Oxegen 09
Oxegen Sunday – The Specials, Jane’s Addiction, Florence & The Machine
All day State has been worried. Although the weather has finally cleared up and we have had a largely positive day, still something is bothering us and it’s the imminent arrival of The Specials. Our worry is this – if Blur’s mid-nineties repertoire proved a little too much like ancient history for the Oxegen masses…
Oxegen Sunday – Hudson Mohawke, Fever Ray
23 year Ross Birchard, aka HUDSON MOHAWKE, is on the cusp of making it big. His slant on dance music is wholly unique. A sloppy, glitchy, soulful mix of hip-hop, two-step and IDM it’s only a matter of time before some journo slaps a label on it and a new genre is born. Ok, someone…
Oxegen Sunday – The Killers, Of Montreal, The Maccabees
A lot of Sunday is spent at a relaxed pace and wandering in and out of tents to check out stuff just because it’s nearby. This pot luck approach leads to a minor revelation with THE MACCABEES, a once jaunty, but lightweight Brighton based guitar band who have recently recast themselves as a more aspirant…
Oxegen Sunday – The Ting Tings, That Petrol Emotion, R.S.A.G.
For much of the day on Sunday, Oxegen’s main stages resemble the playlist from a local radio station – Calvin Harris, Lady Gaga, Paul Nutini, Katy Perry – so thank heavens for THE TINGS TINGS, the band who make sense of pop music in these challenging circumstances. Having suffered something of a nightmare at T…
Oxegen Sunday – Friendly Fires, Foals, Broken Records, Nine Inch Nails
FRIENDLY FIRES excellent self-titled debut may have been released in September last year but it’s their reputation as a brilliant live band that has preceeded them at Oxegen. As they launch into their unique blend of funk, indie, disco and electro, frontman Ed McFarlane throws himself about with gusto, slinking about the stage with some…
Oxegen Saturday – The Saw Doctors, Carosel, Passion Pit, Pet Shop Boys
When THE SAW DOCTORS stroll out onto the main stage in the early afternoon a nostalgic feeling of Irish festivals past floats through the air. People are sitting out on the woodchip covered slope and GAA jerseys and flags start to materialise out of nowhere. The first drop of rain has yet to fall, so…
Oxegen Sunday – Lady Gaga, Katy Perry
This year it is definitely the year of the pop princesses at Oxegen, with the big three of the moment – Lily Allen, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga – all keeping the tabloids happy. With the latter two playing sets on the big stages on Sunday, it’s irresistible to see their appearances as a face-off…
Oxegen Saturday – Elbow, Messiah J & The Expert, The Gaslight Anthem, Squeeze
As everyone will testify, Saturday afternoon / evening at Oxegen is a tough one for all concerned – bands, crew and especially the audience. What we need now is an early dose of classic songwriting and a band who can create an atmosphere to transcends the gloomy conditions. Ta-da, step forward SQUEEZE. Of the three…
Oxegen Saturday – Yeah Yeah Yeahs, St. Vincent, Bloc Party, Doves, Boys Noize
Saturday at Oxegen is the real test of endurance for the 80,000 attendees. The rain is bucketing down and the considerable wind is jolting the sound from the main stage speakers just out of reach of those not occupying the front ten rows. Not that it bothers the YEAH YEAHS YEAHS and particularly Karen O.…
Oxegen Saturday – Kings Of Leon, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Airborne Toxic Event, And So I Watch You From Afar
Oxegen is Kings Of Leon’s world, we only pass through it once a year. If anyone had doubted the wisdom of booking the band back for a second consecutive headliner they need only have tried to make their way anywhere around the main stage late on Saturday night. There is no spare inch of grass…
Oxegen Friday – M83, The Flaws, Mogwai, Deadmau5
It’s literally the calm before the storm. During the early evening of day one at Oxegen an odd feeling of quiet hangs in the air. There just aren’t all that many punters around, and the festival doesn’t take off properly until BLUR slay the masses later on. In the meantime smaller bands are playing to…
Oxegen Friday – Fight Like Apes, James, Spinnerette
Although the addition of a Friday at Oxegen is undoubtedly a good thing, like last year the first day still feels a bit like a false dawn. Bands are playing to very small crowds, the site itself feels empty and devoid of atmosphere. JAMES do their best to lift proceedings and few are better placed…
Oxegen Friday – Cashier No.9, Heathers, Beardyman, Pendulum
It only feels like a couple of months since we were at Punchestown for Oxegen and with the July rain threatening to turn the green to a brown hue we feel right at home. It also doesn’t feel that long since we first saw CASHIER NO.9. It’s actually only been four months but the band…
Oxegen Friday – The 202s, God Is An Astronaut, Jape
Early Friday and the first band to play the Red Bull Academy Stage are THE 202s…. Luring a small crowd in with sampled kraut beats and ambient noises they gather a smattering of fans up front, while others are just taking refuge from the misty rain that decided to grace us at Oxegen. The
