Electric Picnic 2011

Riveta

The toilets in Jimi Hendrix were also an abomination. I actually witnessed people being so horrified by the odor that they (instead of fleeing down the stairs) climbed out over the railings! For 240 squids they could have kept them in better shape!

L'prof

Riveta wrote: »

The toilets in Jimi Hendrix were also an abomination. I actually witnessed people being so horrified by the odor that they (instead of fleeing down the stairs) climbed out over the railings! For 240 squids they could have kept them in better shape!

The troughs have always been horrendous, I just tried to breath through my mouth and it didn't bother me!

iamstop

I found a fujifilm camera lens cover outside the Movember tent. I'll gladly send it to the rightful owner via An Post.

markfla

Riveta wrote: »

Lovely mix of people too! Have to say everyone I encountered or spoke to/at was a delight!

I lost count of how many randomers I spoke to...at one stage myself and an other random guy were left in the middle of the site chatting and our respective groups we were hanging out with just got fed up with us and moved on!

Nice to be talking to women who also didn't assume you were trying to get into their knickers...great vibe

Beekay

Had an absolute blast of a weekend. Camped in Oscar Wilde after being in Hendrix last year and liked it just as much.
Anybody else see the Girl walking through Wilde on Saturday morning absolutely out of it walking sideways and in circles, a real WTF moment. Luckily she was taken care of by paramedics.

From my experience there was a minimal amount of scum around.
Highlights for me were
- The inflatable chapel and a couple in the group we were in getting married.
-The Buladh bus playing riverdance and put 'em under pressure. The thing was bouncing from side to side like the caravan in Fr.Ted
- DJ Shadow, Boys Noize
- The Campsite in general was good fun.

Lowlights
- Completely forgetting what Chemical Brothers were like after Do It Again
- Losing my glasses at the Arcadia thing
- Missing The Rubberbandits

jill_valentine

2fm will have highlights over the next while, so keep an ear out.

bodhrandude

What is the name of the stage in the Body and soul area, it was near the B & S main stage but more to the right and was rimmed with lights at the top of it, it was pumping out filthy electro on Sunday night, early hours of Monday morning.

babymanval

My girlfriend lost her camera, which has some sentimental pictures on it, as well as ones of me with an Indian headdress and sunglasses (fairly distinguishable)... It is faulty/broken, and only turns on when you pull the zoom at the front out when you turn it on. I think it is a Sony (black).

If anyone found it, please help her get it back and let me know, as she is really really disappointed that we have no pictures from the weekend!

marxcoo

Riveta wrote: »

The toilets in Jimi Hendrix were also an abomination. I actually witnessed people being so horrified by the odor that they (instead of fleeing down the stairs) climbed out over the railings! For 240 squids they could have kept them in better shape!

They were horrific..... why they couldn't have just had more portaloos there is beyond me. Nobody should have to witness that..

Highlights- Arcade Fire, White Lies, Hanging in Mindfield and some patches of sunlight!

Lowlights- Annoying people in the campsites who seem to lose any element of humanity just because they are at a festival and the walk from the carpark to the campsite on Friday.... I don't remember it ever being that long and painful!

Dolph Starbeam

L'prof wrote: »

The troughs have always been horrendous, I just tried to breath through my mouth and it didn't bother me!

They were horrendous but they were a life saver too, feck if I was going to que for 10 minutes every time I needed to go for a number 1. For number 2's I had to use the Comfy Crapper place most the time just to save myself queuing.

wnolan1992

panama wrote: »

Comedy: Karl Spain was quite poor (imo) and seemed to be getting laughs out of sympathy almost at the end, Joe Rooney got everyone laughing and it was a fun set, hadn't seen him do stand up live before and really enjoyed it.

Chain weed and fag smokers at gigs, as a non-smoker I'm quite tolerant of second hand smoke but I don't understand people who have to have a fag in their hands every 5 mins as at almost every gig we seemed to be stuck beside a few people who seemed to be constantly puffing away which was really frustrating when you're trying to enjoy the performance but it can't be helped i suppose.

