For those of you that tuned into the show this evening, you’re not losing your marbles, we did replay last week’s Indiependence Special. The reasons were twofold. Firstly, it was just that damn good it needed a second airing and secondly I’m still seconded away in Belfast with work.
Indiependence, Indiependence, so good they played it twice, huh.
Anyway, the weekend in question is fast approaching and make no mistake, this is The Big One. With EP’s underwhelming lineup and overpriced tickets, the real value this year is to be found in Deer Farm, Michelstown where Manic Street Preachers, Coronas, Tom Odell, Sigma, Hermitage Green, All Tvvins, Brian Deady and co will all be taking to the stage over the August Bank Holiday Weekend.
Day-by-day breakdown, Indie 17
Weekend camping tickets have sold out but, fear not, individual day passes are available on tickets.ie for €50 a pop. Happy Days.
You can catch the Happy Hour Indiependence Special on Mixcloud and the full tracklist is below.
For anybody still on the fence about whether or not to head along, read this round up of last year’s festival. I have butterflies even thinking about it! Definitely dreaming of nights in fields with friends and counting down to #Indie17.
Main Stage, Indie 2016
1 Your Love Alone by Manic Street Preachers
2 Get on My Knees by Brian Deady
3 Reluctant Recluse by We Cut Corners
4 Alone Together feat James Vincent McMorrow by All Tvvins
From all reports it sounds like the weekend was a thumping good ‘un!
I said in 2016 that Body&Soul was the one festival I was for sure targetting this year but, yet again, work conspired to prevent me having a life at the weekends and B&S passed me by.
Next year. And I mean it this time!
Here’s a link to last week’s show, the Body&Soul Happy Hour special with full tracklist below.
Together since 2014, Cody, Graham, Jay and Joe make up Irish indie-pop outfit Fallen Lights who were kind enough to join me in studio ahead of their gig in Buskers, full interview is available here. On a side-note, I did ask where the name came from, hoping they would say an indie band name generator on Facebook but instead I got a garbled story about an altercation with a light after a gig. Mmmhmm.. drink taken I’d say!
Hailing from Mullingar and Waterford, the lads count Gavin James and Hudson Taylor among their fans and maintain that everyone in the music industry in Ireland is up for pints and fairly sound. They should know, having supported everyone from Paddy Casey to Ham Sandwich to The Academic and most recently the Blizzards on their comback tour in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin. Comparisons with the likes of Picture This and Walking on Cars are inevitable but Graham maintains Fallen Lights have a more ballsy, in-your-face sound. “it’s like indie-pop with a punch, electric-indie-pop-rock”.
2017 has been a busy one thus far. The new single Pricetag is out now and available for download on itunes. There is also a 5 single EP in the pipeline for later in the year and the lads have just announced details of a headline show in Whelans in Dublin, tickets here. And, as recently as last night have thrown their hat in the ring for Eurovision 2018.
As if that wasn’t enough, they’ve embarked on a 32-county 32-day Mind your Mind tour, with one gig per county per day, in aid of mental health charity Inspire. Inspire are a 32-county mental health service providing a range of supports in the areas of disability and mental health; day support, supported housing, floating support and advocacy services as well as training programmes in third-level colleges and universities across the island of Ireland. This idea of a 32-county service is the main reason behind the epic roadtrip the boyos now find themselves in the middle of.
It’s no secret that mental health is a huge issue in Ireland, especially among young men who, according to the National Suicide Research Foundation are 5 times more likely than their female counterparts to die by suicide. It’s this demographic that Fallen Lights are hoping to tap into and help to break the stigma of mental health. As Graham said, if they can reach out to 1 person at each gig, that’s 32 lives saved over the course of 32 days. Not all superheroes wear capes.
In terms of minding their own mental health, the lads admitted that they are all in a fortunate position of working with their best friends and that others might not be so lukcy. In the close confines of the tour bus it’s hard to keep secrets and if someone is having a bad day, they all step in to lift the mood again. “since we’re practically living in a van for most of the year, we’re kind of forced to talk about our feelings and we act as our own mental health guidance.”
