On The Record

Bring out the Oxegen tanks!

July 14, 2008 @ 7:20 am | by Jim Carroll

Seeing as On The Record spent the weekend raving in Serbia, we were as far removed from what was going on at Oxegen 2008 as it was possible to get.

We’ve had a heads-up about some of the fun and games via the Oxegen coverage in today’s paper, reviews over at State, updates (OK, one update - she had other things to do) from UnaRocks and faster-than-the-speed-of-light reviews and blogs from the NME (including Steve Cummins’s post about “the replacement frontman of a famed Derry City punk band” throwing an after-hours strop in a hotel).

But we really want to hear from the folks who seem to always know more than anyone else about this kind of thing. Cue, the On The Record readers. How was it for you? Was it, as billed, the “greatest rock’n'roll weekend of the year”? Or was the real highlight of the weekend Tipperary’s smashing Munster hurling final victory yesterday afternoon? The floor is yours.

50 Comments »

July 14, 2008
9:08 am

It was alleged sexual-assualt-tastic, apparently.

July 14, 2008
9:27 am

Great bands; average festival. I haven’t been in a few years (EP is more my bag as I becoem increasingly middle aged/class), but the line-up was too good to resist this year. Still, once I got down there i remembered why I stopped going: head-the-balls everywhere, random violence and unneccessary aggro, the most idiotic and mean-spirited stewards around, and camp sites that resemble the partition scene from Ghandi.
Still: Hot Chip, Justice, Vampire Weekend, Go Team, Aphex Twin, MGMT- I’d trade a few holistic head massgaes, humus wraps and the aura of self-satisfaction at the EP for just a few of those acts……

Comment by Gucchi Piggy

July 14, 2008
10:18 am

Poor Jaguar Love, I guess Oxegen wasn’t ready for their octave-hopping, squealing, paint-stripping intricacies. They deserve better. Super album too.

Comment by Fiona

July 14, 2008
10:51 am

I’m afraid ‘middle-aged musos in late night Radiohead argument’ is hardly front page material Jim.

My highlight of the weekend is Ian O’Doherty’s column in this morning’s Indo. I know it isn’t music related but it is actually rather amusing.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/ian-odoherty/having-children-is-a-responsibility-not-a-right-1432370.html

[To synopsise, Ian is against state interference in the lives of its citizens but still believes poor people should be sterilised and sent to live on an island far away lest they disturb his cigarette breaks.]

Unfortunately, the bauld Iano seems to not quite have a handle on what the word ‘responsibility’ actually means, as used in his headline. In fact, it means exactly the opposite of what he thinks it means.

And before you blame the sub, read the piece the whole way through: it’s his own usage. Now THAT’S funny!

Comment by Brian

July 14, 2008
11:09 am

Usually avoid Oxegen but the line up did it for me so off I went to Friday and Saturday.
Friday felt nasty and while at Interpol I came across quite a bit of random agro. Not at me but in general. Also an insane amount of under 18s. I was standing next to 4 kids who looked about 15 getting fucked up during the beginning of Aphex Twin (which I swiftly left as it was generic techno shite). Saturday was more like it with absolutely great sets from Yeasayer, Hot Chip and The National. I came across some horribly security guys who tore some kids new ass holes for smoking inside the giant tents. 1 of which was tattooed with SS symbols on his neck. Top drawer.
Having been to Hurricane in Germany last year, Oxegen was a sad reminder that a large chunk of the younger crowd in this country are on the wrong side of the tracks.
Well I didn’t get sexually assaulted and I really enjoyed lots of bands….. so i’m happy enough.

Comment by david

July 14, 2008
11:39 am

Fantastic vibe at this years festival, usual drunk kids bumping into each other but other than everyone seemed to have been having a good time. `Sat down with some friends outisde the Stop Climate Chaos tend for a while to watch the world go by and was surprised how calm it all was. Lack of rain and a good dollop of sunshine obviously makes a big difference.

Superbly organised festival given the environment and top marks on the traffic management.

