Now that is some billing.
I wrote yesterday of my disappointment in the announcement of the rather lacklustre Oxegen line-up of artists set to play in the festival in July, but this leaked image has my spirits buoyed once more!
Electric Picnic (now under new management) has always been a festival that I have been forced to admire from afar, primarily because I have attended the past three Oxegen festivals in succession, leaving no room for perusing or sampling the other fiestas of live music in the summer (including Indiependance last year, which I've heard good things about). However, now I have an appetite to expand my horizons and savour a different kind of atmosphere, one that I hope is a far cry from the tent-slashing nacker-fest that Oxegen has come to be known for (no offence to tent-slashing nackers, of course).
I divulge, however, because I talk of all these romantic notions about the setting, the atmosphere and the crowd, when really, I wouldn't be talking about this at all if it weren't for the juicy acts that the Electric Picnic crew have lined up. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the music.
Any good festival needs a strong headline act. In a way, that is why Oxegen has received a lot of flak for its line-up: sure, it has Foo Fighters, and Coldplay are a very popular group these days, but fans expect bigger at this stage, especially now that it has become a staple four day festival that people pay damn good money for. It is a victim of its own circumstance. It needs a Red Hot Chili Peppers or a Daft Punk (or, ahem, a Blink-182!) to get over with the fans these days.
But in one fell swoop, Electric Picnic has already taken Oxegen to school in this regard. How, you might ask? I've got two words for ya: Arcade Fire. The Canadian super-group have headlined Oxegen twice (and the Picnic once in 2005), but never before has there been such an appetite in this country to see the seven-piece band in person. I can envisage thousands buying tickets to witness them alone (including me most likely), and with the rumoured addition of day tickets for the first time since 2005, why not sure?
Pulp are another headline act that, if nothing else, one will go see for the name recognition and/or the fact that there will more than likely never be a better opportunity to see this Brit Pop crew live. At the same rate, you want to see The Chemical Brothers for their incredible reputation, even if you are not a massive fan of theirs. As for the other two headline acts, I have wanted an excuse to get into both Interpol and PJ Harvey for a while now, so I have plenty of catching up to do.
That's another great thing about festivals: you go for the bands you know, but you broaden your taste in music exponentially with the sheer amount of artists you come across.
I have a great desire to see my beloved White Lies. I regrettably only caught half of their set at Oxegen '09, and have since become a more avid listener (in fact, I've listened to their new album, Ritual, over 100 times since buying it last month). Needless to say, I anticipate their arrival greatly.
Other artists that catch the eye are Mogwai, Flying Lotus, O Emperor and CODES. To be perfectly honest, I am only very familiar with the work of one of those names, but as I said, that's the beauty of a music festival! I have several months of acquainting myself with new music to look forward to.
Speaking of which, I plan on reviving the Oxegen-A-Go-Go, which still gets a lot of hits over at The Novelty Act, and I will continue to write about Oxegen acts up until the very weekend of July 7, but I also hope to start up something similiar to do with Electric Picnic. Cover a new Picnic artist each week, I could call it 'Electric Boogaloo'. OK, I'll work on the name, but watch this space!
Arcade Fire
Pulp
The Chemical Brothers
Interpol
PJ Harvey
Beirut
Jimmy Cliff
DJ Shadow
White Lies
OMD
Midlake
The Charlatans
Big Audio Dynamite
The Go! Team
Boys Noize
Paul Kalkbrenner
Twin Shadow
Willy Mason
Trentemoller
Killing Joke
Ivan St. John
Dave Clarke
Caitlin Rose
HEALTH
Mogwai
O Emperor
Adam Beyer
The Danger is
Adebisi Shank
Flying Lotus
Mundy
R.S.A.G.
CODES
The Walkmen
LYKKIE LI
Sharon Shannon
Sources: Nialler9; The Irish Times
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