Electric Picnic: Why I'm So Excited - Reason #8

Reason #8: The Frames 20th Anniversary Tour

I've always found that while they may not always be the biggest band on the bill, Irish acts tend to react best to an Irish festival crowd - Villagers at Harmonic, Wallis Bird at Oxegen this year, the Blizzards in the past... It may not always be the best act on show but they do tend to look like they're having fun.

I'm not really sure if the Frames are one to go out and "have fun" as such, but having poured over live footage of the band it seems that Glen does seem to enjoy his back and forth banter with the crowd - this, for me, is crucial to the enjoyment of any live show. Ever seen the Kings of Leon? Sure it sounds great (well the twice I saw them anyway!) but people tend to leave feeling a little cold. Where was the interaction?

It is here that the Frames are king. And if they can't muster up a little excitement for their 20th anniversary show well... Something would have to be drastically wrong!

The fact that it is a 20th Anniversary Tour rather than one to promote an album makes me think that we could be in for something very special. We can expect a broad spectrum of tracks taken from everything the band has put out since 1991's Another Love Song. In Fitzcarraldo the band have arguably the finest Irish album ever recorded, while the four studio recordings since have all been worthy of high praise.

These guys could be one of the most talked about shows at the Picnic - if they're on form that is.