Looking ahead to the future, Fallen Lights have just announced details of a headline gig in Dublin but they won’t be stopping there and are delighted to be featuring in this year’s Electric Picnic line-up. No strangers to the festival circuit, the lads are really looking forward to returning to the stage in Stradbally. “electric is such a great place for everybody to get togehrt. We got a good crowd, not just friends and family people hearing the music from afar and and just walking towards us. We got a good reaction on social media then, we were buzzing so we’re just mad to get back there”
For anyone affected by issues raised, the Samaritans are available 24/7 at 116 123 free of charge.
Check out the full interview here with full tracklisting below. Special thanks to Station Manager Paula Healy who produced.
Making a welcome return to the airwaves this week after a couple of weeks off due to werk. Thankfully, a Minion has been hired and I’m back with a bang.
First Dates, Monday Channel 4, 9PM.
As usual we spent far too much time talking about First Dates. The fact Ian watches this AND has admitted it on live radio is still a source of amusement and obviously blows a serious hole in his Indie Rocker cred. Anyway, without spoiling the whole episode, it was a good ‘un. First up was Sophie and Adam. All I can say is OUCH! And I thought it was all going so well.. Next were the token older couple Meguel and Kevin, neither of whom looked their age and both of whom were sporting some questionable tan. It was all very nice and plesant and Kevin is a serious DILF so the episode is worth watching for that fact alone. Annie and Barry, aside from sharing their names with the main characters in a children’s readers, they also left the country in tears. On a side note, don’t go all XFactor on us Fred. I can’t cope with this level of emotion on a Monday evening! Poshie Masie was back for another go after her previous date ended with her match kindly informing her that he wanted to bang as many women as possible and sew his seed in her (seriously!) Things went much better this week with James, surely a cousin of Jedward with that quiff.
Gig Guide
Hudson Taylor play the Bailey Allen, Wednesday November 16th.
Sample Answer play the Roisin Dubh, Saturday Novemebr 19th. Use the code SAMPLE at check out to get 50% off your ticket (yurt)
Wyvern Lingo play the Roisin Dubh, Saturday, November 26th.
Coronas play Seapoint Ballroom, Wednesday and Thursday, November 23rd and 24th.
And, the last EVER Fight Like Ape Galway gig is next Thursday in the Roisin Dubh, November 24th.
And finally, months and months ahead of time, our Way Too Early Picnic Predictions
Ian reckons Tribe Called Quest, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Foals, Hozier, Blink 182, Two Door Cinema Club, Jamie T, Bloc Party.
And, under strict instructions not to cheat, here are my guesses
Alt J, Jerry Fish, The Eskies, Coldplay, Jenny Greene, MK, King Kong Kompany, David McWilliams, Hanna Wants, The Libertines, Picture This.
Incidentally, EP early bird tickets finish TODAY, so if you haven’t already gotten yours, get them.
You can catch the show in it’s entirety here:
And finally, the tracklist from the show:
1. One More Chance by Bloc Party
2. Inhaler by Foals
3. LoveCats by The Cure
4. Can’t Keep Checking My Pulse by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
5. Higher Love by James Vincent McMorrow
6. Take me Out by Franz Ferdinand
7.Always on my Mind by Pet Shop Boys
8. Good Boy by Sample Answer
9. Corpses by Saint Sister
10. Crouching Bees by Fight Like Apes
11. Ants by Ham Sandwich
12. Come Get Your Love by Redbone
13. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards by Tame Impala
This evening on the HumpDay Happy Hour we were lucky enough to get to chat to the lead singer of Limerick folk-rockers Windings, Steve Ryan or Shane Ryan as I called him for a good thirty minutes before he had the grace to message me and tell me his name was Steve. Cringe.
Anyway!
Having been on the go in one shape or another since 2005 and having gone through more personnel changes than the Sugarbabes we got right to the crux of it with Steve who, fortunately, has been there since the beginning. He began by telling us about starting out on the Windings road (geddit?) as a solo act in 2005. At this stage, he didn’t actually have any other band members so he simply played all the instruments himself. Impressed yet? Following the release of his/their first album he slowly recruited members at a steady rate of about 1 per annum and by 2011, Windings were performing as a 5 piece. However, change was soon afoot. In Steve’s own words;
‘Our guitar player (Liam) left to go do a doctorate in Lisbon and then the new guy (Gary) left but then the old guy came back and now he plays base. He was demoted.’