The Body and Soul area was crazy with weed, I've nothing against people smoking it, but the amount being smoked over the entire weekend was insane!! We had a little game going where we saw how long it took us to smell weed in every gig we went to. Think the only one I didn't smell it in was the Undertones. :pac:
One of the funniest things was in the Comedy Tent when David O'Doherty came on:
"Oh, look at you in the front row, rolling a spliff right in front of me.... never knew I had that kind of a reggae vibe going on!" :pac:

Yeah, kind of felt bad for Karl Spain in a way, he's never been my favourite comedian but I've found him funny before, but that set was pretty abysmal. The way he handled that heckler was funny though to be fair.

And while I'm on the comedy, DOD and Omid Djalili were absolutely brilliant, it's not many comedians I go to see that i end up chanting football chants at :pac: Dead Cat Bounce, and the MC's (can't remember who they were, know they're the "I Dare You" guys)

Lucifer-0 wrote: »

Anyone think the whole kids go free thing was a huge mistake?

So many reasons kids shouldn't be in there.
I remember seeing a baby being carried around in one of those back pack/baby carriers while the father had a cigarette in one hand and a can in another, it was very late and the music was very loud, then you look on the ground and see what a child could fall on or pick up.

Just seemed like a terrible idea to me.

I was thinking about this on Sunday walking around. Kinda links into the above issue as well. But I suppose as long as the parents are responsible about it and don't let their kids be exposed to that side of things.... even though it's hard to see how this would be possible at a festival.

threein99

Mark! wrote: »

They were horrendous but they were a life saver too, feck if I was going to que for 10 minutes every time I needed to go for a number 1. For number 2's I had to use the Comfy Crapper place most the time just to save myself queuing.

I can proudly announce I managed to avoid taking a crap all weekend :cool: Took two imodium on friday before leaving and ate small portions all weekend to reduce the poo output :):)

moonflower

I was volunteering this year so I didn't manage to get to too many bands. Still had an amazing time though!

Highs
The food was amazing as usual. The Rebel Burger stand was probably my favourite, think I might have enjoyed them even more than Pieminister.

The weather was lovely for most of the weekend and even after the rain the place stayed mainly mud-free.

Everyone I spoke to was lovely, even the people who looked a bit scobie-ish. Even walking around at night alone I didn't feel worried at any point.

The Oxjam and LMHR tents were great for stumbling into in between other gigs.

The Portaloos were kept in fairly good shape this year. Only bad ones I encountered were in Body and Soul and of course the Eco Toilets in Hendrix were a bit gross.

Lows
The rain on Friday night was a bit annoying. I had a double-skin tent so I stayed dry and toasty but most of my friends didn't and a few of their tents leaked.

I was looking forward to the Rubberbandits Dirty Rave but it was overcrowded and a bit rubbish imo.

The fact that the line-up for Body and Soul and the Comedy tent wasn't on the lanyards. I got mine free while I was working, but I'd have been fairly pissed off if I'd payed a tenner for one.

The sound on the main stage was brutal.

Having to work while Santigold was playing.

Music

Was working from 2-midnight on Friday so I missed most of the music but I managed to catch a bit of Sinead O Connor . I was walking past the Main Stage just as she started playing Nothing Compares to You and it was great. Managed to catch a small bit of Onra and The Rapture on my breaks. Ended up working by the Main Stage again for Interpol. I saw them before and didn't like them, but they were much better this time around. Ended up at the rave in the woods after my shift on Friday, the music there was great but it was a bit quiet, probably because of the rain.

Ended up working in an Info Tent on Saturday and it was right beside the Cosby Stage so I got to hear most of Adebisi Shank's set. They were so, so good! Caught the end of Lykke Li who I'd been looking forward to but I wasn't to impressed with in the end.
Not a massive Arcade Fire fan but everyone was telling me how amazing they are live so I went along. Tbh watching all the balloons being released at the start was the highlight for me. The sound where we were was brutal and there just seemed to be no atmosphere at the gig so I left and went to Ham Sandwich. Definitely a good decision, Ham Sandwich were incredible. I've seen them a few times before but this was by far their best gig I've been to. Ran back in to the Electric Arena after for Public Enemy. I'd never really listened to them before and they ended up being one of my highlights of the weekend. Chemical Brothers rounded off my Saturday night, and although I enjoyed them, they weren't the highlight I was hoping them to be.