If only we get the Irish trait of drinking till we fall over …

Comment by Brian

July 14, 2008
11:50 am

Just went for the day on Saturday and it turned out great.
Some great performances, Yeasayer were brilliant, as were My Morning Jacket and The National. Richard Hawley put on a fantastic set even if there was barely anyone there.
REM put on a brilliant show, with a nice mix of the hits, some new stuff and a couple of more obscure tracks like Ignoreland and Fall On Me.

Seasick Steve was the biggest surprise for me though. The tent was absolutely jammed, and ‘Seasick Steve’ chants rang out before, during and after the concert. Fantastic show and the crowd were great. Didn’t realise he was so popular here.

Comment by Neil

July 14, 2008
11:53 am

Have to agree with David on a number of things
First of all, Aphex Twin was a bit generic techno shite, wasn’t it? I left after half an hour to head to the Go Team instead (who were great) so it may have gotten better in the second half.

About security, one of the guards squared up to my girlfriend for no reason and looked like he was going to punch her til I interjected.

You’re dead right about the amount of wired children around too; is it an over 18s event? Anyway, don’t want to sound too grumpy, there was a lot of great music, i just don’t understand why every scauldy on this Island seems to gravitate to Kildare once a year, it’s like Mecca for Madjyokes.

Comment by Gucchi Piggy

July 14, 2008
11:59 am

I was genuinely taken aback by how well it was organised. It’s taken them a few years but they’ve nailed it now. Plenty of toilets, food stalls, clean water etc. Campsites were better organised this year – more space between them to walk around and less like shanty towns. My mate’s car got broken into and I heard about the “llegal sexual encounters” but there was the usual ratio of knobheads, scumbags, gaa shirts, indie hipsters and fat drunk girls – promoters can’t really control the clientele.

How many people were stung with the €8 pints? Seemed like there was a lot of thirsty people hunting for spare cups last night. Great idea all the same.

Personal favourite act for me was Lightspeed Champion. Any band who plays the Star Wars themed tune mid set is splendid. in my book.

Was it my imagination or was the sound randomly cutting out for RATM last night?

Great weekend – didn’t want it to end.

Comment by Sean D

10.

July 14, 2008
12:06 pm

Probably the best Oxegen I have been to.
Line-up was so-so good, it was impossible not to have a good time.
Everyone I met was good natured too.
8/10

Comment by Pedro

11.

July 14, 2008
12:33 pm

I enjoyed myself this year, I was only there daytime Saturday and Sunday but apart from the usual drunken knobs you’d see in any town or village square in Ireland, the crowd seemed fairly relaxed and having fun.
Seasick Steve was the highlight for me.

Comment by sarah

12.

July 14, 2008
1:13 pm

non-music: One of the best parts of this year’s Oxegen was that there was less general hassle than last year. There was NO traffic at ALL travelling down or back all three days (which I did. I’m too old to enjoy camping at Oxegen); wi-fi (at last) in the media area made it far easier to file copy and send pics; I didn’t see one large queue for a portaloo over the weekend; the eco-cups thing did mean there was less plastic pint container-related rubbish around the site; I only got fucked out of it by a security guard once (while trying to get the Tribune photographers into the photo pit for Kings of Leon. The guy was a complete prick and totally aggressive, but this was the only bad encounter I had with security over the weekend, which is a record for me.)

music: Holy Fuck, Fight Like Apes, REM, Hot Chip, Battles all great. Kings of Leon have some really excellent songs, but they are a bit of a snorefest live and as a headline act. It’s all about them. Takers, not givers.

Yes, there were loads and loads of drunken kids, people passing out, pissing, vomitting, mad out of it. But hey, this is Ireland, and that’s the age profile the festival attracts remember? However, the quality of the line-up and the addition of the Green campsite rasied the age profile quite a bit.