We touch briefly on their last full length album, I am not the Crow, which, incidentally, was nominated for a Choice Music Award back in 2012. Bet you’re impressed now though? We comiserate, about 4 years too late, and Steve jokes about being bitter and getting the acceptance speech he never got the chance to use tattoo’d on his wrist. According to him their sound has evolved a lot since then.
‘Each album has been different for better or for worse’, he explains, ‘people who loved the first album just openly told me that they didn’t like the second album… this is 11 years later if I was still making the same album, still writing the same songs I’d be pretty miserable.’
The current line up of Steve, Patrick, Mike, Brian and Liam are back with a vengance with their new album Be Honest and Fear Not due for release on September 30th on Out on a Limb Records. Brimful of emotion with some of the most powerful lyrics to date (check out Ambivalance Blues), it’s hard to believe that the entire album was recorded in just 3 days with the help of Tommy McLaughlin (Villagers). This album ebs and flows masterfully covering a whole spectrum of human emotion coupled with some hard hitting lyrics and sweet melodies. In Steve’s own words, ‘I wouldn’t have it any other way’.
Windings are playing a number of dates around the country. You can find all of this info on the Flirt FM Happy Hour Facebook page or indeed on the Windings Facebook page.
Thanks so much for chatting to us Steve and best of luck with it. We’ll be seeing ye in the Roisin Dubh on Nov 10th!
Here’s the tracklist for the rest of the Happy Hour
Last Tuesday, Today FM’s Matt Cooper took his show The Last Word on tour, broadcasting live from Aras na MacLeinn in Galway. Myself and some other Flirt FM staff went along to help out and here’s what went down behind the scenes of Ireland’s most popular drivetime show (besides the Flirt FM Happy Hour, obvs!)
When we first arrived, Matt was sat behind a giant branded Today FM screen like the all-powerful Oz. Did Matt Cooper have stage fright, we wondered? The screen was quickly moved into position behind the man himself, almost as if he could hear our thoughts. Maybe he had more in common with the Great Oz than we realized. Expect something different indeed!
The theme of the show was all things Galway and, in true Galway fashion, Supermacs, the Arts, Connacht Rugby and Buckfast were all hot topics of conversation from the wide range of guests, panelists and contributors on what was truly a jam packed show.
Coinciding with the release of the World University Rankings in which NUIG jumped 22 places and was the only Irish University to move up the rankings, the timing for this live broadcast could not have been better. The beginning of the program saw Matt discussing the implications of cuts to University funding with Caroline Loughnane, Academic Secretary at NUIG and Prof. John Boland, Dean of Research at Trinity College. Next up was Natalie Treacy, Sinn Fein Counsellor in Castleknock talking about the shortage of beds in Beaumont Hospital for those with Acquired Brain Injuries and malignant tumours before talk turned to mobile phone apps that aid safer driving, surely a glaring oxymoron?
As we ushered the audience in to take their seats during the news, word filtered through that all round sound man and owner of Supermacs, Pat McDonagh, had kindly brought along some pizzas and the night was off to a flying start! Comedian Bob Henegan, originally a Mayo man and now a member of the largest ethnic group in Galway kept the crowd well entertained as he discussed with NUIG PHD Psychology researcher Elaine Byrne whether Galway was deserving of it’s “friendliest city” moniker. While Elaine waxed lyrical about the native’s genuine and sincere interest in the “stuff of other people’s lives” and the “evocative and magical experience of the Arts Festival”, Matt was quick to draw comparisons between herself and one-man Galway promotion machine Uachtaran na hEireann, Michael D. Henegan was quick to counter with a sharply observed spiel about the inevitable “mushroom cloud of dreadlocked hippies” descending on Eyre Square each Summer to “find themselves” playing bongo drums and juggling balls. I won’t spoil the ending but it’s well worth listening back to and you can find the link to Matt’s podcast below. Bob Henegan will be back for the Vodafone Galway Comedy Carnival in the Roisin Dubh on 25th October.
The shortage of accommodation, entrepreneurship in Galway and the opening of the Portershed were all up for discussion before the Students v Lecturers quiz (the Lecturers pipped it by a single point) To round out the show, some of the Rabbo Direct Pro12 winning Connacht Rugby team popped in for a grilling following their defeat to the Glasgow Warriors last weekend. Music-wise, Achill singer-songwriter Graham Sweeney and the kinda acapella group the Testostertones hit all the right notes and had the crowd tapping along with them.
