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September 2009 Archives

Backstage at Electric Picnic '09


So another year done and dusted, we've parked the wellies and the mud is now an increasingly distant memory. To finish things off here's a few backstage pics from this year's Picnic . It's not at all glamorous you know!

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Roadcasters and OB units in production area

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Dan Hegarty

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Main Stage from behind

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Dan and Cormac with Imelda May

Wayne Coyne in Wilson Wellies Shocker !


Wayne Coyne stole RTE producer Ian Wilson's wellies, and now we have the photo to prove it !

Wayne Coyne.jpgYou can see for yourself here


Wayne Coyne Interview with Cormac Battle & Dan Hegarty!


DSC_0017.jpgThere's something about The Flaming Lips, maybe it's their Oklahoma charm, their surreal wit or their whole-hearted commitment to making every show they play just like a birthday party. Whatever it is they've garnered themselves a well-deserved reputation among the festival faithful here at the Electric Picnic and they seem to be on everyone's 'must see' lists. Frontman Wayne Coyne is quite possibly the nicest man in pop. He could also talk the hind legs of a donkey. Here he chats with Cormac Battle and Dan Hegarty about practical festival footwear and The Flaming Lips relationship with Irish audiences.






Royksopp Talk Exclusively To Jenny Greene


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Svein and Torbjorn from Norwegian electronica outfit Royksopp are set to hit the Electric Arena later tonight but took time out to chat with Jenny Greene about their powers of levitation and the massive success enjoyed by their debut record Melody AM!



Florence and The Machine


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Having blazed a trail across much of Europe's festival circuit this summer Florence and The Machine turned in nothing short of an epic performance at the Electric Arena. Unsurprisingly the tent was bursting at the seams as dedicated fans and curious onlookers battled for their patch.
Dan Hegarty had a chat with the flame haired force of nature herself backstage before the set.



GIG REVIEW:

A monster set from the hottest act at this year's EP. The tent was rammed, expectation was sky high and she didn't fail to deliver. Opening with "Howl" and closely followed by "Kiss With A Fist", "Drumming Song" and "Dog Days Are Over" the momentum was well and truly set. Almost every song was a mammoth sing-along. She declared that "Cosmic Love" - one of the biggest hits from her debut album - was the song closest to her heart and the crowd responded in kind. She comes across grittier live than on record, her 6-piece band almost too small to recreate the massive soundscapes of her recordings. When she finished with "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" and left the stage to a barrage of cheering it was obvious to anyone watching that her ascension to the upper echelons of pop is now complete.


Kate Walsh Performs Brand New Track Exclusively

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Kate Walsh's third studio album 'Light and Dark' was released a matter of days ago and she treated us to an exclusive, acoustic performance of 'June Last Year'.




Exclusive Performance by Charlie Parr

charlie-parr.jpgCharlie Parr's music was made for the Body & Soul stage here at Electric Picnic as anyone fortunate enough to have caught his set there will testify. As though that weren't enough, he gracefully perfromed an exclusive session for us here at 2fm picnic headquarters.
 
From it here's '1922 Blues' and 'Far Cry'





BellX1 Interview with Jenny Huston

bell_x1.jpgBellX1 find themselves in something of a dance sandwich on the Main Stage tonight, following on from Alabama 3 and handing over to Basement Jaxx. It's their first official set at Electric Picnic despite being here every year since the off as punters. Paul and Dave from the band chat to Jenny Huston about their hopes for the set and the potential for wardrobe malfunctions!
 




Interview with Conor O'Brien of Villagers!

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Conor O'Brien's Villagers project has risen like a phoenix from the flames of The Immediate. Despite having released just one EP he's managed to pack out two Electric Picnic sets this week, one on Friday in Body & Soul and the other at the Crawdaddy Stage earlier today. Such herculean efforts have taken their toll though as he tells Dan Hegarty.



Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Cast A Spell on The Little Big Tent.

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Sometimes there's a touch of the 'slow burn' to Festival Sundays; stamina's waning, limbs are aching and body odour is questionable at best. A short, sharp, shot of serotonin to the brain is all that's needed - enter Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

Eight sons of jazz musician Phil Cohran make up this incendiary band of brothers, all of whom play a range of brass instruments (predictably enough) ranging from trumpets to sousaphone. They've played everywhere from Chicago street corners to Hyde Park and have performed together most of their lives...not surprising then that they can work a crowd like nobody's business.

