It's not a comprehensive breakdown of each day and times and what not, but at least now people can start to get an idea of how the weekend will pan out.
Friday is the least impressive of all the three days' worth of line-ups, but there are some really good acts playing that day, such as Glasvegas, Saw Doctors, House Of Pain and The Strokes. Other than that, I have no real interest in any of the bands on that day (not least Black Eyed Peas, who put on a terrible show at last year's Oxegen as well as the Superbowl half-time show), and even my compulsion to see those that I have listed is not that great. So as per usual, Friday is pretty weak, which is understandable, because many first-time festival-goers are, well, getting used to going to a festival for the first time!
Business always tends to pick up on the Saturday. The big draw of the entire weekend will undoubtedly be the Foo Fighters, and I myself am tempted to go down just for the Saturday to see them play. Arctic Monkeys have been placed pretty high up on the bill, but what exactly have they done since their debut album? I also fail to see the big deal in Paulo Nutini, but hey, the girls love him and his accent is better than mine. And you can be rest assured that music lovers of all kinds will head down just to see the likes of Beady Eye, Brandon Flowers and Deadmau5.
The rest of the undercard for Saturday is pretty strong, including Two Door Cinema Club, who got a very hot reaction from the crowd at the Main Stage last year and sold out three shows in Dublin between December and March. They are going to be a must-see. Of course, lest we forget the talented exploits of Imelda May, The Vaccines, Jessie J, Hurts and Bruno Mars. Plenty there for people to get animated about.
On to Sunday, and your main event, so to speak. This year's has to be one of the most stacked billings I have ever seen for any festival. Coldplay and Beyoncé top the card, and while I'm not a huge fan of either of them, there will be a lot of excited people for those acts. It only gets more polarised in terms of bands from there, as we are greeted with the phenomenal The National, Slash and Pendulum. No one can accuse the organisers of not giving us choice anyway.
Notwithstanding all of that musical goodness, we've also got Primal Scream, Manic Street Preachers, and Jimmy Eat World. Some good rock bands there for those that lament the number of pop acts on show over the weekend, which, by the by, happens every year. People complain about the lack of proper rock at Oxegen, but in reality, they are there in more than sufficient numbers if you look out for them. It's a festival that tries tends to the tastes of the many, not an envious task which will ever please absolutely everyone.
Kesha was recently announced to play the festival, but she is way down the list, which shows that while she is a big hit in the States, she is just not a big draw in Europe. Friendly Fires and Crystal Castles should prove to be electric, with the former expected to have new material ready for the live crowd.
And last but certainly not least, Fight Like Apes are also set to perform on the Sunday. Now, if you have been to this blog before, then you know how much we appreciate FLApes here. The Dublin-based band put on a fantastic show, so if you have never seen them in person, then use this opportunity: your mind will be blown. And that's a promise.
That rounds up this breakdown of the line-up. I hope to start posting up Oxegen-A-Go-Go's on as many bands as possible by next week. If you would like to read any of the Go-Go's from last year, then check out The Novelty Act.
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