Thursday, November 3, 2011

EP 2011

EP 11, 2-5 Sep, was looming all summer and now it's come and gone again. I was lucky enough to get to go again this year. Kevin was back after a year's hiatus and there were a few others going along too. On Friday afternoon we arrived on site as late as I have ever arrived. I was very disappointed to see that the quiet camping had further evolved from last year, where it was one side of a roped off walkway and no longer hidden away at exit 2. This year they went another level where the quiet camping was a corner of the Andy Warhol field, a few signs up but no demarcation. Walking in as well one noticed there was no metal walkways this year, clearly the organisers were making cut backs.

Friday

4 hours from leaving the house in Athlone we were heading into the site having somehow found room for 2 tents and a gazebo beside our mates and raised the flag. I did not have a huge check list but had definitely some must not miss acts, P.J Harvey being the only must see on Friday. I would not have minded seeing Cry Before Dawn on the Cosby stage. I had been a big fan of theirs in the late 80s and remember bumping into them on the quays in Dublin in 89 and getting an album signed. It would have been a nostalgic show, I'm not that big into those.

Since really getting into their 2nd album, Echoes, early in the Naughties, I had not paid attention to The Rapture and had kind of forgotten about them. Straight into it at the picnic! It was all new stuff to me but so good. Afterwards at home I found out their 4th album, "In the Grace of our love" and first in 5 years was about to be released. Listening to it now their superb life picnic vibe comes flooding back.

We got up front for PJ. She came on in black with this big headpiece, very Bjorkish. Strangely I had not picked it up when it came out and had recently picked up the CD for a fiver on Amazon new? It arrived that morning and we gave it the first play in the car on the drive up to the show. It was straight into Let England Shake, like on the album. And she sounded awesome, delivering a sensational show.

Going with the flow I hung around for the next act on the main stage, another New York band, Interpol. Also having 4 albums, I had not checked them out since their 2nd, Antics. The show was very enjoyable. The rain came in heavy a while after Interpol who finished after midnight. The only destination was Body & soul main stage were Donal Dinnen was doing his annual Friday night slot til 3. This year it had special significance with recent news that his show, Here Comes the Night, or rather the newer, Small Hours (see archives), has been canned and will terminate in December. His Parish collective sounded great. We had a brief word afterwards and he liked hearing the fact that I used to record his shows and distribute them as mp3 downloads to friends around the world.

Eventually trying to find the tent I had to give up and ended up hanging with these guys who had an old school ghetto blaster and a rack of burned cds. Drinking their beer we got talking music and ended up putting on Stone Roses live at Blackpool. Sometime later I noticed it was dawn and there across the way was my half collapsed flag marking the tent. Little did I know that in a matter of weeks I would have have a ticket for a stone roses reunion show in Manchester!

  • The Rapture - Electric Arena
  • P.J Harvey - Mainstage
  • Interpol - Mainstage
  • Donal Dineen's Parish - Body & soul
Saturday

Having stayed up til after dawn Friday Saturday was a late start so I had missed morning rain. I was amazed there was no mud after the downpours the night before. I was gutted to find out our mates in the tent beside had been robbed, money stolen while in their tent asleep. The lame ass security were of no help, saying they would tell the night crew when it was reported to them. We heard stories of others around being robbed as well, their was lots of it going on. Another lad we talked to had his wrist band cut off as he slept and it was 2 years in a row for him someone having done a dump in his tent the previous year and wiped their ass with his t. I was robbed myself at the festival in 2009. The organisers must stamp out this scumbag element before a classic irish festival suffers.

I had printed out Jim Carroll's 10 acts to catch post, with only 1 on the list being very much on my radar, Flying Lotus, having dropped one of the vinyl releases of the year, the rest were unknown names to me. Body and soul has seriously matured at this point, with lots of permanent installations now, where first it was just the main (former chill) stage. Wandering over for a late afternoon gig, it was time to catch one of Jim Carroll's (JC) tips, irish band Tieranniesaur - I'll keep an eye on them. Over at the main stage James Blake had started . His debut album has lovers and haters which is easily understandable, anyway his recorded talent was too big too dismiss for me. I was very surprised he was on the main stage when I saw the lineup. I did not expect the live show to be so outstandingly good. Limit to your love was amazing live, spine chilling.

I got a nice surprise call from my mate John in London, whom I had spent Glastonbury 2005 with. I was a little concerned about how Arcade Fire would be outside having only seen them indoors every time. He had only seen them outside and as recent as Hyde park that summer and said they were amazing so I was getting psyched for the show.

It was time for a first hack session, we tried to setup where we could hear sound from one tent and not bleed with another, the background music was OMD. My little Bandit turned out to be an excellent footbag, of course we were blaming the footwear rather than the lack of skills, but we did manage to impress ourselves even a wee bit.

Before Arcade it was another JC recommendation, The Jezebels, they were only down for a 30 minute set 9.15-9.45, perfect with Arcade due on at 10. Hands down it was the best 30 minutes of the festival, this Sydney band with a punked up Kate Bush on vocals were astounding! Crystal clear voice and she could do absolutely anything with it with loads of stage energy and funky groovin' band.