They tore up the Little Big Tent with their mesmeric fusion of house, hip hop and jazz . Think Kanye West meets Miles Davis. The set list drew largely from this years eponymously titled album with 'War', 'Party Started' and 'Hypnotic' proving the biggest crowd pleasers. Their boundless enthusiasm and infectious energy reinvigorated the assembled crowd who happily satisfied every call to action from the stage with dance moves ranging from the humble bounce to the all out frenzied limb-flail. Quite a sight to behold!

They're set to return to these shores in October of this year and on the basis of this show, we'd peg them as a must see!


Exclusive LIVE Performance and Chat with Lisa Hannigan!


lisahannigan.jpgMercury Music Prize nominee Lisa Hannigan enjoyed her stint on the Main Stage ahead of Beach Boy and all round music icon Brian Wilson.

Earlier in the day she dropped in for a good ole chinwag with Jenny Huston:



and we couldn't let her go without twisting her arm for a song, here's an acoustic rendition of 'Lille'



Exclusive Bell Orchestre Interview


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Canadian instrumental post-rockers Bell Orchestre chat to Dan Hegarty at the Electric Picnic.




Micachu & The Shapes (Sun)



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Micachu & The Shapes on The Cosby Stage, Sunday.

Hard to know what to make of this. Her set seemed intent on driving people out of the sparsely packed Cosby stage rather than inviting them in. Her album "Jewellery" is undoubtedly a work of fractured brilliance. However, live it's a slightly different story. The 3-piece set-up is slight of sound and the songs have a kind of willfully obscure quality that makes listening somewhat of an ordeal.

Villagers (Sun)


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Conor O' Brien has been busy. Having already played the Body and Soul on Friday evening he takes to the stage on a wet harsh festival Sunday. Not that you'd know by the size of the crowd here to see him perform. At this stage his band is a tightly honed unit. It's very much evident how much they enjoy the songs - mouthing along to the words as O'Brien himself sings. They unleash a barrage of noise where necessary and pare down when appropriate. Song from his "Hollow Kind" EP are greeted with an air of staunch familiarity and the overall set goes down very well. Quite a bit of hype surrounds Villagers at the moment and a good portion of this might well have been here to see what all the fuss is about. On this evidence his debut album will be highly anticipated. Oh wait, it already is...






It wouldn't be a proper festival without some mud...


stuck in the mud.jpgWhile you're at home in the comfort of your living room in your smoking jacket and slippers listening to some of the exclusive performances and interviews here on the 2fm Electric Picnic blog, spare a thought for those hardcore revellers waking up in tents that seemed a good idea at the time but are now leaking like an excited toddler with a juice addiction.

Soggy sleeping bags are the least of our problems though, what was churned up ground yesterday has morphed into a full-on mud bath at this stage. As a result a Python-esque Ministry of Silly Walks is emerging across the festival site. But y'know what, mud galvanises a crowd, it strengthens their resolve to have a bloody great time in spite of the conditions. Let the heavens throw everything they've got at us, we don't care - all that matters is friends, fun and fantastic music and Electric Picnic '09 has all of these in spades!


Dublin Gospel Choir Raise Spirits (Sun)

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Sunday morning EP staples The Dublin Gospel Choir have managed to pull a healthy crowd despite the swamp like conditions that abound in Stradbally. The soulful songbirds are mid way through the ultimate feel-good set. Rain may be bucketing down but spirits are high among the festival faithful...Oh Happy Day indeed!

Roots Manuva LIVE from the Electric Arena

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Roots Manuva has long been the indie kids rapper of choice, his 2001 album Run Come Save Me proved a landmark release and since then he's guested with Gorrillaz and Nightmares on Wax among others.

He's famed for incendiary live performances and the Electric Picnic faithful were not left wanting. Here's the four tracks that closed his set in the Electric Arena, among them the brilliant 'Witness (1 Hope)' and 'Let The Spirit'.





Exclusive Billy Bragg Interview


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The Bard of Barking turns in a customarily ace performance of 'Sexuality' which was co-written by none other than Johnny Marr.

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As if singing for us wasn't enough Billy then dropped in for a chat with Jenny Huston, discussing, among other things, the enthusiasm of the Electric Picnic crowd!



Jape (Sat)


Richie Egan is filling some very big shoes. And he's doing quite well thank you. A hometown crowd packed out his Electric Arena show at EP '09 and it proved one of the weekend's highlights.