Began Sunday with a trip to the Comedy Tent. Andrew Stanley and Damian Clarke were good. Gearoid Farrelly was very hit and miss. Some of his jokes were great and others went down like lead balloons. Poor lad seemed really nervous though. I left after Eric Lalor who was hilarious.
Went to Cast of Cheers after who I was really looking forward to. They were great but I started to feel a bit faint a few songs in so I went back to the tent for a lie-down. Went back in for The Go! Team. I saw them here in Galway a few months ago and they were so rubbish I left after 3 songs. Glad I gave them a second chance though as they were brilliant this time round and the singer said at the end that this would probably be one of their last gigs.
Ran over to catch ASIWYFA after and they were fantastic as usual. Saw most of White Lies before I had to go work at 10. I've seen them twice before and their always brilliant live. My last act of the weekend was The Mighty Stef over on the Salty Dog just after I finished my shift at 2am. Spent the rest of the night dancing over in Hendrix in the tent where you brought your bags of empty cans to exchange them for new ones.

Had such a good weekend, can't wait for next year!

wnolan1992

threein99 wrote: »

I can proudly announce I managed to avoid taking a crap all weekend :cool: Took two imodium on friday before leaving and ate small portions all weekend to reduce the poo output :):)

Huzzah brother!!!!! Barely drank alcohol, ate one meal a day and managed to avoid the horrors of the toilets. WINNING!! :pac:

ghostdancer

bodhrandude wrote: »

What is the name of the stage in the Body and soul area, it was near the B & S main stage but more to the right and was rimmed with lights at the top of it, it was pumping out filthy electro on Sunday night, early hours of Monday morning.

think it was The Earth Ship.

the Love Letter stage was the small one like a glass box with loads of white lights around it.

can't remember what the other one was like but don't think it had and electro or techno on it anyway.

milehip1

DeVore wrote: »

What a night! Mad day eating and eating and looking at all the mad art installations and craft shops. The we hit up the salty dog stage which is a pirate ship acting as a tree house in jamacian Trenchtown. It's mental. From there to arcadia with techno and fire. Chilled out to evil robot (?)

Salty dog and Trenchtown are 2 different areas and it's **** robot

lordgoat wrote: »

Anyone see Austra and Zola Jesus?

saw Austra from the back of the stage(kinda) seemed to go down well,
sadly missed Zola Jesus

Lucifer-0 wrote: »

Anyone think the whole kids go free thing was a huge mistake?

Honestly walking through the sizeable crowd for Arcade fire I nearly milled myself on the handles of a childs buggy! I mean, come on!

bodhrandude wrote: »

What is the name of the stage in the Body and soul area, it was near the B & S main stage but more to the right and was rimmed with lights at the top of it, it was pumping out filthy electro on Sunday night, early hours of Monday morning.

That was the "earth stage" or the mother ship depending on your diet!
It's a new stage and well welcome great tunes Fri and Sat night aswell!

Highs were:
The Rapture :even tho i only caught 4 songs

Willy Mason: what a voice

Death in Vegas:new stuff sounds great, even they took a while to warm up at the end they where outstanding, none of my mates knew their stuff too well but they all left devoted fans

Arcade fire: great vibe in the crowd, great show, I was the guy to the left of the sound desk taking the piss of Win's accent with the "you guys are freaking awseome" between song banter.

Meeting lots of super nice people both old friends and new!

Not meeting any scum.

Lows: the cold at night(even during the days), 7th picnic for me and dont ever remember it being that cold.

Hearing lots of reports of scum and robberies,while hanging in the information tent in sat morning met two guys who had their wristbands cut off them while sleeping,security read out the incident sheet to me and it was tent robbed every 15 minutes or so.
We as a crowd really need to get form pro-active on policing their own areas and would people please stop leaving valuables in thier tents!
If you feel the need to bring the family crystal use the damm gig lockers!!