The arena is still ridiculously cramped. And until that’s sorted out, and they get space to create ‘areas’ rather than ‘a tent’ and ‘a stage’, it won’t be an incredibly enjoyable festival experience in comparison to other festivals that make more of an effort on the suroundings. That said, I had a great weekend.

Comment by unarocks

13.

July 14, 2008
1:25 pm

P.S. Highlight was either Holy Fuck (who made the Whelans show a distant memory in my head). The crowd were going crazy for them. They were told their time was up and to get off the stage but they were like “no, we have four more minutes left” and then they broke into “Lovely Allen” which sounded so fucking awesome.

Had I stayed longer and not pissed off to Vampire Weekend then Yeasayer would have been my favourite. They started their set off with a song I hadn’t heard before (definitely not on the album) and it’s the best tune I have heard from them. They are so tight as a band. Great stuff.

Comment by Pedro

14.

July 14, 2008
1:31 pm

MGMT started off at a bit of a limp, but after they halted the show, for those young ‘uns climbing up the towers, they blasted the place out of it.

Camille O’Sullivan was wondrous, the Loose were brilliant, bit of Vampire Weekend were great, the Ting Tings nearly blew the top off the tent, The Raconteurs were a bit disappointing, Interpol were bleedin’ massive.

My only problem was the bint who screamed in my ear during REM, and asked did i scare ya? Eh, yeah you bloody did.

Comment by raptureponies

15.

July 14, 2008
1:35 pm

Yeah I had a great time, was there on Friday & Saturday, didn’t camp. Was too lazy to head back yesterday which I slightly regret. Perhaps I’m getting old.

There are some bloody knobs out there alright, but it can’t be helped if Leaving Cert students and frantic techno loving farmers decide to descend.

My highlight was Deus by a mile, can’t wait for their full set in Tripod in Oct.

Comment by MixTapePR

16.

July 14, 2008
1:52 pm

Went as a day tripper on Friday and Saturday. Have to agree with others here in that the organisation has improved a lot. The site was well laid out. Caught the last two tracks from Blood Red Shoes, they were fantastic and am sorry i didn’t get to see their full set.
Seasick Steve was amazing, wandered in for a look and would travel to see him again. Ting Tings and Vampire Weekend played great sets to a packed Green Room as did the Manics with a cover of Rihanna’s “umbrella”.
Kings Of Leon deserved their headline slot on Friday night.
No q’s for food and drink and the park and ride worked very well.

Comment by southbhoy

17.

July 14, 2008
2:24 pm

Completely forgot DEUS were even playing; that’s another regret to add to Saturday’s ill-advised kebab and camping in the staff area so….

Have to agree with folk about the organisation alright. Traffic was a breeze, and there didn’t really seem to be q’s forming for jacks/booze until the Sunday night.

I reckon ‘frantic techno loving farmers’ sums up my biggest gripe really. Which probably says more about my cloistered suburban existence and ignorance of the fact that scumbags aren’t a Dublin phenomenon than it does about the festival. Funny, my memories are becoming more positive as my epic hangover fades…

Comment by Gucchi Piggy

18.

July 14, 2008
2:30 pm

Only made it down for a few hours on the Sunday but all seemed nice and calm.

Caught Eddie grant on the main stage….perfect opener for a Sunday morning. Subways over on the O2 stage were loud. Not sure if Rock n Roll Queen justified 10 minutes since the original single is clocks in at a sweet 2.30 (ish).

Does it offend you, yeah? in the dance ‘hall’ were the most impressive. Look forward to catching them over in Reading when they’ll be much higher on the bill!

And then I had to head back to work…

Comment by le Catch

19.

July 14, 2008
2:47 pm

Am I the only one who thought that the ting tings weren’t up to much? Having seeing Concerto earlier on in the day perhaps my expectations for the drummer was set to high but with the exception of the singles, particularly THAT song, I didn’t feel the engaged the audience at all?

Overall though, I thought it was very well organised. Was my first year doing media stuff for it for CLUAS and didn’t encounter a problem getting access to anything except the car park on the Sunday when I had to give the security guard supervisor a lift to the gate to get them to let me park.

