You’ve read what we’ve had to say about the last couple of days in a big field in Co Laois - and if you haven’t, it’s all here and below - so now it’s your turn.
How was it for you?
One question to kick it all off: how do people feel about the respositioning of the Picnic as a music and arts festival?
Please speak directly into the microphone.
(I’m closing comments on the other Electric Picnic posts below to ensure that all post-Picnic comments are contained here. Thankin’ you)
I think the ‘repositioning’ is a good one - to be fair there’s always much much more going on at the picnic than just music.
As I sit at my desk, shattered tired but with a healthy pink glow I’m glad I, unlike many others, kept the faith and didn’t sell off my ticket at the last minute. I left right after MBV and for my duration at EP ‘08, bar a lil drizzle on Saturday, there was no rain on my parade. Did it rain last night?
Another great year and roll on 2009.
Comment by Joethe electric picnic was on this weekend? I’m an avid reader of this blog and saw no mention of it. At all. Especially over the past few days. 
tell us Jim, did you go see ‘ver Pistols and was it the Steptoe Freak Show you dreaded?
Comment by ivanI think that the repositioning has been a double edged sword and maybe a bit of a pr mis-step in how it was executed. Who’s how I think it has panned out…
*As an aside…I think it is worth setting ground rules down on this discussion. Whether people went, didn’t go, bought tickets but sold them, etc, lets not turn this into a moanfest or a ‘my gang are better than your gang’ thing. Lets leave those kinda discussions for after a few pints*
The move towards the boutique vibe has turned away a lot of punters who would have been purely going for the music. This years’ line up did lack the heavy hitters of past years (if we’re being honest the headliners on each stage might substantiate that feeling) and the whole ‘repositioning’ was perceived by many as a way of salvaging that situation.
On the flip side, I think the attraction of the extra curricular stuff has perhaps filled the gaps for some folks. It’s all very gimmicky but it’s nice gimmicky and is only for one weekend so it hardly has the chance to become stale.
At the other end of the spectrum there are a lot of folks who go for the whole package. Music is purely the soundtrack to the weekend. Good friends and good vibes. Adventures and atmosphere. What you get out of the Picnic is really determined by what you put into it!
Going forward I think that the organisers will need to make a decision as to whether (and I know this is prob said every year!) they want to continue competing with Oxegen or whether they want to push the whole package. This clear distinction will need to be made to avoid the negative feeling that we’ve seen in the last few weeks in the comments…
Comment by Jameswell as for it being music and arts…. its a sensible move considering the hammering it takes on the line up front from Oxegen. Most of the weekend I didnt care if there was a band on or not. There was so much else to do and see or just laze around and soak it up.
Highlights would be ‘gabriel’ played acoustically by both members of Lamb on Sunday afternoon. A crackin set from Presets which got my friday going and then the awesome MBV show. I saw them in London and while the tent gave it a less claustrophobic feel, I thought they sounded amazing.
We camped in Charlie Chaplin which worked fine except for those damn toilets….. The day that EP put something permanent into that site toilet-wise is the day the festival approaches
peerless.
So thank you to Reynolds for a crackin weekend and thank you to little miss nature for the solitary summer sunburn I recieved.
Comment by davidGrinderman rocked.
Comment by Andrew‘Dengue Fever were very possibly the best act I saw all weekend.’ — told ya!
Comment by JustinThere comes a point when the writer of a truly great anthem must realise that the song thy wrote no longer belongs to them. Having seen the frenzy that Richie Egan whipped up in the Electric Arena on Friday afternoon I think he’s well past that point with “Floating” and well on the way there with “Phil Lynott”, great start to my Electric Picnic.
And before people start bitching and issuing writs for hearing loss, MBV: not that loud, or at least not as loud as the London shows in July, I could hear people screaming during the holocaust, I’ve no day after ringing. It was fine and they were great.
Comment by Ianthe only downside at the picnic is theres literally too much happening.theres hard decisions to be made on what to see.for me sigur ros blew everything else away
Comment by williejust in relation to #4 point about a distinction being made between oxegen and EP…. I dont think there could be a bigger gap than the one we saw this year…. Oxegen got its act together and was very well run but was still the big festival in a similar vain to reading et al.
EP didnt push the Music&Arts tag in the weeks coming up to it as they maybe should have but when we got there it was so clear that it has found its voice…. its a bit tacky and cheesey but its wonderful too
My first time at EP, and would loved to have stayed and extra few days, as im sure everyone else did.i really liked how the picnic was sold as an Arts and Music festival. As somebody who loves music, but is not a fanatic, this made me feel that I wasnt missing out on the ‘festival’ just because i was not running from one gig to the next (As i perhaps nievely expected a music festival to be.) I found the Body and Soul area a treat to stroll around, and the food on site was fantastic-something foir all tastes!I am now a pancake junkie!the only bone i have to pick, which is becoming a boring topic im sure, is the toilets…the ques at some points were ridiculous.The site really should have been better equipt- esp.witht he amount some festivalers were drinking!!!to conclude on that, the ‘troffs’ in the Chaplin camp were disgraceful. prisoners have a more civilised arrangement!(some over dramatisation for emphasis and effect!) Ladies, and gents who rose at an early hour and who could not access the sites other facilities were faced with quite an unpleasent scene. but luckily all the fun of the fair helped erase any ill feelings!i shall be returning next summer, and hopefully the weather and entertainment will be as wonderfull!
Comment by EdieJape, ra ra riot, Elbow - all excellent. Ms Beth Ditto - great stage presence. Still best Irish festival weekend bar none. Toilet facilities still dreadful though (in Chaplin anyway). Once they sort this they’ll have it nailed.