As aspiring radio presenters, it was hugely interesting for us to get a glimpse of exactly how much work, research and co-ordination goes into a single show. Listening to the radio it’s easy to forget that there are a whole team of researchers, sound engineers and runners scurrying around like ants to ensure the whole thing ticks over nicely. The Last Word team were slick and efficient and everyone knew precisely what their role was. It was definitely a lesson in organization and I’m sure we all picked up a few tricks that we’ll be bringing home to Flirt FM for future reference.
Thanks to Matt Cooper and all the team at the Last Word for having us!
Flirt FM staff pictured with Matt Cooper, The Last Word on Today FM in NUIG
It’s now t-37 and a half hours to Electric Picnic and it’s offficially time to get excited.
Yop!
Below is the E to P of Electric Picnic, stage times, site map, weather foreceast and a few other nuggets that should streamline the whole weekend. So switch the dial to 101.3 FM and join us for 2 hours of wall to wall EP.
First off, the good folks at the Irish Times have been kind enough to drop some stage times my way and I’ve been good enough to copy and paste them here for you guys…
COMEDY TENT
SATURDAY
20.15-21.00 Dylan Moran
19.35-20.05 Reginald D Hunter
18.55-19.30 The Rubberbandits
18.30-18.50 Aisling Bea
18.00-18.25 Colin Murphy
17.35-17.55 Kevin McGarhen
17.05-17.30 Eric Lalor
16.25-17.00 Deidre O’Kane
15.55-16.20Colm O Regan
15.20-15.50 Dublin Comedy Improv
14.55- 15.15 Danny O Brien
14.40-14.50 Colm Tyrell
14.10-14.35 Damian Clarke
13.45-14.05 Fred Cooke
13.30-13.45 Andrew Stanley
SUNDAY
20.10-21.00 David O’Doherty
19.35-20.05 Abandoman
18.45-19.20 Al Porter
18.15-18.40 Joe Rooney
17.45- 18.10 Chris Kent
17.15-17.40 Patrick McDonnell
16.45-17.10 Karl Spain
16.20-16.40 Ian Coppinger
15.55-16.15 Kevin Gildea
15.25-15.50 Rory O Hanlon
14.55-15.20 John Colleary
14.40-14.50Ashlee Bently
14.15- 14.35 Alison Spittle
13.45-14.10 Gearoid Farrelly
SALTY DOG STAGE
FRIDAY
02.30-3.45 Salty Dog NoStars play Bowie
01.35-02.15 Pete Pamf Sextette
24.25-01.15 Stomptown Brass
23.15-24.00 Third Smoke
22.00-22.55 Swords
20.45-21.35 Bronagh Gallagher Band
19.25-20.15 Five by Five
18.10-19.00 These Charming Men present The Queen is Dead
17.05-17.50 Buffalo Sunn
16.00-16.45 Rob Walsh Band
14.00-16.00 Will Softly
SATURDAY
02.50 – 04.00 Le Galaxie Soundsystem
01.35 – 02.30 RSAG
24.25-01.15 Eskies
23.00-24.05 The Pale
21.55-22.40 Ross Breen
20.40-21.35 Square Pegs
19.30-20.20 Prison Love
18.40-19.10 Gavin Glass
17.25-18.15 The Portside Hootenanny
16.10-17.05 D Riculous Allstars
15.00-15.50 Leila Jane and the Healers
14.00-14.45 Sion Hill
13.00-13.45 Trinitones
12.00-12.45 Love for Arthur Lee presents Forever Changes
SUNDAY
01.35-03.00 Kormac