Some unfuuny nordie bitch putting my friend on a bad trip with her-in your face-are you off your head-shouty nonsense, I hope your next child comes out sideways and fully teethed!

General lack of vibe overall very dissapointing 7th Picnic for me and the first one I've left not totally sure if I'll go back.

AnonMous

Had a great weekend this year. Completely made up for the disaster that last year was.

Highlights were Sly and the Family Stone, Beirut, Underworld, Pulp and the fact that I got a free ticket.

I felt there were more scum bags than usual this year and getting started on for asking someone if they were from Limerick city was definitely a low light for me. I thought it was acceptable these days to guess where people were from when you hear their accent!!!!

fits

I didnt really notice any scumbags. If anything I think the crowd is nicer being a bit more mixed and less hipsters. I was there every year except one since 2004. If anything, the Picnic is only getting better.

That said, I havent really camped proper there since 2008. Nothing against it mind, it just hasnt worked out that way. I live fairly near to it now. Come to think of it I only did the tent thing once. Rest of the time I was in a camper or a mates house close by.

R0N BURGUNDY

I had an absolute blast. Friday lost my pals in boys noize and then when i went to go check out arcadia and got absolutely drenched, i just sacked it off and got to bed for a reasonable enough time (before 2am I think) which was great for Saturday. Despite dropping dead when I got back to the tent, it totally sparked off a chest infection which I'm suffering with now!! Booo!!

But the rest of the weekend, I got loads done and met some lovely people. We were in the Andy Worhol campsite and one thing that we didn't have a clue about until we went to go to sleep was that the recycling tent place was actually going to be a ravespot all night long. On Friday night it woke me up a good few times considering we were camping right in front of it but I made the most of it for the rest of the weekend. So basically - I'd say next year they should maybe warn people that it will be belting out music all night in case they want to catch a few winks at night.

Met a few dodgy geezers who had sneaked in - they had that look about them but I didn't ever expect anything to happen with them. Oh yes - on Monday morning, went to bed at 5am and got woken up by some absolute scumbag at about 7am who ran up and boot my 1 man tent and nearly turned the whole thing over with me in it. I leaned forward and peered through the zip and listened to him shouting to everyone and a bunch of people (mostly girls) that he was going to do everyone in and was going to stab them in the face. It was clearly an empty threat/promise because he was such a pathetic tit. But some girl shouted him down and made him take a seat and it transpired that he was having some sort of a mental breakdown and wanted someone to kill him instead. I'm glad I was so tired because if I had of gotten out of the tent when he kicked it, he was going to get a serious beating because I was about to have a mental breakdown myself after being woken up in such a shock!! I said to myself I am going to bring a hurling stick next year just in case some twat like him actually runs around with a knife out. But apart from that, nothing but lovely people

Might drive down myself next year just so I have the option of kipping in the car.

Anyway - the thing I was wondering: Does anyone know 3 people that were down together; Danielle, Erika and Mark>? My phone died and I didn't think to take their numbers and I can't remember their 2nd names. I think they said that they are from Kildare and I know Danielle is now living in Belfast. If anyone can hook me up with any of those 3, that would be magic!!

:):)

bodhrandude

Had a brilliant weekend, mines started on Thursday as I was volunteering for the first time so there was a nice party at Trenchtown whipped up by Mr Whippy to get things started.

On Friday I caught a few acts before my shift at 8 pm, caught the starting of Jimmy Cliffs set where he donned what looked like a bright luminous yellow jumpsuit and he seemed to be in fine form for a man of his years. For nostalgic reasons watched a bit of Cry Before Dawns set, they werent so bad, quite a late 80s sound but a little samey after a while.

Also caught a few tracks from Twin Shadow who were ok. Whilst working my first shift from 8 pm to 4 am at the paintball exit leading into the arena between the Cosby stage and the Little Big tent I still managed to soak up some sounds from the tents.