Comment by barrybI wasn’t at it but I love the growth of the art side of it (if it was pulled off as well as I’ve been reading and seeing). Anything that helps the atmosphere is good, as obvious as that sounds.
Comment by ConorHonestly folks, the Chaplin toilets, they’e not the worst festival toilets I’ve ever seen.
Some people never got over ‘nam, I’m still shellshocked from shitting in Glastonbury 4 years ago.
On the subject of shit, Crystal Castles. My god.
Comment by IanI loved it… last years lineup was custom built for me so this year couldn’t top it, but it came bloody close.
Sex Pistols were as terrible as expected, but were hilarious.
Sigur Ros and George Clinton’s risky headline slots paid off, and then some.
I wore my shop uniform for Sunday.
Comment by B'dumWhat a festival!
Wasn’t keen on the line-up at all but EP 2008 turned out to be one of the best festivals I have been to.
The fact that I didn’t know more than half the bands at it made it even more enjoyable.
The fact that every girl there was fucking hot.
The fact that Chips with Dips was this years Pieminister.
The fact that Foals were incredible live once again.
The fact that Diplo & Modeselektor had me dancing flat-out for about 3 hours in Bodytonic.
The fact that I want to marry Alison Mosshart and Lisa Hannigan.
Amazing atmosphere this year.
It’s like everyone was totally high twenty fo’seven.
Loved every minute of it.
I got backside poisoning from the troughs in the Andy Warhol section. Great weekend though, spent saturday in a flutter trying to see everything. Stopped doing that on Sunday and had a much better time.
Comment by huggerI thought the Sex Pistols were actually great. At least Johnny Rotten is still as big a dick as he was 30 years ago. Really enjoyed them…and I had been dreading it.
Comment by adamGreat overall vibe…The sound at the Cosby Tent was dreadful - It took away from the Santagold and Atrak gigs
Comment by Margreat great weekend
those who rocked it for me were
sigur ros
goldfrapp
new young pony club
dan deacon-although it was identical to his vicar st gig
george clinton
the presets
midnight juggernauts
cut copy
elbow
late of the pier
the orb
the price of the beer was the only downside
Comment by peteeoh and hercules and love affair were fantastic
Comment by petee> well as for it being music and arts…. its a sensible move
> considering the hammering it takes on the line up front from
> Oxegen
You think so? This was the first year in a long time that Oxegen had much I was interested in seeing
I think the poetry, spoken word area was great and it became the new ‘chill out area’, seeing as the organisers kind of spolit the Body & Soul area by making it way too big and noisy. it still looks lovely but it was way too packed and there was way too much dance music in there, why not just put that stuff somewhere else? toilets were worse than last year. it seemed like there were way more people than last year and less toilets. the campervan area was rubbish. Musically, Joan As Police Woman, The Dodos, The Breeders and Sigur Ros were my highlights. Loads of other fun stuff around too. Great weekend all round. Hope it doesn’t get any bigger next year though.
Comment by CiaranAlso my first EP….still walking around with a smile on my face from seeing all the wacky and wonderful things over the weekend. Body & Soul, The Garden, the whole vibe has me wanting more. It was the perfect Adults Playground! Looking forward to returning in 2009. It can’t come quick enough!
Comment by DebbieWhat a great weekend. Feels wrong not to have a beer in my hand, it is 3pm after all.
Personal highlights: Jape and The Presets setting the weekend off in style; my beloved Wilco whose set was far too short but every note was perfect; Candi Staton for revitalising us all to the core in the Sunday sunshine; and My Bloody Valentine, at last I see what the fuss is about. And the bluegrass band on Saturday night in the Village Hall with yer man from Great Western Squares, toe tappingly great.
Lowlights were few, apart from the usual toilets-of-death issues, and the dude covered with scratches who I found passed out on my teepee bed yesterday. Think he’s still there.
Comment by MixTapePRChromeo played an absolutely stomping set last night. Great way to finish.
Cant get my head around having George Clinton on the main stage on Saturday. Saw a bit of it was really abysmal. To think that Chemical Brothers played that slot last year.
Sigur Ros were great. The Chaplin toilets were not.
The shifting to a music and arts festival is just a way of allowing JR to line his pockets even more. The artists and sundry acts come a lot cheaper than headliners. Throw in the fact that the tickets aren’t getting any cheaper and the bottom line is that JR is raking it in. The overwhelming response to this year’s festival that I have sensed is “not great music but great non-music”.
Comment by NeilI actually enjoyed the Pistols, but for me, the best acts were MBV (as Ian said, not as loud as the UK gigs) and Grinderman. Robotnik was great fun in the Body & Soul on Saturday too.
Comment by RoryNeil, I think the fact that its a 32500 fest with 40000 is were JR is lining his pockets. But so what. Is anything getting cheaper. The line up didnt have much depth to it…. i have big chunks of sunday with no music to go to but plenty else to do….. Although reading down through the comments… it seems most people had some great music experiences. Cloud watching to Sigur Ros or screaming along to You Made Me Realise…. good times I say.
Lets complain about beer sponsorship meaning we have to leave our drinks in the campsite and get shafted €5.50 for a half litre…. not even a pint people…..
‘On the subject of shit, Crystal Castles. My god.’
hahahaha. spill the beans there! Did she individually abuse each person in the audience, as she reportedly did at one Galway gig?
Comment by JustinLoads of great music - Grinderman / Sigur Ros / Foals / MBV / Faint all great.
The World Music Stage had some brilliant acts though it seemed like hardly anyone discovered it, Rachel Unthank on Saturday night was a highlight.