Highlights for moi were FKOS, Holy Fuck, Hot Chip, Roisin Murphy and the Chemical Brothers lighting technician.

Comment by keynotes

20.

July 14, 2008
3:08 pm

i was there for the friday and sunday. really good time. those who rocked it were
aphex twiin-dj set
the rascals and white denim-although a really small crowd for both
roisin murphy-10 costume changes
battles
rage against the machine
band of horses
mgmt-mahem in the tent, why they were in the pet sounds tent when republic of loose were on the 02 stage a little bit later was beyond me

Comment by petee

21.

July 14, 2008
4:02 pm

I got a chuckle out of that thread title (especially coming from a Tipp man)

Comment by Peter81

22.

July 14, 2008
4:10 pm

Organisation was excellent, very fluid, no hassle from security or traffic. There didn’t even seem many madferrets around.
Battles rocked my world. Bloody fabulous.
Loved Interpol’s set but would prefer their own gig.
Other faves were Echo and the Bunnymen, Tricky, My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses, Fight Like Apes and C O D E S.
Cajun Dance Party left me cold. And RATM were only good for That Song. Shame…

Comment by Naomi

23.

July 14, 2008
4:17 pm

Day tripped on Saturday. Didn’t expect so much knicker-flashing at Camille O’Sullivan but was very enjoyable, even if she did freak me out by doing “Misery’s the river of the world” by Crazy Ol’ Tom. The Music were pretty revved up too. The Tings Tings, Vampire Weekend, Panic at the Disco (should there be an exclamation mark there somewhere?), Ida Maria didn’t make it and was replaced with Liam Finn (not bad), Richard Hawley was lovely and REM were just so good that I went home after that - even The Prodigy bursting into flames onstage would have been somewhat anticlimactic after REM’s set….

And just for the record, bloke wearing security vest # 6635, you were more than a little heavy handed removing the guy from the pit during the REM slot. He wasn’t causing you any trouble, just not moving quickly enough for you.

My Oxegen go-cup is now sitting next to my Electric Picnic go-cups from last year and my Mardi Gras go-cups from 2003 - nothing new or revolutionary about go-cups. Don’t (always) believe the hype.

Comment by Colette C.

24.

July 14, 2008
4:17 pm

Thought this year was a vast improvement on any other year I’ve been to (which include every festival but last year’s, due to tent-burning in 2006 which put me right off). Organisation, traffic, etc, all a dream. Portaloos clean in the mornings, stewards who were all polite and friendly (the ones I encountered), clean campsites, etc.
You’ll get a mix of people anywhere, and as far as scumbags go, there were the same amount at Oxegen that you’ll see anywhere, and, depending on your definition of the word “scumbag”, they have every right to be there. “Head-the-balls”, assuming this refers to people with very heavy Dublin accents who might possibly wear tracksuits and consider pyjamas acceptable daywear, are just people, albeit with a longer rap sheet than some others.
The most frightening aspect was the fake tan; Sunday morning saw my neighbours spray each other liberally with the stuff, rub it in until they resembled marbled wallpaper, and trot off, hair backcombed to within an inch of its life, to jump in puddles and such larks.
Ting Tings were great; Battles too; Interpol were a snoozefest (which seems to be the general consensus of everyone but the die-hard fan); MGMT were great in the second half, but everyone wanted to murder an idiotic girl who climbed up the whole tower, and would not only have died but would have killed at least two others, had she fallen; Róisín Murphy was AMAZING (highlight for me); Band of Horses were great, really good, really atmospheric; Hot Chip were good but the crowd was a bit drugged for my liking; Beers were expensive and we all know Heineken is gross anyway; the Bacardi tent was amazing and the Electric Picnic area (complete with bongos) was a success.
All in all, 9 out of 10 - one mark deducted for lack of sunshine.

Comment by Rosemary

25.