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Jape and fan - Greg - singing during "Streetwise"

Jape has graduated from stage to stage at this, his self confessed "seventh Electric Picnic". While it may not be quite that many, it's a sure sign of his rapidly increasing profile and prominence on the Irish scene that his show in a nearly full Electric Arena was charged with one of the most electric atmosphere's of the weekend. "Strike Me Down" was deployed early and set the tone for a set that pleased both newcomer and die-hard alike. "Floating" was a predictable hit but it was set-closer "I Was A Man" that pushed the crowd over the edge and this gig into something special.


Julie Feeney Acapella Performance!

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Having captivated audiences at the Cosby Stage earlier today, Inaugural Choice Music Prize Winner Julie Feeney got her scat on, Scots-Gallic style for this exlusive acapella performance. Don't believe us? Check this out!




Dave Geraghty Strums and Sings LIVE!

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Dave Geraghty's second solo album 'The Victory Dance' is a matter of days old but is already garnering great reviews. He took his live show to the Crawdaddy Stage earlier this afternoon but not before he treated us to a live acoustive version of 'Tuesday's Feet'.


Neosupervital Performance and Interview!

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An acoustic performance from Neosupervital is a rare and splendoured thing, feast your ears on this rendition of 'Step Into The Sunshine'.





After that feel-good summer anthem Tim talked festival fashion with Dan Hegarty.




Exclusive Acoustic Performance from Mundy



Mundy.jpgMundy is set to get toes tapping over in the Crawdaddy Stage later this evening but before that he dropped in for an exclusive acoustic rendition of Strawberry Blood for your ears only!

Seasick Steve Sings the Blues LIVE!


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Electric Picnic may have it's own Salty Dog stage now but this man is the original of the species. Feelgood Blues may seem like a contradiction in terms but Seasick Steve manages to pull it off. Cormac Battle caught up with him before he took to the Electric Arena stage and got philosophical about success late in life and the benefits of starting off with nothing...and still having some of it left!





The XX (Sat)



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The band that are "so hot right now" started extremely strongly with "VCR", "Islands" and "Crystalised" all getting an airing before their set was fifteen minutes old. Their self-titled debut album is nothing if not an extremely catchy piece of work. But it is also an accomplished debut. The fact that the massive Electric Arena tent was approaching full capacity for a band in the middle of Saturday afternoon says more than enough about the potency of these new kids on the block. Excellent sound and an engaging set made for a great debut Irish gig.

The Lost Brothers (Sat)


So day two has arrived and we dust ourselves down after a late night, not much sleep and questionable sleeping arrangements.

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The Lost Brothers after their Electric Picnic Set

Formed via Meath and Tyrone the Lost Brothers fashion a brand of folk that wouldn't be out of place on an Everly Brothers album. Oisin Leech and Mark McCausland open the Cosby stage today to a small but perfectly formed crowd. Loyal also judging by the response to Mark's exhortation, "anyone from Omagh?!"

Dressed in shambolic tux's and formal wear the duo launch into a set full of harmonised folk, rockabilly and songs about murdered prostitutes - albeit with aforementioned sweet harmonies! Cello (thanks to a "Lost Sister") is added on "Fallen", and "Ribbons & Bows" rattles along with a sort of retro, blues / country vibe. By the end the crowd has grown and there are smiles all round. Its onwards and upwards for the Irish duo. 

Body and Soul (Fri)



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The Body & Soul area during Electric Picnic '09 has, yet again, expanded in size and diversity - it even has a lake this year for God's sake! Waterford native Katie Kim provided the music on the Body & Soul stage from around midnight and her brand of slowcore, breathy ambience proved a hit if you were searching for an alternative to Orbital on the Main Stage. The area got pretty packed however when an influx of punters arrived after Orbital's set finished. Quite a few people were heard asking when R.S.A.G would appear - a sign if ever there was one of the Kilkenny man's growing popularity. Before he appeared however it was Donal Dineen on the decks until at least 2am until, at last, increasingly drowsy 2fm bloggers decided to call it a night on day one of The Electric Picnic '09.



Cormac Battle interviews MGMT (Fri)


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MGMT hit Stradbally straight from Tel Aviv of all places! Despite jet lag Ben and Andrew from the band managed to chat up a storm with Cormac Battle ahead of their headlining appearance on the Main Stage.






Exclusive chat from The Temper Trap (Fri)


the-temper-trap.jpgThe Aussie indie rockers played the Crawdaddy Stage early this evening and Cormac Battle caught up with Dougy and Toby before their set.