24.25-01.15 New Secret Weapon
23.20-24.05 Manden Express
22.10-23.00 Mongrel State
20.55-21.50 Cronins featuring Shane MacGowan
19.30-20.20 Mick Pyro & The Dublin Blues Cartel
18.15-19.10 David Kitt
17.10-18.00 Aine Cahill
16.05-16.50 My Fellow Sponges
15.05-15.50 Emma Lou & The Agenda
14.05-14.50 Old Hannah
13.00-13.50 Dr Strangely Strange
12.00-12.45 Aidan Kavanagh‘s Sunday Morning Dishgo
RED BULL TROPICAL GARDEN
FRIDAY
01.30-03.00 Colm K
23.30-01.30 Fish Go Deep
21.30-23.30 Timmy Stewart
18.30-21.30 KC
16.30-18.30 Galactic Beat Club
14.30-16.30 Discotekken
12.00-14.30 Ciara Brady
SATURDAY
23.00-03.00 Mr. Scruff
20.30-23.00 Phil Boyle
18.30-20.30 Nialler9
16.30-18.30 Sim Simma
14.30-16.30 This Greedy Pig
12.00-14.30James Hannan
SUNDAY
01.00-03.00 New Jackson
23.00-01.00 Billy Scurry
21.00-23.00 Stevie G
19.00-21.00 Donal Dineen
16.30-19.00 Hubie Davison
14.30-16.30Mr Ray
12.00-14.30 Dave Fear
JERRY FISH ELECTRIC SIDESHOW
FRIDAY
23.30 Fire Show with RealTa Circus
Past Midnight-01.00 The Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow feat. Jeremy Hickey aka R.S.A.G
01.00-04.00 Kelly Ann Byrne + Billy Scurry
SATURDAY
00.00-04.00 Johnny Moy + Mulljoy + Special Guests
23.00 -00.00 The Strypes
22.00-22.45 Gavin James
21.00-21.45 The Frank & Walters
20.00-20.45 The Academic
10.15-20.00 Special Guest DJ
18.30-19.15 EngineAlley
17.45-18.15 Le Boom
17.00-17.30 Wob
16.1516.45 The Outer Limits
15.30-16.00 Weenz
14.45-15.15 The Vincents
14.00-14.3 Foxjaw
13.15-13.45 Ceili All-Stars
12.00-13.00 House of Yoga feat. Get Down Edits
SUNDAY
01.00-02.00 End of the World Party
00.00-01.00 The Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow
23/00-23.45 The Blizzards
22/00-22..45 Exmagician
21.00-21.45 Bitch Falcon
20.00-20.45 Relish
19.15-19.45 Veda, Regina, Pixie & Sngelica – stars of Witchy Wednesdays @ the George – present Drag, Sex & Rock ’n’ Roll
18.30-19.05 Interskalactic
17.45-18.15 Mariachi San Patricio
17.00-17.30 Barq
16.15-16.45 Orchid Collective
15.30-16.00 Ivy Nations
14.45-15.15 Craig Gallagher
14.00-14.30 White Cholera
13.15-13.45 Absolutely Yo
12.00-13.00 House of Yoga
TRENCHTOWN
FRIDAY
01.00-03.30 Dirty Dubsters w/ Kwasi, Mango, RV, Jago & Deemas j
23.55 -00.45 After The Ibis
22.50-23.40 Gangsters
21.55-22.35 Jafaris
20.10-21.40 Jameire
18.40-20.10 Dub Foundry & Ranking Fox
16.40-18.40 Junior Spesh
14.40-16.40 t woc
SATURDAY
01.30-03.30 Ras Kwame & Serocee
23.25 -01.25 Worries Outernational
22.20 -23.10 Adeniyi Allen Taylor & the Afrobeat Orchestra
21.15-22.05 The Bionic Rats
20.10-21.00 The Hacklers
19.05-19.55 Johnny Pluse & the Stormtroopers of Love
17.20-18.50 Word Up Collective
16.15- 17.05 Skazz
14.30-16.00 Rub A Dub Crew
13.00-14.30 An Galar Dub
SUNDAY
02.00-03.30 Cian Finn
00.45-01.45 Ajo Arkestra
23.30-00.30 Wob! (Sambass Set)