July 14, 2008
4:46 pm

Highlights for me were Aphex Twin, Hot Chip, Holy Fuck, Vampire Weekend, The Verve, MGMT, We Are Scientists and Roisin Murphy.
Over all it was a well organised festival.The security were quite hostile and they nearly beat the head off some young lad who hopped over the railings to get into see Aphex Twin.
The amount of under 18’s there was scary but I ignored them so I didn’t care in the end. I agree with you Petee on the MGMT being thrown in the Pet Sounds tent when Republic Of Loose were put on the O2 stage..anyway that’s a small gripe but my major annoyance was the people who scaled the scaffolding in the tent during their set..you people cost us at least 2 extra MGMT tracks live..IDIOTS!

Comment by Dani

26.

July 14, 2008
6:15 pm

8 euro pints? really? pints of champagne or what was in them?

Comment by Vince

27.

July 14, 2008
6:25 pm

The climbing girl: http://bp2.blogger.com/_w8GRX6X2t2Q/SHtbub1w91I/AAAAAAAADf8/d_AdRILSuU4/s1600-h/girl.jpg

Comment by unarocks

28.

July 14, 2008
7:11 pm

Good stuff people, the two days I went were the business as pointed out on another thread, and, on reflection it goes to show that even an 80,000 (or whatever the capacity is) festival doesn’t need 8 stages. A good few decent acts suffered from very poorly attented gigs. I walked past the O2 on Saturday a few times and the acts on (The Hosepipes??? were one) i’m told, were only shite. Whats the point so many bands 4/5 stages with a better schedule each day could have made it a real cracker of a weekend.

The crowd have never really bothered me at any festival, they provide a bit of humour during the day, seeing a 18 year old wrote off at 12 in the afternoon doing his best moves to his mobile ringtone is kind of funny. Then agian we were all a genius at 17…. It was €8 for a pint, until you broutgh back the tumbler to the bar, then you get one for a fiver, and so on.

Phone wreckers are idiots…

Comment by Fred Titmus

29.

July 14, 2008
9:18 pm

music was pretty great though, i thought KOL absolutely owned the stage on Friday. Disappointed not to catch White Denim but couldn’t tear myself away from the Kings. REM did exactly what they do so well, dEUS were criminally under-attended (as was the o2 stage in general), Band of Horse were great and new album tracks are promising but they suffered a lacklustre crowd, Raconteurs rocked, Rage agsainst the Machine were vigorous as you’d expect but didn’t get me going til Klling in the Name of at the very end, Manics were superb on Saturday night and did inspired covers of umbrella ad pennyroyal tea. Tings are far too big already to be in a tent but it made for a brilliant atmosphere for those who got in.

Oh, and the Counting Crows stole about seven minutes of my life that I can never get back. Plodding bastards

Comment by Andrew

30.

July 14, 2008
9:31 pm

€8 pint included €3 deposit on the cup - a good idea in fairness as there was a lot less litter and it makes you drink less as you tend to get 1 at a time and have to wait for your mate to drink up to get a round in! Was anyone here the other person who went to see Paul Heaton?!

Comment by Alan M

31.

July 14, 2008
9:36 pm

As one of those under 18’s, I didn’t see a problem really. Remarkably little agro around the place, saturday nights are far worse.
Favourites were Vampire Weekend, MGMT (second half), The Wombats, The Editors and Justice. I was a bit disappointed with Kings of Leon and Rage, and happily surprised by Scouting For Girls
Overall, brilliant

Comment by Gearoid

32.

July 14, 2008
10:25 pm

@ 9, yeah, the sound did cut out during RATM, several times

Good set other than that, even tho I was dragged out of the pit for jumping around by a coked up, super agro #6609 rent-a-knack

Comment by philapousis

33.

July 15, 2008
12:09 am

Thanks for all the comments so far people (and big thanks to Shane for keeping an eye on the on The Record shop as I travelled back across Europe - I knew we’d get him back blogging somehow).

Comment by Jim Carroll

34.