Only downside was some shoddy sound, the Crawdaddy tent in particular was generally woeful and some sets were ruined by it - see Gutter Twins, Kills, Tindersticks, Conor Oberst and a huge crowd in Body & Soul completely ignoring and talking through the Balanescu Quartet
Comment by mreeyoreJim - did you see this article, by any chance?
200k for MBV!
Comment by PaulBig, big thanks for the Daily Ticket on both days, especially the line-ups and the snappy reviews. I hope you got a piccie of the hundreds of people sitting around the campsite on the Saturday morning reading it. Oh and thanks for NOT reviewing Pieminister this year - sorry Pedro, Pieminister is still the business.
Comment by MacyCant get my head around having George Clinton on the main stage on Saturday. Saw a bit of it was really abysmal.
Really? I thought he was awesome, rollarskating backups singers, a guitarist in a nappy that made him look like an anthropomorphic Disney duck. Da funk in general.
Though speaking to people about it it does seem to have been something of a marmite set. At the same time, he the man himself didn’t appear on stage till 12:35, an age after the band started up.
P.S. Hated that Chem Brothers set last year.
hahahaha. spill the beans there! Did she individually abuse each person in the audience, as she reportedly did at one Galway gig?
Well admitedly I didn’t stay for the full set and there were two many people to abuse individually but I through her distorted vocals I’m pretty sure I made out some “motherfuckers”. But I think she meant it in a nice way.
Comment by IanSome awful typing there ^. Must still be wrecked from the weekend.
Comment by IanFirst time at the Picnic and I found the spot to resemble what I can only imagine the inside of my head to look like. Fantastic theatrics. Local music: the Damien Rice second-stringers proved their might, while shoving a brimful voice and a cello bow up the ass of their grim predecessor in the process. Cathy Davey delivered a sharp sparky performance, while I wish Gemma Hayes had delved more so into her latest bag of shiny tunes, though fan proud ‘Let A Good Thing Go’ did make for a nice closer. Am getting excited about One Day International.
Couldn’t help but admire the sheer support that Josh Ritter received in abundance, illustrating nicely that the loyal Irish following is still in full swing. (Tullamore is where romance was born, who knew?)
‘Festival’ by Sigur Ros was a magical experience.
Maybe its a cult fanboy thing but I found Joan as Policewoman to be absolutely fierce. Her stage presence alone was enough to captivate the audience and pull them into her slick spiral of dastardly compelling tunes. A nice step-up from a year ago when about a third of Vicar St had showed up to see her, and leaving the packed tent with about a dozen friends/converts was quite cool. (funny sidebar: a security guard sinerely thought I was taking the piss when asked “where is the Little Big Tent?”)
Dancing to The Orb was a fitting conclusion to the weekend and also yet another thing to add to my list of things that I love to do while in the torrential rain. Getting a potted plant from the Body & Soul people was also a plus.
Had never even heard My Bloody Valentine before. Not everyday that you are met with a sheer platonic wall of sound.
Was cool to lose my wall-of-sound virginity.
Comment by ChrisAnother positive - the programme. I know there was a lot of giving out last week about having to pay for a laminate with the times on it, but no-one mentioned that you also got this absolutely fabulous programme with it. To hell with the laminate, the book was incredible. I’ve never seen an event programme like it before - you might get free books elsewhere, but this was in a world of its own. Does anyone know who designed this?
Comment by ZoeGreat weekend and excellent vibe as always! Good tunes from every group I saw but highlight was Dan Deacon- an experience and unforgettable! Like the addition of all the arts but thought Body and Soul was aurally too busy this year- could barely hear Laura Marling with all the other tunes playing in the tents/stages.
Only downside of the weekend was being stuck in carpark A on the way out…2 hours without moving an inch and only moved when the farmer in the next field over came by to say that he had unlocked the gate to the road!
Looking forward to next year already…might just have my dancing legs back by then!
Comment by TimMother of God, what a festival. MBV and Grinderman rocked the fuck out of it on Sunday, didn’t need the earplugs for most of MBV except for the wall of noise, that was frightening and enthralling simultaneously.
Sigur Rós really justified their headline slot on Friday, they were ethereal and sublime, as always. They didn’t play much off the pants new album, too, which was a bonus.
Wilco, though - wow, what a fucking band.
Downsides? The poor sound on the Crawdaddy Stage, the absolute dross that is Franz Ferdinand, the toilets (I walked for fifteen minutes into Stradbally to have a poo, but it was worth it) and the general prevalence of scumbags.
Comment by Ericok i’ve been to all the picnics except 06, so I’m a big fan of the festival. The music lineup was gr8 - had lots to see. Honourable mentions go to MBV, Grace Jones, Sigur Ros, Grinderman. Was a bit disappointed with Santogold, Tiga, and as mentioned above the Crawdaddy tent sound, Also WHY was the dance village so far away from the other stages.???? Was really annoying. was it some kind of ploy to segregate the dance crowd from the more cultured punters???!
The crowd seems to be getting bigger every yr, but as already said, has the toilets and infrastructure needs grown accordingly? But overall it is still the best festival in the country. Having too much to see over the wkend is such a good complaint to have!!!!
was it some kind of ploy to segregate the dance crowd from the more cultured punters???!
It took me until Sunday to work that that seemed to be the case. I realised late on Sat that I hadn’t been anywhere near the Bodytonic tent, mainly because it looked like it would take ages to get there. Of course, it’s a different matter if you’re Bacardi and paying big money to plonk your awful, over-branded, boring, bland house tent in the middle of the field. Wonder how Bodytonic feel about it?