I caught a bit of Santigold from the main stage during my break, a cool type of trip hop happy go lucky rock n roll sound I had to go back to work when she invited some of the audience onto the stage. Heard a bit of Gavin Fridays set from my pitch which really didnt do anything for me but when Boys Noize and sh*t Robot were doing their respective sets I wanted so much to be in the Little Big tent, still the sound coming from there was phenomenal and I could still appreciate the bit of visuals I could see from the aperture of the tent from where I stood, my job was ensuring that festival production traffic flowed freely and was clearing the path of festival goers, pretty easy peasy work really.

Saturday My shift kicked off from about 2 pm to 10, so the first act of the day I got to see was during my break Donal Dineens Parish, a nice mellow sound to kick off the afternoon while eating my Thai red vegetable rice dinner from the great Wok n Roll. I met a festival buddy from the Life fests Salim Dastan who told me his sister Amina (another great festival buddy) was the backing vocalist in the Parish group, so that was a nice coincidence.

Some of the acts I heard during my work were the Undertones from the Crawdaddy stage, they done all the classic hits, Jimmy Jimmy, Youve Got My Number and Teenage Kicks among others. Their new singer could almost be Fergal Sharkey, you wouldnt be able to tell the difference if your listening from a distance away and outside the tent.

Because I was on the back shift, volunteers for some reason got two breaks on this so I caught some of Lykke Lis set, having not heard her before I was suitably impressed. When the shift ended at 10 went back to the tent for a feed of spliffs and beers so I could catch up on the fun. Arcade Fires set was pretty good with a really neat visual projection backdrop, was watching from the Electric Dreams entrance (the Sun image from the 2007 Picnic) as I was supposed to be meeting someone there. Unfortunately I had to do an extraordinary dump which meant having to go back to the tent for loo roll seeing that there was none in any of the arena toilets. What was the score here with available toilets in the Hendrix campsite all I could see was the long drops which involved some seat wiping before I sat down, where were the plastic portaloos from last year.

Caught the Chemical Brothers set about 20 minutes in, so I missed the epic Horse Power but a visual splendour of a set and some great selections, was really impressed with Dont Stop. The way they use the lazers during that track is amazing, pointed inwards onto the screen it created what looked like fire flies or light refracted through water, a lovely trippy effect. The rest of the night was spent wandering about Body & Soul looking at stuff, missed Paddy Keenan but did look at the bongo nutters in a tent which looked fun. Final port of call was Trenchtown where Mr Whippy was giving it stick. It was about 4.30 when I got back to my tent where it dawned on me I was doing the day shift at 8 in the morning eeeeek!

Sunday After waking up Kevin who I travelled down with from Galway at 7.15 am I had a good puke then brushed my teeth to get rid of the alcoholic odour before we made our way to the volunteers office to sign in. I wasnt the only one in a daze most of the volunteers were in some state.

Lazer Tom and the Blast Crew was the first sounds I recall liking the sound of, a kind of funk, wah wah guitar, dancey sound with amazing horns, this was just on the strength of hearing them outside the tent while working. When I finally got my break I ran into the tent only to find that they finished up 20 seconds later, damn. When I finished my last shift at 4 I originally intended to get some shut eye back at the tent, but when I met Kevin we ended smoking the herb and cracking open some tins.

I didnt venture into the arena again till about 8, still reeling from the pill the night before Kev found another one so we split it, seeing that we were suitably charged up for some dancing we made for the Little Big to see Andy Weatherall, this being my second time seeing him after Sea Sessions last year. The marquee was absolutely wedged and Weatherall played some wicked filthy techno, a great start for me for the oncoming party that lay ahead. Underworld were amazing, even better than the 2008 set and they were the only group to take advantage of the Electric Picnic stage by creating screens on the canvas, this made it easier to see some of the action. Why doesnt EP do this more they dont actually need plasma screens to the sides, they just need to use what Underworld was using.