July 15, 2008
2:01 am

Its funny that so many people are saying the same thing about MGMT’s set - that only the second half was good. Saw them at Optimus Alive in Portugal on Thursday and they were really poor for the first 3 or 4 songs but they were excellent after that. Rage against the Machine were fantastic, as were Vampire Weekend, though a couple of the newer songs were mediocre enough so I really hope theyre not a one-album wonder. Missed Roisin Murphy and the Gossip but the Mrs said they were both awesome, especially the Gossip. Bob Dylan needs to hang up his touring boots.

Comment by P&M

35.

July 15, 2008
2:02 am

I agree with all the Yeasayer praise, empty tent was depressing though… then they mentioned vampire weekend were in the green room and a batch of people left instantly.

REM played Drive, that alone made their set amazing… despite all the annoying pleas for “the moon song”(same at echo).

I had intended to go to Paul heaton, who’d he clash with?

dEUS was mainly attended by Ben Folds fans… was great how they won most them over though.

Stranglers were surprisingly great too… that bass.

actually most things were great.

Comment by B'dum

36.

July 15, 2008
8:39 am

P&M @ 34 - I’d be asking a few questions of your Mrs - the Gossip did not play, they’re playing the Electric Picnic

Brian @ 4 - “I’m afraid ‘middle-aged musos in late night Radiohead argument’ is hardly front page material Jim.”

Please point out to me where this was “front page material”, dude

Overall, good to see that people have FINALLY had positive overall Oxegen vibes. I’ve heard plenty of good mentions about the traffic management plan - I know, I know, it’s nerdy but it has to be done right otherwise you end up with Babs all over again - and general organisation.

As for the drunken kids and (my personal favourite) “frantic techno loving farmers”, welcome to Ireland, folks. It is part of what we are and it’s not Oxegen or MCD’s fault no matter how much you might want to blame them. Walking around Dublin late last night, for instance, there were plenty of drunken idiots on the streets who didn’t need Oxegen as an excuse to get lairy and messy.

Comment by Jim Carroll

37.

July 15, 2008
9:21 am

Great weekend. Surprising lack of mud was an added bonus although the addition of sunshine was very welcome until i got burned.
Battles were truly amazing even though the guitar climax of tonto was a bit quiet. Sugababes, Cat Power and MSTRKRFT were great too on friday.

Holy Fuck and Yeasayer back to back was one of the highlights of the weekend. The Ting Tings were so much fun even from the very back. R.E.M were as good as expected. I was one of those people singing the mandolin solo! The Prodigy were fantastic. It was hilarious watchin all the curious zutons fans who stayed for a gander retreat after the 1st song.

White Lies were a great way to start the day on sunday. They plated an epic set to a really small crowd. Cant wait to see them again. MGMT played the best 3 songs in a row i heard all weekend. The Raconteurs rocked my socks and Chemical Bros whole set was great. I especially enjoyed the light show which at points distracted me completely from the music.

9/10. Goddam sunburn

Comment by Vincent

38.

July 15, 2008
10:45 am

Less muck than ever before, seemed to be a bit better organised, although there were still the usual yobs! One thing that was disappointing though was the scheduling. MGMT and Ting Tings could not fit enough in the tents, Hold Steady were on far too early.

The National were excellent as were Vampire Weekend, and Glasvegas. They should be massive!

I’ve some of the setlists up at my blog, as well as some nice pictures and a video or two:
http://swearimnotpaul.blogspot.com

Comment by Ronan Hunt-Murphy

39.

July 15, 2008
11:44 am

Must say i was blissfully impressed with this years festival after giving it a miss the last two years because of the festivals notorious aspects.

The campsites were well planned with a few more food stalls than usual to pick from. The acts were on the ball. Seasick steve was loved by all and he gave the love back. Richard Hawleys set was exquisite. The Prodigy was insane with Maxim calling on all the “Irish Warriors” to rise up. RATM was a hoot.

It didnt feel like the usual marathon of a walk as it usually is which was nice.