Comment by Jim CarrollRe being disappointed with Tiga - i was at that too, there was something wrong with the setup, as he was fuming and there was much remonstrating with techies/ running off stage/ flinging stuff on the floor. You could tell he was having a nightmare, didn’t find his flow til halfway in and even then it was underwhelming. Not his fault though, given the circumstances.
Was anyone at Digitalism? Yer man MIMED the drums for pretty much the whole set. It was painfully obvious, what a tool.
Comment by tiggyTThe set-up of the dance village was odd alright - a few rather miserable tents huddled together beside a camping site that resembled a Balkan refugee camp. Perhaps it was a deliberate ploy to segregate the dance crowd from the rest - whether that’s a wise idea or not I’m not sure. Certainly some of the people I knew who went for the Bodytonic stuff seemed to want to spend little of their time in the main area.
So many great bands, there’s too many to mention. Overall for me the highlight was probably Sunday daytime in the sun, listening to the likes of the Gospel Choir, Candi Staton, the Congos (why the delay and subsequent halving of their set?) and The Roots. MBV were immense too later on, as were Wilco on Saturday. Christy deserves an honourable mention too, he had the Crawdaddy tent rocking on Friday despite the dismal sound. The World Music stage was great, and hopefully will be back. It was one of the few places you could hear live music after midnight, and Ibrahim Electric were fantastic last night. Perhaps attendance suffered slightly due to its positioning away from the rest of the live music areas.
Some random thoughts - I wasn’t impressed at the closing of the bars at 10pm. Anyone know why that was? With stuff going on till 4am it doesn’t leave many options for those who want to have a good time while staying on the right side of the law - bringing cans in from the campsite is just impractical. Finally, while unimpressed with the toilets I avoided some of the horrific scenes that others witnessed - next year do as I did and avoid having a poo for the whole weekend! Im quite proud of myself for holding out.
Comment by simonThe shift to include arts was a highlight for us - Poetry Ireland was delighted to be involved with the Spoken Word and there is talk already of a bigger and better programme for next year.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and kudos to the Ticket for decent coverage.
Comment by DavidSo, this was my second time at the Electric Picnic following on from 2007.
It was an absolutely incredible three days. Michael Franti said it was the coolest festival in Europe. I’ve only the execrable Oxegen to compare it with, but its hard to imagine a better festival.
I cannot get over the amount of rubbish being talked about the music line up being weak this year, I felt spoilt for choice.
The Music
Sigur Ros
I got up front at the main stage for this moving and magnificent performance, sheer perfection. One of the best sets I’ve ever had the privilege to hear.
The Dodos
In a criminally half empty tent, the Dodos gave a thrillingly exciting, percussion driven monster of a set. So, so good.
Elbow
Faultless stuff. Newborn, Station Approach and On A Day Like this were pure magic. I was almost crying tears of joy for this one. Almost!
My Bloody Valentine
Couldn’t believe my luck to actually get into the Electric Arena for this, had presumed there would be an oversubscription as for the Beastie Boys last year.
They were amazing, the whole bloody set. Visuals were cool. And hearing Soon live is just something I never thought I’d get to do. Seriously special. Reminded me they are indeed one of the greatest rock’n’roll bands ever. Now Kevin, give us that third album already.
Franz Ferdinand
Was very pleased and surprised at how easy it was to get up front at the main stage for the Franz, Wilco, the Roots, Michael Franti. Also surprised that Franz Ferdinand’s set had me jumping up and down with joy. I had kind of forgotten about them in the last couple of years.
Cut Copy
An absolute blast - these guys went down a storm in a packed tent, a killer set, don’t know why they aren’t huge here already. A guy beside me said, ‘these guys are amazing, never heard of them before, they sound like New Order meets Depeche Mode.’ He was right.
The other Irish acts
The Irish in general did themselves proud
Lisa Hannigan
Based on her set on the Crawdaddy stage, its hard not to see why Lisa Hannigan isn’t destined for megastardom. She was fantastic in an uncomfortably crowded tent. Can’t wait to buy the new album.
Jape
It was great to see some of my friends realising how great this guy is. The sound was very muddy for this but great energy. I Was the Man was a festival highlight no doubt.
Cathy Davey
First, that black dress, struth, has to be the visual highlight of the week. I head she’s a nervous performer but she must have gotten over that, really assured performance. ‘Moving’ and ‘Sing for you Supper’ were two more highlights.
Gemma Hayes – quality set from Gemma Hayes too, haven’t seen her live in about 6 years. She’s still pretty much the most ridiclously attractive looking women on the planet.
Goldfrapp and Joan as Policewoman
Goldfrapp totally owned the main stage, gutted I missed ‘Utopia’ as I couldn’t drag myself away from Joan as Policewoman.
The Roots, The Breeders Kila, Michael Franti and George Clinton were a lot of fun too.
The Low Lights
John Lydon/Rotten – wins the Arsehole of the festival award hands down. I had to endure his sneering, homophobic rants while queuing for pie minister. The Sex Pistols should never have been booked for EP, they are a panto act, an irrelevant money chasing, cultural corpse.
The Chill Out Stage was plagued with sound problems which meant I missed sets by Vyvienne Long and Martina Topley Bird. The gobsmackingly talented Laura Marling had her set ruined by broken strings and ill health.
The Dance stages were too far away from everything else!
So many good bands, couldn’t see them all - gutted I missed Santogold, Tindersticks, Foals, Dobet Gnahore, Modeselktor, A-trak, Juana Molina, Tinariwen, Underworld and many more.