I am a big fan of Death in Vegas and have not managed to see them live, but there was no question of missing Arcade Fire for them. When I came home I read up and found out that they just released their 5th album and first in 7 years - Trans Love Energies. Public Enemy were clashing too. Nice vibe for Arcade, an air of expectation from everyone, also it turns out from the band, as Vim tells us that they were afraid that the crowd vibe would not be as good as before. Of course this time was different, 05 was a time and place thing for everyone as well, but this was really good and they gave it everything.

Flying Lotus clashed with the Chemical Brothers but it was no contest...he's the nephew of Alice Coltrane and a very exciting talent. He had just arrived in Ireland for the first time and was totally sober, not having his weed he said. He was bouncing as he worked his dj set, himself and public enemy were the only black people in Ireland he told us. Flying Lotus finished up his Little Big Tent set at 2 but the night was young, we headed back to the camp for supplies and then out to the Salty Dog where a crowd was building, we waited and it turned out it was for Rubberbandits. It was jam packed and we gave the lively lads, who had "a professional mc" with them a song before we moved on. Into Body & Soul and what turned out to be a super picnic memory, some deadly sounds was coming from the pit and we were hanging up on the Zen garden side. Later after some detective work I figured out it was GhostPoet throwing down a dj set in the 3-4am slot, there was some wicked drum n bass sounds and some unexpected late night high stepping. It turned out right beside us was a place just closing up about 3.30, and they were selling hot poitin, perfect late night dancing tonic!

  • Tieranniesaur - Body & Soul
  • James Blake - Mainstage
  • The Jezabels - Cosby
  • Arcade Fire
  • Flying Lotus - Little Big tent
  • Ghostpoet - Body and soul
Sunday

I got Sunday's ticket around the campsite and JC was big upping this pop up cafe in mindfield for breckie. Exactly what the doctor ordered, but first it was time to call into the hot tubs and see what was available. First slot left on Sunday was 10-11pm and only one left. I had seen Pulp back in the early 90s and even a great show at Lowlands in 01, they were a time and space band for me and I was not interested in revisting them, there show started at 10.30. We booked the tub, it could fit 4, 5 would be grand. We were at the pop-up a little late I guess as they had run out of stuff but the substitutes were top notch, but it was not before Kevin got caught in the down pour queueing for coffee next door while I waited in the dry at a table clothed table for our food. In the mindfield I managed to bump into Roddy Doyle reading an unpublished short story in the Mindfield about these mates of sorts kind of accidentally gate crashing a Spanish wedding. I noticed that Irvine Welsh was on at 5.30, not to be missed.

First up music wise was another JC recommendation, Moths, an 18 year old lad from Kildare, I'd love to hear more of his twiddleing. Cast of Cheers were mentioned by JC in the ticket as another Irish band to watch. Kev & I caught their show, decent stuff, good sounds. The flash rain had gone, there still was no mud and the grass was dry! Time for some afternoon hacky. One of my new hacky sacks, the bandit was turning out to be deadly, a 32 panels job filled with plastic pellets, even us bumblies occasionally looked like we knew what we aere doing playing with it. A 3 kids family joined, lead in by the girl child in wellies who got a few touches in. The Japanese Popstars doodlded away in the Electric Arena. A long hair joined us and pulled in his more reluctant 2 mates. This boy had the rollback pickup going, it was his party piece. Kev picked it up quick. We stopped and started trying to find synergy in the new group, a couple of close double hacks. And then it clicked, we caught the flow, and kept that wee synthetic bag up...we finished with 26 phases. Arms aloft the long hair backed off and we all satisfyingly reflected.

Time to skip over to Mindfield and catch Irvine Welsh. He is living in the states now where he has moved from Dublin, and read from a new story he is working, "Road Trips In America", in an American accent, different nationalities but recognisable Welsh characters. He spoke after about Skagways the Trainspotting prequel he is still trying to wrap up and is sick off, but it will be out next Easter. He talked about Filth starting filming in January.

Time for And So I watch you from Afar at the cosby stage. After a bursting tent last year I was surprised it was not full. There were less people around today, did a load of people have free tickets and head home I wonder, what about the day ticketers, I know there was at least a field of new cars today. Great energy lads. I was building for The Drums, one of my must sees for the weekend, I'd fallen in love with their infectious sound and had yet to see them live. Their show was one of the highlights of the whole weekend, catch them live if you can.

It was perfect timing for some boundless bathing. The hot shower beforehand was sensational and then it was a wood fired dutch hot tubs in a quiet corner, absolutely mint, it will stick a long time in the mind. Wondering over to Mogwai, I could not believe the empty tent, I don't recall Sunday night slots having this problem in previous years. Mogwai never disappoint though.

  • Moths - Body & Soul
  • Cast of Cheers - Cosby
  • ASIWYFA - Cosby
  • The Drums - Crawdaddy
  • Mogwai - Electric Arena