22.15-23.15 Andrew White
21.10-22.00 The Service
20.05-20.55 The Little Beauties
19.00-19.50 Dah Jevu
17.15-18.45 Tom Beary & MC Little Tree
16.20-17.00 Bevin Rimson
14.05-16.05 Tim Timmah
GLOBAL GREEN Village Hall
FRIDAY
01.00 Start The Dance. featuring RobotRock and DJ Dave Caffrey till late
23.20 Phases DJs
22.40 Cinema
21.50 Wastefellow
21.00 Jem Mitchell
20.00 WEAVE
SATURDAY
23.20 Hip Hop Hooray. featuring Re.Raw, Gin n Juice, Rosko til very late..
21.40 Caz9
19.50 Voices Rising. Spoken Word
19.00 Cult Called Man
18.10 The Witch Trials
17.00 Reconnecting With Nature – Panel Discussion
16.15 Swords
15.20 CreamDream
14.30 Anna-Mieke
13.30 Community Energy – Panel Discussion
13.10 Community Power – Screening
12.00 Yoga
SUNDAY
02.15 Ben Live/DJ Set – Breaks, jackin house, trap and dubstep
21.40 Last Train to Skaville. featuring Rub A Dub, Pressure Drop DJs and The Service
20.00 Atlantic – Screening and Discussion
19.15 The Savage Jim Breen
18.20 Black Bank Folk
16.00 The Show Must Go On – Panel Discussion
17.00 Pop Icons. Sing Along Social for GOAL
15.00 David Keenan
14.10 I Am Niamh
13.20 Sarah Buckley
12.00 Yoga
CASA BACARDÍ
FRIDAY
22.00-00.00 Huxley
20.00-22.00 Hercules & Love Affair (Dj Set)
18.00-20.00 Stevie G
16.00-18.00 Stephen Manning
SATURDAY
00.00-02.00 DJ Deece
22.00-00.00 Nicky Siano
20.00-22.00 Horse Meat Disco
18.00-20.00 Krafty Kuts
16.30-18.00 Get Down Edits
15.00-16.40 Groovement Soul
13.30-15.00 Modern Magic
12,30-13.30 4wrd Grad
SUNDAY
22.00-00.00 The Magician
20.00-22.00 Disco Bloodbath
18.00-20.00 A-Skillz
16.00-18.00 Kelly Anne Byrne
14,00-16.00 Ghostboy
12.00-14.00 Christian Homan
Irish music blogger and all around sound man Nialler9 has gone one better and put together a clashfinder which is every inch as good as it sounds tracking all stages across the weekend and identifying those eye watering clashes where harsh decisions have to be made and friendships are won and lost. You can check it out at the link below and you can check him out on the Saturday at 6.30 at the Red Bull Aca
And, because this is a one-stop-shop, here’s the site map which is pretty similar to last year. If it ain’t broke and all that.. One notable addition, however, is a lake that punters will be allowed to swim in which nicely segways onto the next point the weather forecast. If hurricane Gaston hits, the whole site will be a flippin lake. Someone take one for the team and bury a statue of the Infant of Prague in the front garden, stat!
Aaaaand the weather forecast, although it doesn’t make for plesant reading so might be best to just disregard that.
If you’re wondering what to pack, I did a handy “10 things to pack for a Festival” post a little while ago so you can check that out for some #inspo. It’s probably the only piece of writing since my thesis that has been so well researched! HA!
As for myself and Ian, we hope that you all have a wonderful weekend! Here’s the full playlist for this evening’s EP preview show and you can always listen back on Soundcloud. Tune in next week, Wednesday 6-8 PM on 101.3 for the post-Picnic analysis.
While I’m sickened I didn’t manage to make a cameo in the official aftermovie, I have to say what a weekend! I didn’t count the amount of times it was mentioned but with the layout of the stages, the campsites and the massive lineup, Indiependence is rapidly becoming a better Oxegen.
We arrived quite late on the Friday evening so, in spite of all my talking, we missed Saint Sister. There was a mad dash to get the camp set up as quickly as possible and our Girl Guide training certainly paid off (thanks Mom!). The tent was up in jig time and we headed for the Main Stage just in time to hear the end of the Strypes and were in poll position for Bellx1.
Bell x1 playing the Main Stage, Friday.
I have a particularly soft spot for Bellx1 and after everyone absolutely raving about them at the Galway Arts Festival I was really looking forward to seeing them at Independence. They sounded amazing live and I was thrilled to see the first big crowd of the festival out to support a homegrown act. A good chunk of the set was taken up with newer material that fans were less familiar with and lead singer Paul Noonan did a lot of talking inbetween, some of it quite rameish-y, so it was a welcome respite when the band played some of their better knows hits and their Bowie tribute had the place rocking and rolling in fitting fashion. After Bellx1 we headed for the Craft Beer Shed and this proved to be the find of the weekend. It was relatively quiet on Friday but by Sunday evening, word had spread and there was barely room to swing a cat. All that and the fact the rain held off meant we were off to a flying start!