The Vibe
The vibe was fantastic, besides one idiot barging into me, I didn’t meet one other rude person all weekend. All the staff were really friendly and efficient. The food was fantastic, even more choice than last year and while I didn’t make much time for the non-music side of things it was great to see how much was there for people who wanted an alternative to music.
Plus the weather was freakishly good!
Enjoyed the Ticket EP updates, so fair play to all involved.
Comment by AlanNever been so happy or busy in my life:
the spare time I had was coaxing security to let me use the artists’ direct route to Stradbally to avoid smoking manky Marlboro.
Considering most performers arrive in buses and vans, it’s really quite unfair that pedestrian punters have to take a 15-minute detour around the site perimeter.
The expansion of the art aspect of the Picnic was a real boon this year, great to see depth and dimension providing added whack and value for money, there was always something new to see or hear, whether vampire movies, burlesque, sculpture, poetry or wobbly bikes. I noticed a much friendlier vibe for families, too.
Only saw one band each night, working the Hot Press Chatroom most of the time: had the pleasure of snapping some brilliant interviews with Carbon/Silicon, Elbow, That Petrol Emotion, Michael Franti and The Roots.
My Big Hope For The Weekend was for Franz to do a Chatroom turn and sadly resigned myself to a fucking amaaazing set on the main stage…we got three rows to the front, glorious view…was just about to head for bed at 1am when leaving the Body and Soul…to see Alex, Bob and Paul striding past in search of a drink! They invited us along and were so incredibly chatty and good-natured considering how energetic and intense the headliner was…I actually had to leave after fifteen minutes because I was so (tipsy) overcome with heroic perfection.
The view’s great up here on cloud nine 
My 3rd Picnic & the best ever, it couldn’t have been better, i saw everyone i wanted to, no major disappointments, weather was great until last night. Roll on EP 09
Comment by theDeclineSo EP retains it’s best festival crown- It will always be about the music for me but the whole site looked fab and I loved all the different sections-Spokjen word etc- Lovely times were had again at Body n Soul- poor Laura Marling really wasn’t well but she’s a trouper- Thanks to sound problem delays I caught Martina Topley Bird- she’s a godess and then stayed for the Orb- fantastic fun- I was girl with a plan and managed to see pretty much everyone I wanted- musical highlights- breathtakingly beautiful SIgur Ros, wonderful Balinescu Quartet even if the audience were very underappreciative, Wilco - loved “Impossible Germany”, Grace Jones- the woman has earned her legend status-thanks for the hits, best part of Saturday was being front row for That Petrol Emotion- you could power half of Dublin on the electricty that was in that tent- Steve Mack is still in my top five front men list- Mighty,
Sunday was super busy- loved loved Foals, enjoyed parts of Johnny Flynn & Adrian Crowley- will investigate both further, had a fantastic time at Dengue Fever- roll on their next gig..
As for the other stuff- Chaplin was grand, my frocks rocked, I managed three pieministers ( one pie kitchen- they need gravy)- a great Happy Pear Smoothie and found enough cups on Sunday to buy a Wilco tee- Roll on next year- and well done on daily ticket- added to the whole community vibe of the weekend -lovely people handing it out too
The Dodos
In a criminally half empty tent, the Dodos gave a thrillingly exciting, percussion driven monster of a set. So, so good.
They were great but those bastards promised me Park Song last time they were here. The broke my heart.
Fantastic set though, I think I have to forgive them.
Comment by IanI have my uppers and downers here: http://unarocks.blogspot.com/2008/09/picnic.html
Major funsies this year, apart from car getting stuck in mud and taking FOREVER to get home.
Comment by unarocksSuperlative.
My second picnic, having been there in 05. This time we staked out a plot up in the Quiet Camping early on Friday and judging by the state of the other campsites by Sunday evening I think that was the place to pitch up, despite the long walk.
Musical highlights - MBV, I saw them in the SFX in ‘91 which was my all time greatest gig until this weekend. Grinderman reprising Nick’s headline slot from 05. Warlords of Pez in Lost Vagueness, without a doubt the best laugh of the weekend. Grace Jones - Diva to the max, and so worth it. Sigur Ros were almost as religious an experience as MBV, but I thought they could have been a notch or two louder. Bodytonic and Tir na Gasta up in the woods until 4am each night, a great way to wind down (or up).
On the non musical side, the walled garden was a supremely laid back chill-out zone. The art-centric friendly vibe all across the site fed into the punters and I didn’t see a frown all weekend.
I managed to avoid the jacks, like Simon above (#44) - eat little and often.
I agree that closing up the bars at 10 was a little disappointing, but based on other outdoor gigs I’ve been to this year (Nick Cave, Dublin Castle and Iggy Pop Kilmainham) it seems to be par for the course (even if there wasn’t entertainment provided at those events until 4am) might it have something to do with the licensing laws? Or part of the agreement with local residents?
As for the future, I think that extending the arts festival element and continuing with the left field headline act selections is probably the only way forward, especially with the LiveNation / MCD link-up which is probably going to see fewer large acts available to Aiken’s. Yes, the music is still central to ticket sales, but I can see a time when it won’t be. I mean most people who go to Glastonbury will go no matter who is playing, even Jay-Z.
Comment by RichardAs for the future, I think that extending the arts festival element and continuing with the left field headline act selections is probably the only way forward, especially with the LiveNation / MCD link-up which is probably going to see fewer large acts available to Aiken’s.
I think that this years EP was very much a POD event and from the rumours I hear that this is going to be very much the case next year.
