POSTS TAGGED : Oxegen

Oxegen 2011 – Saturday – Cashier No.9, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Miles Kane & Arctic Monkeys

After an impressive but sparse Friday, Saturday had a lot to live up to but spirits were raised as Punchestown basked in glorious sunshine, a rare occurrence in recent years.

Away from the sunshine was Belfast 5-piece Cashier No.9 who were wooing  punters in the Heineken Green Energy tent with their brand of shimmering indie. The set which opened with EP title track ‘Goldstar’ was cheerful and charming and also included ‘Oh Pity’ and latest single ‘Lost at Sea’. A really enjoyable set and there’s little doubt these guys are ones to keep and eye on.

Over on the Main Stage fellow Northerners Two Door Cinema Club drew the biggest crowd of the weekend so far. The Bangor trio’s cheery and energetic indie-pop perfect complementing the mood of the crowd, buoyed by the sun, they lapped up tracks like ‘Something Good Can Work’ and ‘Undercover Martyn’. It was a performance full of energy and confidence as they continue to grow in stature, they seemed perfectly at home with the Main Stage billing. They also announced we can expect an album in early 2012.

London trio Kitty, Daisy & Lewis have already carved out a niche as fine purveyors of genre-hopping retro sounding music. A sound molded from a mixture of R&B, Swing, Country and Western, Rockabilly, Blues and Rock ‘n’ Roll filled the 2FM Hotpress Academy. A wonderfully charming set full of feel good, toe-tapping infectious rhythm.

Next up was Miles Kane, who is probably best known for his role in The Last Shadow Puppets alongside Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys. This boys got skills, confidence, swagger and supreme stage presence. He swaggered through a set of whirlwind of ’60s psych-soul swathed in twangs and spooky feedback and pulse-raising rock’n’roll riffs, including ‘Inhaler’, ‘Rearrange’, ‘My Fantasy’ and ‘Quicksand’ while the live ‘Kingcrawler’ almost makes the neck hairs stand on end. As the set progressed, for the first time all weekend the symbiotic relationship between artist and crowd was exploited to the full as each goes for it, pushing the other further and further. Kane’s blistering show is Saturday’s high point so far but there is still the small matter of a certain band from Sheffield to come.

For me Saturday’s main attraction was always going to be Arctic Monkeys who somehow I had never seen live. Four great albums in and they have solidified into one of the most formidable bands on the planet, surely they couldn’t let me down? They were in no mood to mess around launching into ferocious performances of ‘Brianstorm’, ‘Still Take You Home’ and ‘This House Is A Circus’. As the rolled through their set much like The Strokes the previous night, it is real drilled home how good they really are.

The new material sounded fantastic even if some of the momentum ebbed away somewhat as the rump of the crowd seemed unfamiliar with tracks like ‘Brick By Brick’, ‘Suck It And See’, ‘She’s Thunderstorms’ and to a lesser extent ‘Library Pictures’.  ‘Don’t Sit Down Because I’ve Moved Your Chair’ in particular was glorious with Turner’s voice sounding fantastic. 

The punters played their part too and when ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ and ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ got an airing all hell broke loose throughout the crowd. ‘Teddy Picker’, ‘Florescent Adolescent’ and ‘Crying Lightening’ sounded great too before Miles Kane joined them on stage to close a memorable set with ‘505’. The performance was a glorious success if a little distant at times, the next time they announce their own Irish dates I’m there.

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Oxegen 2011 – Friday – Tame Impala, Shit Robot, The Strokes & Leftfield

 

What a weekend! On paper it was one of the most uninspiring Oxegen lineups for sometime yet it turned out to be a fantastic weekend with some stunning performances, helped in no small way by the sunshine on Saturday and Sunday. On Friday it seemed like a re-run of the usual script, rain and lots of it. Thankfully this wasn’t the case. One of the big talking points was the eerily small crowd on Friday which left many shows deserted making it difficult for bands and punters to build on.

Whatever the case people were there to enjoy themselves. It was hard to know what to expect from House of Pain to be honest. They entertained the crowd buoyed by the appearance of sunshine before inevitably finishing up with ‘Jump Around’, sending punters into a rapturous frenzy of flailing limps and ‘jumping around’.

Next up Aussie psychedelic rockers Tame Impala over at the 2FM Hotpress Academy. No gimmicks just a short but fine set of warm fuzzy psychedelia running through tracks from their stunning debut album, Innerspeaker. They are far more ‘spaced out’ live than on record, memorable renditions of  ‘Solitude Is Bliss’, ‘Desire Be Desire Go’ and ‘Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind’ in particular. It is a shame they were on so early and would be better suited to a different setting, their own headline show would have the potential to be something really special.