Saturday afternoon was mainly spent BBQing up a storm in the carpark with the Boys Across the Road aka the most prepared campers in Europe. They had a mini-fridge in the Jeep, a portable BBQ and plenty of grub so we were happy out. The only fly in the ointment was security informing us on the way out of the camp (1 PM approx) that there would be no alcohol allowed in after curfew.. at 2PM and none allowed in at all on Sunday. This led to a flurry of frantic phone calls to friends of ours who were on the way and others who were not due until later in the evening. Obviously, music fesitvals are about much more than booze but I thought this was an inconvenience and should probably have been highlighted better before the event to give ticket holders arriving late a fair chance. However, I’m sure that security had their reasons and seeing as the festival went off without a hitch, I’m happy enough with that.
Eva, who tagged along with me to the festival decided that Picture This were playing on Saturday so at 5PM she rounded up our campsite and frog marched us to the Mainstage. It was actually Neon Wolf who were playing (Picture This were Sunday) but the boys were excellent in any case so what harm. We spent the rest of the evening shuffling between Pleasure Beach, Hudson Taylor and Little Hours but when 9 o clock rolled around we were firmly planted in the Main Stage for Walking on Cars and the Kooks. The boys from Dingle were showstopping. The sound was absolutely perfect and I think the majority of the packed to capacity tent had goosebumps for the duration of their set. A tough act to follow but the Kooks were well able, belting out the classics they had the crowd singing along to favourites like Ooh La and She Moves in her own Way. Both were definite highlights for me. We caught a brief part of the Blizzards as we passed and, with the stages winding down, it was time for another trip to the Craft Beer Shed and the 80s v 90s. The place was heaving and we definitely danced our little cotton socks off Saturday night.
Neon Wolf (NOT Picture This) playing the Main Stage, Saturday.
Sunday we were a lot slower out of the blocks and took it fairly handy. We spent the day catching up with friends and the ghosts of festivals past, which is one of my favourite parts of festivals and definitely the reason I spend my weekends trekking around the country. Consensus in the campsite was that the Saturday night had been a resounding success and everyone was looking forward to Picture This and Editors.
I spent a lot of Sunday evening at the Red Bull Stage or the Techno Tent as I rebranded it and had an absolute ball. I also managed to catch then end of the Editors set so I was one happy bunny. In keeping with tradition, we finished the night in the Beer Hall watching a 6ft man with ‘auburn’ hair bust a move to a Michael Jackson mashup and if that doesn’t sum up a great weekend, I don’t know what does.
Overall, we had a smashing weekend. The festival was really well organized, the night security staff were fantastic, as were all of the volunteers. Music-wise, it was great. After 4 years of trying to see Walking on Cars perform I finally ticked them off the list, ideal! Would I change anything? More toilets, but shur don’t I say that after every festival. Well done to all involved, really looking forward to what #Indie17 has in store.
For people who are on the fence about festivalling, Longitude is the ideal opportunity to dip a toe in and see what the buzz is without the hardship of tents, wet clothes and zero sleep.
This year’s line up is surely one of the best yet with acts like Kendrick Lamar, The National, Jamie XX, Fr John Misty, Christine and the Queens and Nina Kraviz all headlining.
Here’s the tracklist from our Longitude preview show:
This August Bank Holiday weekend sees the return of Indiependence Music and Arts Festival to Deer Farm, Co Cork. From humble beginnings as a free festival in the town of Michelstown in 2006, Indiependence has gone from strength and this year’s festival, the tenth installment, sees an increase in capacity from 5,000 to 8,000 as well as a stellar lineup including Editors, Kooks, Walking on Cars, The Strypes, Ash and Hudson Taylor.
So, to continue our series of festival previews, Ian and I decided to do an Indie Special for today’s show. I’ve left the tracklsit below and am delighted to report that it is largely Irish music. It’s great to see local talent being encouraged and rewarded and having this platform to showcase their talent. Acts I will definitely be targetting are: Walking on Cars, who I have yet to see live, The Blizzards (total fangirl) Saint Sister, Wyvern Lingo and Picture This.
Tier 3 tickets are still onsale for €119 + BF and, if last year is anything to go by, it will be a sell out so get on it!
downtherabbitehole 