Very much enjoyed this years event (my second EP) even if the organisation is a little shambolic. The non-music part of the festival was definitely in its ascendancy this year and some of the stuff was fantastic and I think it’s the key to the future of the festival. it’s great to be able to wander around catch some music, a bit of theatre and just look at some of the creations that somebody spent weeks dreaming up and putting together.
On the downside, hear a lot of people complaining about the facilities especially the toilets. Also apparently the campervan parks had no power supplied. Bit rich to charge for campervans and then not supply power. this probably explains why those kids were running the generator in their bus allnight and got carbon monoxide poisoning as a result.
Comment by BrianIncredible weekend, great vibe, great people and generally well organised.
Dan Deacon was the highlight for me, never saw a crowd go off like that before. It was nuts. Also thought Chromeo were great, never heard of them before and had no clue what music they played but they rocked.
Didn’t think much of sigur ros, i thought they were lost of the main stage. Bloody Valentine wasn’t as packed as expected, plenty of room inside.
Too few toilets. Also, the inconsistent security was very annoying. I had thorough searches everyime I left the Oscar Wilde camping area and had beers taken off me. However, when leaving the Charlie Chaplin site, no searches whatsoever.Everytime I was going into the main arenas, I’d go via the Chaplin site with beers for after 10pm.
The staff at Lost Vagueness were brilliant.
Did the Orb play body and soul on the Sunday night? Was in the Asylum when the deluge started so didn’t go over.
Comment by nerrawGood things
Jape on Friday - certainly got the picnic off to a flying start - nice full tent for him too
Dan Deacon - it was what every festival act should be like, childlike fun and people going off, brilliant
Franz Ferdidand much better than expected
MBV - excellent
Finding random acts in smaller stages
Food
Lax security not searching everyones bag going into the arena, we bought lots of drink in
Body and Soul
Bad Things
Toilets - not enough of them, big queues and some in dire condition
Bars closing at 10pm
Sex Pistols
No huge headliner on the 12pm-2am slot on main stage - sorry but George Clinton does not inspire me
Too many clashes in the evening
Forgetting when people were on and missing them
Overall a great festival again although it worries me with the repositioning - does that mean we will have an even weaker line up next year?
Comment by spazzGreat weekend
Highlights were
Ra Ra riot
Cut copy
Michael Franti
Kila
Jape
Digitalism
Santogold
Kormac & Bs Quartet
the roots
Hercules and love affair
Presets
Dan deacon
Midnight Juggernauts
If these are the kind of acts left over after MCD have had their fill, then long may it last. Didn;t know most of them before the lineup was announced, and have spent the last few months growing to love them….. if MCD keep this up, the picnic should be even better next year!
In answer to #54….. The orb did play on sunday, right after Michael Franti played the best gig i’ve seen at EP in the 3 years I’ve been going. He had the whole amphitheatre singing, huggin & dancin! A joy to be there.
Piemininster coming to Dublin meant i had a constant erection all weekend
Comment by bubblewrapBest EP of the 4 Ive been to, the random extra stuff was superb, plenty to keep a punter occupied. Long may it continue in this vein! Highlights for me were
Tinariwen
Digitalism
Kormac + BSQ
Dan Deacon (3)
Cut Copy
Underworld
Santogold
A-trak
RSAG
Pivot
Foals
My Bloody Valentine (1)
Modeselektor (2)
Japanese Popstars (3)
“sorry but George Clinton does not inspire me”
Really surprised with the Clinton bashing here. I’m a huge P-Funk fan but I’ll admit I was quite astounded to see he was headlining the Saturday night and was unsure whether he’d pull it off. But he did… gloriously!! Anyone who finds the funkiest man ber James Brown uninspiring is sleepwalking through life.
Also surprised not many people have raved about The Orb. Watching them in the Body & Soul with that huge wooden temple burning in the background is an experience I won’t forgot for a long time… everybody sing…
“THE LANDLORDS DAUGHTER…”
Comment by SimonSorry… I meant “bar James Brown.”
Comment by SimonOh… almost forgot to mention the excellent Rarely Seen Above Ground who played the Body & Soul on Saturday night. Never heard of him before but was mighty impressed.
The Congos were brief but absolutely majestic… god those voices! Unfortunately it was an airport delay that caused the short set.
Also caught the last 20 minutes of Sinead O’Connor… I’ll be honest here. I wasn’t really arsed about going & when I got there I was already looking at the timetable to see who to go to next. Cue “Nothing Compares 2 U” and it was all I could do to keep myself from lying on the floor in a blubbering mess… beautiful!
Comment by SimonThe Arcadia bit was amazing. Stumbled (literally) across it on the Friday. Massive flames, giant robots and pounding techno. made up for the fact that I missed half of the things I wanted to see in Bodytonic as it was pretty rotten up there and I didn’t want to leave the festival site itself in case I missed something.
Nearly got hit in the face by Grace Jones’s mic when she had a strop after dropping it. She was a total highlight, nearly passed out during Slave to the Rhythm.
Johnny Flynn on the Sunday morning in the little big tent was glorius, sound was perfect and his voice was unreal. Best moment of the weekend was dancing like a rat who’d been drowned in red wine to the Orb in the body and soul amphitheatre. Big smiley face, dancing with some fella dressed as an oul’ wan and then Alex played The Landlord’s Daughter from the Wickerman, wow. Excellent Picnic overall. The Arts addition worked brilliantly, all the performances outside the o2 Blueroom were class. Stood next to Erin O Connor in the inflatable church (felt like a midget) and saw Pete Bennett do karaoke. Weird.
EP is marketed as a ’boutique’ festival the toilets in Charlie Chaplin were DISGUSTING and far from boutique.
Music wise my highlight was Santogold an amazing set.