Getting ready for Shit Robot in the Electric Ballroom was a bizarre, it was creepy, ghoulish even, to see the place so deserted. The dance arena is normally jammed not matter what. The real shame was more people should have witnessed Shit Robot’s set, the sound, set and show was amazing. He deserved better.

The piece de resistance for the evening was The Strokes. The new album Angles may have received a mixed reception but it proved they are still relevant musical force today. Testament to this was the growing throng assembling at the Vodafone Stage even as the dark clouds descended. We were repaid quickly as The Strokes, in no mood to mess around, launched headlong into a set full of their biggest hits, along with material from their latest album.

Casablancas struts his stuff in a leather jacket and sunglasses (resembling a young Joey Ramone), then it finally dawns on you how great a band The Strokes are as they launch into hit after hit. ‘New York City Cops’, ‘Someday’, ‘Juicebox’ and ‘Reptilia’ are all stunning and when ‘Last Nite’ kicks in and all hell breaks loose. As they leave the stage it seems as though only minutes have passed since they had begun, which tells its own story. The Strokes return was a massive triumph eclipsing their disastrous show in 2004 and it will take something special to top that.

Amazingly there was more to come, still time to catch Leftfield in Heineken Green Energy tent. Straight from the off it is obvious this was the setting for them (inside, unlike Electric Picnic last year). The bass was simply outrageous, you could feel it rattling and reverberating throughout your whole body. It is no wonder they were once proclaimed ‘loudest live act in the world’. Extraordinary renditions of ‘Afro-Lelt’, ‘Song of Life’ and ‘Storm 3000’ blow the cobwebs off the old Leftism tunes.

Unfortunately that was it, I begrudgingly had to leave before the finish. One day down, Saturday and Sunday had a lot to live up to.

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Oxegen ’11 Preview

This weekend (8th – 10th of July) Oxegen rolls into Punchestown for the festivals annual appearance in Kildare.

Normally what it lacks in class it makes up with quality acts but this year I’m not so sure. Apart from other issues, I feel this is one of the most uninspiring Oxegen lineups for sometime and I don’t know if I can bring myself to shell out the cash for a ticket.

Now that bit is over I’m sure plenty of you have no such dilemma and can’t wait for the festival to kick off. Whether or not I make an appearance is irrelevant and there’s still quite a lot music worth catching over the 3 days (full stage times etc over on State.ie.

Here’s some personal selections for the weekend and feel free to post your own recommendations in the comments below, it is always greatly appreciated.

Friday:

Tame Impala (17:50 2FM Hotpress Academy Stage)

Australian psychedelic rockers Tame Impala’s stunning debut album, Innerspeaker stole many hearts last year. Expect a dazzling dose of warm fuzzy psychedelia brimming with feel good vibes, raw fuzzed up hooks and riffs. This is just the thing to set the weekend in motion.

Tame Impala – Desire Be Desire Go via Tim Bretantrum

The Strokes (21:30, Vodafone Stage)

What to say about The Strokes that hasn’t already been said? Ten years ago they helped rescue guitar music from the doldrums. A decade on, following a lengthy hiatus they returned with Angles, a record which proved the are still relevant musical force today. This should be one of the highlights of the weekend with a set full with old favourites, ‘Last Nite’ & ‘Take it or Leave It’ and new, ‘Under Cover of Darkness’ & ‘Machu Picchu’.

The last time I saw them (2004?) they were awful, Casablancas was a state but hopefully both he and the band have got their house in order.

The Strokes – Machu Picchu via smithblogsatalanta

Leftfield (23:30 Heineken Green Spheres)

Dance pioneers Leftfield (albeit minus Paul Daley) return to our shores for yet another show. These guys revolutionised dance music throughout the 90′s, pushing it to new and daring levels with two seminal albums Leftism and Rhythm & Stealth. Their show at Electric Picnic last year was disappointing with much of the atmosphere being lost in the cold night air.

Hopefully playing in a tent will suit them better along with a bit more from the Rhythm & Stealth era , perhaps the once proclaimed ‘loudest live act in the world’ can win me over again.

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Other recommendations: Maverick Sabre (18:00), The Shit Robot Show (20:15), Tiga (21:15 ) – all in Red Bull Electric Ballroom.

Saturday:

Cashier No.9 (15.55 Heineken Green Spheres)

Belfast 5-piece Cashier No.9 have been a mainstay of the Irish music scene for a number of years now. 2011 is fast becoming ‘their year’ with the release of the scintillating Goldstar EP and their debut album, To The Death Of Fun to rave reviews. Gloriously catchy, infectious and shimmering indie ahoy.

 Cashier No.9 – Goldstar via SnipeLondon

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