night (pretty much) in the boutique camping area, plus the randomg dude in the forest selling cans.
So that's that over for another year. Photees are on the way. For some more post-Picnic stuff, check out The Daily Mail's piece on how much each act got paid to play the Picnic, Jim has opened the feedback gauntlet and Lili has some fucking amazing photees.
How was your Picnic?
13 comments:
EP sounded like lots of fun. Annoyed to have missed it. BTW, you look like Miley Rae Cyrus in the top pic!
Didnt go this year. Sick of the hassle and the weather. What I would have spent on EP ticket, booze etc I went to La Tomatina in Spain for the same price. Just as messy as EP but at least the sun fuckin shines for more than five minutes.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1050911/Moss-Kills-em-dodgy-wig--Electric-Picnic-sober-affair.html#comments
''Supermodel Kate Moss watched her fiancé Jamie Hince's band, The Kills, perform a mere two songs yesterday at an easygoing Electric Picnic.
Moss arrived incognito at the side of the stage to watch 40-year-old Hince perform.
Sporting what on onlookers described as 'a ridiculous blonde curly wig,' a black and white fury jacket and dark black sunglasses, the 34-year-old catwalk queen watched the band perform just two of their hits at the stage in the Crawdaddy tent at about 5pm yesterday evening.''
...the above turned out to be Lydia Des Dolles lead singer with rock band SWEET JANE.
RE: Sweet Jane, I heard that one, alright! Hilarious.
McGinty.
Funsies. :)
Still recovering.
"The Bodytonic area - one vaguely sizeable and two pissy little tents. Pretty pathetic - and why was it in a campsite, totally seperate from eveything else?!"
To keep that crowd together and away from the other campers.
Una -Wendy was so happy to bond dance with u at this is pop on friday. After deconstructing the merits of going to see Santogold v's crystal castles i went to Santogold you were rite best gig of EP..Still holding my open invite to bring soundcheck to lovely limerick
I didn't mind the rain so much - it was a stroll in the park compared to Roskilde 07 - but the bar closing was a real pisser. Some of us couldn't get into the VIP section.
Couldn't hear any vocals at the Radio gig which was a shame, especially now as I know you were singing!
I only saw 2 Grace Jones songs because she took so long to get on stage and I had to be elsewhere, but heard she was class.
You're right about the organisation re; the rain though, it's almost as if the organisers haven't been living here for the past two years..
But it was pretty amazing all told.
The Roots owned the festival.
"However, one of the biggest surprises is the fee Grace Jones commands. The striking model and singer released several acclaimed albums in the Eighties but has done little of note since.
The former model and Andy Warhol muse played last night for an hour and received around €60,000 - about twice as much as Sinéad O'Connor, a much more successful artist in recent years, who will pocket around €30,000."
Why did you go to Duffy? I can't remember what else was on, but she was clashing with the option of doing nothing for me.
@ Wendy - twas great to meet you too dude! Limerick shall happen soon hopefully ;)
@ b - didn't 'go' to Duffy per se, was just walking past and hanging around for a while overhearing her set.
I'm still exhausted. Not getting Monday off work is a BALLS. Great time had though, Dan Deacon was MENTAL.
Ah savage craic....despite the head butt....
Highlights:
Crystal Castles
New Young Pony Club
Booka Shade
Grace Jones
All the music at the Oxegen Bar
Thisispopbaby
Arcadia (poor man's Trash City)
Chromeo
The Time Machine
Lowlights:
Head butt
Campsite scavangers on monday
Sigur Ros (Yawny McBore from Snoretown)
Post a Comment