I’m almost positive that I saw Gillen at The War On Drugs in Dublin a couple of weks ago, at least if he looks more like his Queer As Folk character than he does Carcetti I’m almost positive.
By the way, my EP roundup here: http://thrillpier.blogspot.com/2008/09/electric-picnic-roundup.html
Comment by IanThe vibe was great. I did my usual passing out and falling asleep for the guts of a day on Saturday. Tried to make up for it on Sunday though. Dodos were great, as were MBV. The blurry visuals coupled with hammering live versions of songs I’ve played to death on CD brought me out in a psychedelic swoon. Body and Soul was super craic, but I agree with punters about Bodytonic. It felt a bit ghetto (the place it was set up) and if your mates weren’t into dance there was little chance of convincing them to take a detour there. I absolutely loved the massive metal robots. Walking past them at 2am was a feakishly pleasant surprise. Finally, the toilets in Charlie Chaplin may have been a bit backed up but what’s a festival without a close encounter with a shitty toilet? We’ll be nostalgic for them in a few weeks.
Comment by gardenhead3rd year in a row and my favourite by far.
Great vibe about the place, with so much going on it was a sensory overload.
Highlights;
George Clinton
Booka Shade
The Presets
The Herbaliser
Cut Copy
Sigur Ros
Hog Rolls, Bike riding piano player, The 5 year old being brought up on stage by Des Bishop to tell a joke and getting a standing ovation in the comedy tent.
Lowlight;
The lads who robbed most of our drink (and that of the 4 tents around us) on Saturday night, soaked one tent completely, robbed socks and tried to start a fight when we kicked them out.
Can’t wait for next year.
Comment by DeclanThe Pistols are either your cuppa tea or they’re not and you either accept that they are culturally iconic (how many times can Johnny rottens persona be riped off?) or not….i dont think there’s any inbetween. I enjoyed them immensely and thought Johnny’s inbeteween song banter was very amusing. I dont quite understand the comment above about him being Homophobic…They also had one of the biggest crowds at the main stage all weekend
Were they the right band for EP..in my opinion yes….Obviously not to everybodys taste but isnt EP supposed to be about diversity? the opening riff of Pretty vacant sent shivers up my spine.
Other highlights for me
That Petrol Emotion
The Faint
Pivot
Goldfrapp
Elbow
Dawn Landes (for the multitalented drummer at least)
Lowlights
Blokes pissing everywhere. Why does someone chose to piss against a fence in the jax, when there is a two walls of urinals ?
Bars clsoing at 10pm. what are they afraid of. people getting drunk ?
Arsehole from Limerick who blocked my mate into the carpark on sat night by parking horizontally across the back of his car
Comment by KeithWas there advance notice of the Orb? Gutted to have missed them though ibrahim electric in the jazz tent before the temple burning were superb…
Comment by boardtcboardtc - The Orb were listed on the laminates and in the official programme
Comment by Jim CarrollI thought Wilco were absolutely outstanding…by quite a distance the best band of the weekend..The sound in some of the tents was pretty poor which was a pity..far too low and muffled.
Great festival overall though..the site looked amazing especially body&soul.i definitely think the festival should be branded as a music&arts one, particularly as the lineup isn’t very strong…
only negatives would be; why the bars close at 10pm and why cant you bring drink into the arena from the campsite like you can in glastonbury?? (i know sponsors are probably to blame for this but it’s still not right!..it gets a bit tiring sneaking drink in all wknd!!)
roll on 09!
“The Pistols… you either accept that they are culturally iconic… or not”
I think it’s ridiculous to argue about the cultural significance of the Sex Pistols, it’s beyond question. Whether you like them or not the influence they had was widespread. I’m not a fan of their music (except the singles) and I personally think that “…Bollocks” was an important album culturally but not musically. I’ve never been able to listen to the whole thing.
What really bugs me though is people calling one of the most influential & underrated artists of the 70’s “uninspiring.” I don’t like the Sex Pistols, but to call them uninspiring would be a ridiculous statement. Listen to this track & then try and take the Red Hot Chilli Peppers seriously… and this is only one example!
Comment by SimonOh and Jim… The Orb were only listed in some of the laminates. We only found out about it because a friend of ours was doing visuals in the Body & Soul area on Friday night. Most of the laminates and the official website listed a Surprise Guest.
Comment by Simonsimon - the official laminates i saw had them listed - surely, there werent TWO sets of official laminates?
Comment by Jim CarrollYeah, well I met people who had laminates with Surprise Guest on it and others with The Orb on it. Maybe they were hot off the press!
Comment by SimonSimon - I think u need to recheck the laminate. The one I saw had Special Guests appearing before The Orb. I can’t see the promoters/merchandisers going to the expense of two different laminates.
Comment by Jim CarrollI didn’t have a laminate, I was going by what other people were saying to me so maybe they got it wrong. I do know I definitely seen two Special Guest listings on the timetable I had from the official website. One was rumoured to be Sinead O’Connor in Body & Soul early in the evening (don’t know if that was the case) and the other was for 12:00 which is around the time The Orb came on.
Did anyone else notice that the minute The Orb were introduced it started to rain and didn’t stop until they played the last note!
Also… don’t trust people in the camping stall who tell you that the €20 tents are waterproof! I realise I should have known better but I thought that was pretty shitty.
Comment by SimonDamn! Never even saw the program or laminates, though did see the later around some people’s necks. I paid the price. That’s it, compulsory purchase next year! Some one told me the daily ticket had the temple burning down for midnight, I heard the announcement for 2 in the jazz tent.
