Live Review: Wallis Bird @ Oxegen 2010

When & Where: Heineken Green Spheres on Saturday July 10th @ 15:00.

I must confess before getting into this that I was never a Wallis Bird fan. My girlfriend dragged me along and only the promise that it would keep me out of the rain sounded like a winner to me, but on we go...

Energy fuelled, uplifting and mesmerising. Wallis was on phenomenal form, dancing around the stage with the energy and exuberance of young child on a sugar high. She seemed so genuinely thrilled to be at Oxegen (telling the crowd that she herself was camping with some family and had caught loads of great acts the day before) that it was impossible to resist. The crowd clapped, cheered and sang in time with her and her band, all of whom looked equally excited to be on stage in front of such a large crowd.

Despite being on so early in the day, the two time Meteor Award Winner (Once for Best Irish Female, once for 2FM's "Hope of..." Award) played in front of a packed Green Spheres tent and treated the crowd to the majority of her well known tracks, including the fantastic set closer To My Bones and the surprisingly fun La La Land (It is an awful song people, let's be honest. Sounds good live though.)

The general feeling I got from the crowd was one of appreciation. My girlfriend was delighted to finally see an artist she has loved for so long in the flesh, though she did complain that Wallis relied a little too heavily on her second album. The first is simply the better of the two, though it was inevitable that Wallis would pander to a crowd largely attracted by her recent success and radio play. Overall, it's safe to say that she put on a vibrant and fun show - the other female artists I caught on Saturday (Cathy Davey, Ellie Goulding and Florence & The Machine) could all learn a thing or two.