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Cork, Ireland
An Irish based alternative music blog. Music news, gigs, live reviews, album reviews... You'll find them here. If you want anything featured or removed, please shout. I hope you'll discover something new to love on this little experiment of mine. Currently editing the Music Section of the UCC Express and contributing to Motley magazine on campus, as well as writing for PopCultureMonster and 4FortyFour. Always looking for new projects so please get in touch if interested. Thanks for reading.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Live Preview: Oxegen 2010 [Friday Preview]

Okay I'm a little late to the party with this (Busy day included last minute Oxegen shopping, racing from Cork to Mahon and back again in search of camping gear and packing - I have to work the next few days so it was now or never!) and, as a result, most of what I wanted to do has been done elsewhere! Scoot over to http://www.swearimnotpaul.com/2010/07/live-oxegen-2010-friday-preview.html for the ever reliable Ronan Hunt-Murphy doing his thing. I had intended on doing a feature EXACTLY like that, but he beat me to the punch unfortunately! As a result, I'm going to try a slightly different tactic.

Highlights Per Stage:

Main Stage: The obvious choice here is Arcade Fire, a real possibility for the highlight of the whole festival, but I'm going to say the Black Keys (16:10-17:35). The blues duo have improved with age and have released a fantastic record this year and (judging by Glastonbury!) they are absolutely fantastic live.

The Vodafone Stage: A pretty weak stage on Friday (it gets much better as the weekend goes on though), I'll suggest Fox Avenue (15:55-17:05). Sunny and upbeat, it's a great way to start the festival. Let's hope that the weather reflects their sound!

Heineken Green Spheres: An easy choice. James Vincent McMorrow (14:00-14:55) is the first one on, and will almost certainly be the best. Released a gorgeous album this year and is going from strength to strength since.

2FM/Hot Press Academy Stage: A stage absolutely dripping in talent all weekend, Friday's highlight is Villagers (22:20-23:35) for me. I caught them at the Marquee in Cork where they thoroughly outshone Grizzly Bear and Midlake and they just seem to grow in confidence as they go along. Unfortunate clashes with Jay-Z and Arcade Fire will probably result in a small crowd, so go along and enjoy the intimacy of the show.

Red Bull Music Academy: A pretty dodgy set on Friday, this is the place to be over the rest of the weekend. Tinie Tempah (19:55-21:05) is the best of a bad lot on day one though.

Dance Arena: A surprisingly poor selection all weekend here. Despite having the best of dance acts on the planet (Prodigy, Groove Armada, Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Hot Chip, Fat Boy Slim, etc. all grace the festival!) none will actually perform in the dance arena. Friday's highlight are Ou Est Le Swimming Pool (15:35-16:15) or Filthy Dukes (16:15-17:00) but I'm not recommending many acts from here too highly to be honest!


One to Not Be Missed:
I'll try and keep this to a band further down the bill if I can. It seems all too obvious to say Arcade Fire, Muse and Eminem for the acts to not miss but let's try and direct you toward something different. I caught Lissie (2FM/Hot Press Academy Stage 16:25-17:20) on Jools Holland a few weeks ago and was mesmerised by her voice. A haunting powerful sound coming from this tiny little girl - it all just seemed so surreal. She could be well worth catching in person.


One You Can Afford To Skip:
Really the entire Red Bull and Dance Arena could be here for Friday, but who hasn't seen Stereophonics (Main Stage 19:05-20:50) live? And more to the point, who actually likes them?


The One EVERYONE Will Be Talking About:
It's HAS to be Arcade Fire really doesn't it?


The Irish Act You Shouldn't Miss:
For me James Vincent McMorrow and Villagers, though I've been told to check out Readers Wives, and the Brilliant Things are rather good too!


What I'm Going To Do (Hopefully!)
14:00-14:55: James Vincent McMorrow (Heineken Green Spheres)
15:00-15:55: The Brilliant Things (Vodafone Stage)
16:10-17:35: The Black Keys (Main Stage)
17:35-19:05: Vampire Weekend (Main Stage)
19:10-20:10: O'Emperor (2Fm/Hot Press Academy Stage)
20:50-23:00: Jay-Z (Main Stage)
23:00-END: Arcade Fire (Main Stage)

*By the way I do realise that my "one not be missed" didn't actually make my list, though she unfortunately clashed with a band that me and the majority of people I'm going with are planning on catching. This is possibly going to happen on each of the entries as I don't want to repeat myself by recommending the same bands in a number of different categories! Okay, back in a few hours for both Saturday and Sunday previews. Far too much work to be done to leave it all until the day before!

2 comments:

  1. "Stereophonics (Main Stage 19:05-20:50) live? And more to the point, who actually likes them?"
    Everyone.

    "It's HAS to be Arcade Fire really doesn't it?"
    No, not at all.

    ReplyDelete