The sound of the main stage at times and the O2 stage all the time i was there was a bit meh…at times the O2 stages sound was warped (i.e for the Racontuers)

the place had the usual louts of the country and i still believe GAA jerseys should be banned at festivals but all in all the crowd was quite pleasant

if the lineup is anywhere as good as this years i will be there….and if the picnic lineup dpoesnt improve i shall be going abroad for my festival no.2 of summer 2009

Comment by davemor

40.

July 15, 2008
12:47 pm

Jim @ 36. She saw them in Portugal on Saturday night.

Comment by P&M

41.

July 15, 2008
12:57 pm

I got down on Saturday and thought the campsite set up was good this year. Also caught a good bit of great music (I never saw the Irish band Dry County before, and thought they were great. Then they said they were splitting up? Shucks) However my festival experience was completely soured by some absolutely atrocious behaviour from the security staff. Outside the silent disco at 4am Monday morning a completely sober mate of mine was shoved onto his rear end and called “a faggot” by a security guard who he dared ask about getting into the thing. The guy was frankly terrifying and I know I can’t say for sure but looked like he was on something. Also he mate another security guard in full uniform (aged in his late 30s I’d reckon) was busy getting off into a 17/18 year old girl who seemed completely wrecked on pills. People were just looking on open mouthed. The other thing that completely surprised me was what seemed to be a systematic and well organised system of drug dealing across the red campsite by an outfit of real shady feckers. Nobody is an angel at festivals and people bring recreational substances to these things for sure, but this was mad. I got offered coke (sweetener probably) 3 times on Sunday morning, and the guy doing it was just doing the rounds from tent to tent in full view of the security. No toilet hassles though, good vibes from people even the madoutofits, so yeah good in many aspects apart from the security.

Comment by gardenhead

42.

July 15, 2008
12:59 pm

Aphex Twin definite highlight of the weekend. Tricky a really pleasant surprise, Holy Fuck great on the Saturday. Battles a big disappointment, sound was terrible, not their fault really. Festival good overall, vibe not as friendly as just about any other festival actually, but them’s the breaks with all that teenage testosterone in the air, can’t argue with the music.

Comment by Trev

43.

July 15, 2008
2:13 pm

P&M - apologies, that’s my fault for speed-reading your comment. Saw the Gossip on Fri in Serbia and they were great too.

Comment by Jim Carroll

44.

July 15, 2008
2:42 pm

Her gardenhead, Dry County are not splitting up really. They are changing their name and moving musically in a different direction is all. So if you enjoyed them Sunday then you won’t be disappointed when they return:)

Comment by Dani

45.

July 15, 2008
2:45 pm

As a day tripper I really enjoyed oxegen this year. Yeah, the crowd would be better suited to a creche or a rehab clinic but you’ll have that at events like this. The music was great, nobody blew me away but I saw who and what I wanted to see and left on Sunday a very satisfied customer. Aside from the security element that is. The entrance from the Dublin bus drop-off point into the arena was the same for day tickets and camping tickets so it was very easy to sneak in with a day ticket which would annoy me had I shelled out for camping. Also, and this is my main problem, on Sunday I was bringing in my own alchohol in a plastic container I paid for at the bottle exhange. There were no visible signs saying that day ticket holders could not bring alcohol inside (this was my third day doing so) and though I respect that those may have been the regulations it took the security staff until Sunday when four Gardai were hanging around to start enforcing the law. I got through with my drink (I’m sorry but Heineken does nay float my boat, same for Bacardi) then went back to get a friend and this time was singled out and asked by a security guard if he could smell my drink. When i told him it was vodka and I would really prefer he put his nose nowhere near it another guard and him began shouting at me without allowing me to reply (my argument being that the bottle exchange had supplied the bottle and that there were no signs), they pretty much ganged up on me (both considerably larger men) and proceeded to do so until I walked away, pretty much embaressed to death and upset. (they stopped all traffic through the checkpoint so everyone could witness what was happening). I was sober and should think that my appearance didn’t make me look like someone who might cause unknown amounts of trouble. I got through in the end but the morning was ruined and it took until much later in the day before I could enjoy myself. The security was either ridiculously lax or tight beyond requirement. I dislike the attitude of treating the punters like scum, it’s like we’re guilty ’til proven innocent or sumfink.