Lykke Li talks touring with Cormac...


Hey Everyone. We've arrived at The Electric Picnic...finally. Traffic nasty and mud aplenty but tents pitched and with high anticipation we venture forth. So who's on the agenda the for day 1?

Friday: Lykke Li


Lykke Li.jpg Strange one this. Her set started brightly with "Dance Dance" and "I'm Good I'm Gone", tunes that suitably aroused the jammed Crawdaddy Stage. However the momentum faltered afterwards with a few slower numbers and (quite unbelievably) a Kings Of Leon cover. The recovery process had to start - and it did - "Breaking It Up" - a particular highlight. But we were left with the impression of a slightly underwhelming set when compared to her sold out Button Factory show earlier this year.

Cormac Battle catches up with Lykke Li before her set:







2fm @ The Electric Picnic 2009

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So, you don't have a ticket and are missing your last chance to dance at this years EP. Well fear not because as usual, 2fm will be broadcasting sets from all over the festival on 2fm and 2XM, all thanks to Bulmers Pear Cider.

Here is when you need to listen to 2fm and 2XM:

Friday 19:00-00:00

Saturday 18:00-00:00

Sunday17:00-00:00

And as if that wasn't enough, turn over to 2XM digital after midnight and you can hear the whole days proceedings again ! Solid

 


Ah the Memories !


Last year at the Electric Picnic, we had some top notch guests join us for exclusive sessions. Have a listen back to some of our favourites.

Michael Franti never wears shoes ! He dropped by and sang a song for us at last years EP. Its one of our favorites.




Hayseed Dixe performed "Highway to Hell" for us. Its one of our all time most viewed vids on YouTube !





Sunday Line Up

SugarHillGang.jpgAEROPLANE DJS ALABAMA 3 AMADOU and MARIAM AMORPHOUS ANDROGYNOUS ARVEENE & MISK BASEMENT JAXX BELL ORCHESTRE BELL X1 BLITZEN TRAPPER DAMIEN DEMPSEY DUBLIN GOSPEL CHOIR DUKE DUMONT EBONY BONES ECHO and THE BUNNYMEN EROL ALKAN FIONN REGAN FLAMING LIPS FLEET FOXES FLORENCE and THE MACHINE HALFSET HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE INTRODUCINGLAURA IZIBOR MICACHU and THE SHAPES MICK FLANNERY NIGHTMARES ON WAX SOUNDYSTEM OKKERVIL RIVER OUR FOLD PASSION PIT QUANTIC and HIS COMBO BARBARO ROYKSOPP SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO Live SKREAM and BENGA SWITCH THE ACORN THE BIG PINK THE SUGARHILL GANG THE WAILERS TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB TRANSMISSION DJS VILLAGERS ZOMBIE NATION

Saturday Line Up

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2 MANY DJS A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS BAABA MAAL BARRY REDSETTA BAT FOR LASHES BILLY BRAGG BRIAN WILSON CAP PAS CAP CHEW LIPSCHIC CHRIS CUNNINGHAM LIVE DAVID GERAGHTY ESG EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY FOUR TET IMELDA MAY JAPE JAZZANOVA Live JON AVERILL JULIE FEENEY JUST JACK KID CREOLE and THE COCONUTS KLAXONS LISA HANNIGAN LOW ANTHEM LRB & CONOR G MADNESS MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC CO MODERAT MUNDY NEKO CASE ONE DAY INTERNATIONAL OPTIMO DJSROOTS MANUVA SPECIAL DISCO VERSION DJ set James Murphy Pat Mahoney STEE DOWNES THE FIELD THE HACKER THE LOST BROTHERS THE WALKMEN THE XX TUNNG WHITEST BOY ALIVE