Comment by boardtcboardtc - the time for the temple burning was changed to 2am at some stage on Sunday
Comment by Jim Carroll….@simon, what time did the orb play til? long set if they came on at 12 and the burning was not til after 2…
Comment by boardtcWell we were there at 12 for The Orb but I don’t think they started playing for a while. I also have to admit my perception of time at that stage was a bit sketchy!
I think the burning did start before 2 though.
Comment by SimonMy first time at Electric Picnic and while I didn’t take in many of the artsie activities, I know lots who did. So, it only adds to the good vibes at the fest, which of course is a plus.
I was expecting Sigur Ros to be the highlight for me and they certainly didn’t disappoint (what did everyone else think?) but the zenith for me was Dan Deacon on Saturday. During a gap between songs I put my hands on my head and gasped “Holy fuck!” and the guy next to me immediately replied “Yeah, I know”. I mean the atmosphere was one of pure elation. That decription doesn’t do it justice. Basically you were high fiving randomners. I decided to go to Deacon having read Jim, Una Rocks and Nialler9s’ posts after the Vicar St gig (and petee @20 says the Picnic set was identical so many of you will know the feeling). A pity that the human whirlpool didn’t work but the tunnel kinda did. Security had no idea what was about to happen and were powerless against the crowd surfers. Extraordinary stuff.
I found the sound at the Crawdaddy stage to be pretty bad at times but fine at others. Obviously it depends where you were standing and it did improve when I got real close to the stage.
Comment by EoinI’d imagine the Johnny Rotten ‘homophobic’ comment refers to him calling someone in the audience a ‘gayboy poofter’ or something equally charming for wearing Diesel
Comment by SulaSorry, premature clickulation! That was ‘Diesel Jeans’, not diesel .. oil, in case anyone was confused. While I’d agree the Pistols were culturally significant so - and I’m NOT being facetious here, they’re responsible for one of the main trends of pop music over the last 20 years - were New Kids on the Block. And I wouldn’t fucking go to see them either. Cultural corpse is exactly right - time to bury them back in the 70s.
Comment by SulaGet a grip about the money and the whining about who makes what, an event like that takes enormous amounts of money to put on, the hundreds and thousands of suppliers, staff, you name it from the website to the rigging and stages, theatrical stuff, services, the attention to detail was astounding, everything…millions upon millions of euro to do something like that, and lots of it simply to add to the experience, not actually necessary which I think is a very generous attitude on behalf of the promoters. I thought it was simply so beautiful to be at, everywhere you looked there was something incredibly creative and up lifting to look at, and that’s only before the music. Can you imagine how long it has taken to pull that off? John Reynolds is entitled to whatever he makes from it, I’d say if we realised the hours worked on this it would make most of us humble - and I am not connected in any way, I do not know anyone who works at it or anything, I just observed and understood the scale of organising and producing an event like that for only 35, 000 people. Would you prefer to just have a few stages in a field with no other stuff to make it special? Then other gigs are available. I thought it was fantastic, and I brought 3 young children, they had a ball too. Roll on next year!!
Comment by ChristineDamn right Christine. A lot of people were complaining about the line up even before the weekend, and in fairness it did look like there wasn’t as many big hitters this year. But I’m even more in awe of the people involved because they made up for it with imagination. Whoever’s idea it was to put George Clinton in the headline slot on Saturday… THANK YOU!!! It was a fantastic and somewhat emotional experience for me. Didn’t see Grace Jones but heard she was fantastic (even though eeryone complained it was an odd choice before hand, including me!). And The Orb were absolutely astounding.
Sula, I agree with you that NKOTB were culturally significant too. In a way that’s my point. The Pistols influenced a lot of the artists I listen to today but I wouldn’t listen to their music. The Sex Pistols influences didn’t have as much influence as the Pistols subsequently did but their music was way better and has stood the test of time… The Stooges, New York Dolls, Can, Neu!, Van Der Graf Generator… I could go on!!
Comment by SimonSeems all is not well at the Bodytonic camp in relation to the EP organisers. They’re a bit miffed at how the dance village went. The lads are faily disappointed at how they were treated
http://www.bodytonicmusic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32526
Comment by nerraw@simon - burning was after 2, maybe 2.15…I know as we were getting soaked in the rain!
Comment by boardtcThis Saturday (Sept 6th) on Phantom 105.2 Dublin, between 5-7pm, we will be presenting a special “Electric Picnic 08 Retro-Special” show with interviews with many EP artists including Joan as a Policewoman, Franz Ferdinand, Foals, Stephen Malkmus and the only radio interview with The Breeders, all mixed in with all your favourite Electric Picnic music. Relive the Electric Picnic this Saturday (September 6th) between 5 and 7PM on Phantom 105.2 - Your Festival Station.
Remember if you are living outside of Dublin that you can listen to Phantom online or via UPC Digital Channel 935 on your telly (UPC is the fancy new name for NTL/Chorus).
Comment by Brian D
Citroen's new Tourer steals the limelight for estate cars
6:25 am
Okay, i can’t comment cos i’m not in Ireland this year to savour the sumptuous banquet of music et al that is the Electric Picnic. Have only missed it one time before and watched the fun unfold, sullen-faced from my couch as it was broadcast for the first time by RTE. I suppose i’m not qualified to talk on it this year (well of course i’m not!) but the practice of repositioning it as a music and arts festival is an excellent evolution for the festival and can only enhance its appeal to those seeking tunes and more over the course of what sounds like a balmy weekend in Co. Laois. Hope y’all had a ball (and it sounds like this was one of the best EPs yet) and looking forward to a blistering review of MBV. Hopefully no eardrums were burst.
Comment by Fergal