Pulp who I was never really a fan of blew me away, I really enjoyed their set and realised that I knew more of their stuff than I thought I did. Spent the next few hours exploring the Body & Soul, missed Austra but caught some of Brandt Brauer Fricks set pumping out techno. Went to the Earth Ship stage next which was blasting out filthy electro, excellent stuff I think Jon Averill was on the decks at the time. Then onto the Peace Pagoda for a sneaky wee spliff, a nice trippy ambient place but it was bloody cold by this time with a chill wind blowing over the place. Onto Trenchtown for a while with the 2nd closing band Serious Mischief who mixed jazz, freeform, funk and reggae together in a lovely chilled mix, the star of the group was the drummer who was pretty amazing and intricate. Back to the tent for some more doobies and finally for some shut eye. Roll on EP 2012

Taz1

I agree with the comedy line up not bein on the lanyards - it was a bit ridiculous to be honest... I had wrote down who I wanted to see and what time they were at from the EP website before I went but then lost that so I missed like all the acts I wanted to see.... they didn't even have a schedule up outside the tent like!

fits

Taz1 wrote: »

I agree with the comedy line up not bein on the lanyards - it was a bit ridiculous to be honest... I had wrote down who I wanted to see and what time they were at from the EP website before I went but then lost that so I missed like all the acts I wanted to see.... they didn't even have a schedule up outside the tent like!

Do you not have a smartphone loike???

To be fair I think every tent should have a schedule up outside. Its so hard to figure out whats on or who you're listening to half the time.

bodhrandude

Can anyone tell me who the band that closed the Trenchtown stage on Sunday was, it was about 4ish am. Just want to identify the group so I can up a clip of them on Youtube plus there was no timetable really printed for the Trenchtown stage.

edit: Found the name they were called Serious Mischief.

twowheelsonly

Working there - Best one that I heard all weekend, on Saturday morning.
"Eh, I slept with some fella and when I woke up he was gone and so was my wristband"
Classic.

budgemook

danniemcq wrote: »

also better say sorry for everyone who hated the ALAN/STEVE thing, i done that a lot....

There was a guy selling tea in the campsites walking around that was called Alan, he was good craic though even though his head was wrecked

I actually still don't know what this all means. Didn't hear it, wouldn't have understood if I did.

twowheelsonly wrote: »

Working there - Best one that I heard all weekend, on Saturday morning.
"Eh, I slept with some fella and when I woke up he was gone and so was my wristband"
Classic.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Overheard-at-Electric-Picnic/144908488878354

Do it

danniemcq

budgemook wrote: »

I actually still don't know what this all means. Didn't hear it, wouldn't have understood if I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzypOnklG60

mal1

fits wrote: »

I didnt really notice any scumbags.

ah come on! you blind!

Did you not see the rubberbandits?

Fugs!!

Adebisi shank, Gavin Friday, Interpol, The Undertones and Death in Vegas were fantastic.

Yuck were only ok and I was very let down by Warpaint. My Highlite was getting 10 hours sleep Friday night.

Starie1975

danniemcq wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzypOnklG60

Check this one out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2D3-FkoXNU&sns=em

It was funny the first time I heard it in the Wilde campsite on Friday afternoon. Not so at 3am on Monday morning outside my tent in Warhol.

stampydmonkey

As a first timer, didn't know what to expect. Camped up in Warhole. Had a good crowd around us so felt totally safe all weekend and had nothing knicked (not even a half crate of bud we left outside so that it would be knicked!).

Just decided to head around from stage to stage without a major plan and came across some great sets. Everything everything kinda just drew us in and really enjoyed them. Also can't believe more people didnt mention Sharon Shannon. Maybe it was the pints but she was brilliant. Also brought up Jack-L too, excellent. Body and Soul was class and Arcadia for Underworld was good craic too. Found the sound on the main stage dire all weekend. Was up the back so maybe that was it.

Food was unreal. Converted to a vegetarian on Saturday for a while, had about 3 spicy veggie burgers, and a Saba on Friday evening in the rain....mmmmm!

Saw a good few scangers around but anyone I was talking to seemed sound enough! Main annoyance was all the freeloaders. The amount of people I came across (even found my brother at one point!!!) who said they got in for free is a bit of a piss take cosidering the €240 for the tickets...maybe its usual?

Anyway really enjoyed the weekend, bar still being unable to talk. Defo head back