Friday Line Up

Alabama+3+Alabama+sepia.jpg2 MANY DJS 8 BALL A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS ABC AEROPLANE DJS ALABAMA 3 AMADOU and MARIAM AMORPHOUS ANDROGYNOUS ARVEENE & MISK BAABA MAAL BARRY REDSETTA BASEMENT JAXX BAT FOR LASHES BEACH HOUSE BELL ORCHESTRE BELL X1 BILLY BRAGG BLINDFOLD BLITZEN TRAPPER BOY 8 BIT BRIAN WILSON BURAKA SOM SISTEMA CAP PAS CAP CHEW LIPS CHIC CHRIS CUNNINGHAM LIVE DAMIEN DEMPSEY DAVID GERAGHTY DAVID KITT DINOSAUR JR DIPLO DUBLIN GOSPEL CHOIR DUCKWORTH LEWIS METHOD DUKE DUMONT EBONY BONES ECHO and THE BUNNYMEN EFTERKLANG EROL ALKAN ESG EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY FAKE BLOOD FIONN REGAN FIRST AID KIT FLAMING LIPS FLEET FOXES FLORENCE and THE MACHINE FOUR TET GOLDEN ANIMALS HALFSET HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE IMELDA MAY INTRODUCING J TILLMAN JAPE JAZZANOVA Live JEFFREY LEWIS JON AVERILLJULIE FEENEY JUST JACK KID CREOLE and THE COCONUTS KLAXONS LAMB LAURA IZIBOR LISA HANNIGAN LOW ANTHEM LRB & CONOR G LUCENT DOSSIER EXPERIENCE LUCIANO PRESENTS AETHERLYKKE LI MADNESS MAGAZINE MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC CO MAJOR LAZER Sound System MARINA and THE DIAMONDS MGMT MICACHU and THE SHAPES MICHAEL NYMAN ORCHESTRA MICK FLANNERY MODERAT MUNDY NEKO CASE NIGHTMARES ON WAX SOUNDYSTEM NÔZE OHBIJOU OKKERVIL RIVER ONE DAY INTERNATIONAL OPTIMO DJS ORBITAL OUR FOLD PASSION PIT PETER BRODERICKQUANTIC and HIS COMBO BARBARO RICHMOND FONTAINE RODRIGO Y GABRIELA ROOTS MANUVA ROYKSOPP SEASICK STEVE SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO Live SKREAM and BENGA SMASH HITSSOUND CARRIERS SPECIAL DISCO VERSION DJ set James Murphy Pat Mahoney STEE DOWNES SWITCH THE ACORN THE BIG PINK THE FIELD THE HACKER THE INFOMATICSTHE JAPANESE POPSTARS (DJ SET) THE LOST BROTHERS THE RUBBERBANDITS THE SUGARHILL GANG THE TEMPER TRAP THE WAILERS THE WALKMEN THE XX TRANSMISSION DJS TU-KI TULLA CEILI BAND TUNNG TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB WAVE MACHINES VILLAGERS WHITEST BOY ALIVE ZERO 7 ZOMBIE NATION

Calling all Tree Huggers!

407993029_539c818a76.jpgCome and see a sacred fire being lit, a unique planting of a grove of native Irish trees - Oak, Ash, Yew, Holly, Rowan, Hawthorn, Hazel, all considered sacred in ancient Ireland. There is also a fund raising auction for the Woodland league, whereby the trees to be planted will be sponsored through bidding. A wish for each tree will go out to the four corners of Mother Earth for healing and hope for the future, radiated by the fire pit in the centre.

The trees are the guardians of the Earth. We are the guardians of the trees. It's time to take guardianship of our environment back into the community. It's time to embrace our trees, and encourage community tree planting to take responsibility for the effects of Climate Change into our own hands.

The tree auction will take place at artist wood sculptor Andrew St.Ledgers stall on Saturday at 7 pm in the Green crafts area, and the tree ceremony will happen at a site to be selected, on Sunday at 7pm.

2009 Will Be Captured In The First Ever User-Generated Book!

This year's Electric Picnic will be featuring in Festival Annual 09, the first ever user-generated book on the UK & Irish festival season, documenting the summer through photos and stories. The Festival Annual team will be on site snapping away, if they ask you to strike a pose, smile and then check-out the online galleries from Monday to see the results. You can also upload and tag your own festival pics - the best ones will be printed in the book.

Along with every photograph submitted having the chance to be published, anybody who tags themselves will get an automatic name-check in the book, as does anyone who uploads a photo. Want to get your review published, simply tweet #FA and enter the chance to get your views in print.

Check the galleries + WIN a pair of festival tickets at: http://www.MySpace.com/FestivalAnnual

Special Offer For Our Electric Picnic Friends

PRE-ORDER NOW & GET 25% OFF (the RRP of £25)
USE PROMO CODE: ELECTRIC

To pre-order your copy, go to: http://www.festivalannual.com/shop/


Plan your Electric Picnic 09

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The good folks over at entertainment.ie have put together a handy little application to help you plan your Electric Picnic 09. It allows you to select the acts you want to see, and then compiles it all together for you to print out and bring with you ! Simples ! Check it out here