The festival season is more or less done and dusted for another year. We had it all at Electric Picnic this year some sunshine, some rain and some biting cold but, most importantly we had lots of great music.

Here is my brief as possible round-up of the musical antics down in Stradbally. There’s a few videos after the jump too.

Friday:

Willy Mason: A difficult set for Mason. One man and a guitar on a Main Stage is always going to be tough but he did his best. Great to hear ‘Oxegen’ and ‘Save Myself’ in the flesh. The former NME darling would have benefited hugely from a different setting.

Onra: Really good beats with a real West Coast/G-funk vibe from the French beatmaker. It did get a little repedative but they more than made up for it finishing with their much lively Asian fusion material.

Jimmy Cliff: The Jamaican ska and reggae legend didn’t disappoint one bit. The man has been around since the ’60s but his voice is still impeccable. The show was lively and there was a really sense of good feeling in the crowd as he ran through a super set including ‘Miss Jamaica’, ‘King of Kings’, ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ and the newly adapted anti-war song, ‘Afghanistan’.

PJ Harvey: This was one not to be missed, captivating would be the word to describe the show. Amid the darkness and swirling smoke Harvey delivered the likes of ‘Let England Shake’, ‘The Words That Maketh Murder’ and ‘The Last Living Rose’s with a shrill intensity. Let England Shake is one of 2011’s finest albums and it finally got me to listen to her music. I feel back catalogue exploration coming on.

The Charlatans: Say what you like about The Charlatans but when they roll out their classics, few bands sets will come close. It was an electrifying set (pardon the pun) with standouts of ‘Forever’, ‘Weirdo’, ‘One To Another’, ‘North Country Boy’ and ‘Just When Your Thinking Things Over’. There is still plenty of life left in the old dog yet, hard to believe Burgess and Co. have been doing this for over 20 years now.

Shit Robot: Dubliner Shit Robot (Aka Marcus Lambkin) brought Friday to a close in style. The visuals, the beats and the vibe was second to none, the full Shit Robot show is something to behold. It was great to see a packed tent, he and his music finally got the crowd and respect he deserved unlike Oxegen.

Saturday:

Ghost Estates: A nice way to kick off the day with Dublin Indie 5 piece, Ghost Estates. A nice and tidy set with a sizeable crowd too.

Adebisi Shank: Easily one of the finest live bands in the business, they did that assumption no harm with a set full of that signature furiousity and intensity. On a side note ‘International Dreambeat’ has to be one of the greatest opening songs out there.

The Undertones: The legendary Derry punk outfit performed their self-titled classic 1979 debut in it’s entirety. It was a blistering set, as they launched into a show of under 3-minute perfect punk songs. Cliched as it sounds, there is something special about hearing ‘Teenage Kicks’ live. There was even time for a few non-debut-album tracks;  ‘Thrill Me’, ‘You’ve Got My Number (Why Don’t You Use It?)’, ‘Get Over You’ and ‘My Perfect Cousin’. This is a band who even after all these years obviously love playing live.

Public Enemy: A powerful set from one of most important hip-hop acts ever, and my, can they put on a show. The vocals were a bit iffy at times (where I was) but it didn’t stop the crowd going nuts as they plunged into a set including ‘Fight The Power’, ‘Welcome to the Terrordome’, ‘Bring The Noise’ and ‘Don’t Believe The Hype’. Next time they are in town, I’m there.

Sunday:

Lastertom & The Blast Crew: One of the highlights from Castlepalooza, they got things off to a great start on Sunday. Their slow-burning  tunes mixes an array of disco, funk, electro and gospel, very DFA-esque, went down a treat. It would have been great to see them on at a later time nonetheless. 

Moths: His early set at the Body & Soul Main stage was the perfect setting for his chilled electronica. It was made all the better with the re-emergence of the sun which, along with the music, raised punters spirits. 

Pulp: The perfect Picnic headliners to close this years festival. They hit their stride quickly opening with ‘Do You Remember The First Time?’ following with ‘Disco 2000’ soon after. Pulp may be in their advancing years but they have a tremendous amount of energy on stage. Jarvis too is a worthy frontman and can still pull off the dance moves. Even though the crowd seemed less interested in the slower and less familiar tracks like ‘Underwear’ and ‘Something Changed’, the majority were up for this one. ‘Babies’, ‘F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E’ and personal favorite ‘Sorted For E’s And Whizz’ made up for any lost ground. This, all before bringing the house down with ‘Common People’, a stunning finale. Is this the last we have seen of Pulp? I’m not sure, I’m just glad I finally got the chance to see them live.

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