Comment by Ciara

46.

July 15, 2008
8:14 pm

Today I approached the pull out Oxegen special of my weekly favourite
weekly supplement, The Ticket. (A day late I realise, but I was a
touch sensitive on Monday after the weekend. I have one or two points
to make about the pull out, which disappointed me.

1: Kings Of Leon’s “few choice cuts” from their forthcoming lp
consisted of one song. Did Brian Keane just stay for the first fifteen
minutes of this? If so, why is he writing a review of it?
2: REM being in the twilight of their career? Their current album’s
vibrancy and popularity along with Saturday’s set suggest they may
even outlive The Rolling Stones.
3: “Richard Hawley at a rock festival just doesn’t seem right”. Oxegen
isn’t a rock festival, it’s a music festival. If it is a rock
festival, why did you go to Sugababes set?
4: Vampire Weekend in competition with REM on the main stage?? I
managed to catch all of Vampire Weekend’s set, then I casually
strolled over to Pet Sounds to see all of Seasick Steve’s set. I think
I went for a bite after that. Oh, and then I went on a ride at the
funfair. after all that, I popped over to the main stage and waited a
while for REM to start. If you weren’t at the festival, you could at
least have looked at the time table.
5: The piece on MGMT made them sound as if they were putting people to
sleep before the shenanigans began. The crowd were exstatic for the
entire gig, yet your reviewer’s highlight seemed to be a few drunken
idiots risking life and limb climbing up a 100ft pole while other
goons hurled plastic cups and bottles at them, causing the gig to
stop. I for one felt uncomfortable at this carry on. I wonder would
your reviewer have mooted such activity if one of the climbers fell
and was killed.

I hope The Ticket sorts itself out or I may have to stop reading it
and mistakenly go to see Mamma Mia!

Comment by Johnny Shields

47.

July 16, 2008
12:51 pm

Johnny - For the record, I edited that supplement and the mention of Vampire Weekend clashing with REM was an error that was introduced at the last moment by me in the editing process and not in Brian’s original copy. That’s solely my mistake.

Comment by Shane

48.

July 16, 2008
3:03 pm

Hi Johnny
In response to your points @ 46 here are my thoughts for what they’re worth:
1. Hands up – my mistake. I thought there were two new songs. There was one. Apologies. I hope it didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the gig.
2. Accelerate doesn’t even come close (in my and a lot of people’s opinion) to the high standards that REM have set in their earlier career. The fact that the band resorts to Greatest Hits sets these days is some indication that they no longer feel their material is as strong as it once was. If you feel that they are still far from finished then we can meet up at an REM gig in 20 years time and I’ll buy you a pint as an apology for my rash judgement.
3. MCD market Oxegen as the “‘Greatest Rock n Roll Weekend of the Year’. Your issue here should be with the promoter’s definition of the festival.
4. See Shane’s post @ 47
5. The audience were incredibly wound up before MGMT even went on-stage. However, in the section of the crowd I was in, the reactions as the set went on were fairly muted. Certainly, looking at their set as a story of two halves (the pre-fan climbing and post-fan climbing incident) a lot of posts on this blog appear to agree that it was underwhelming until then. By the time the band came back on stage the crowd were, once again, in a very excited state. And finishing with Electric Feel, Time To Pretend and Kids worked in keeping the atmosphere electric. I would put their performance down as one where they smartly kept their trump cards till the end.

Comment by Brian

49.

July 18, 2008
3:05 pm

I heard that only 75% of the total tickets were used, any truth to that?

Comment by B'dum

50.

April 1, 2009
10:30 pm

did kings of leon pull out this year???

or is that a rumour?

Comment by sean