Rain. Tonnes of the stuff. Soaked to the skin tonnes. So, now that thats out of the way, what did we see?
Day started off with a Galway reunion at the Saw Doctors. I have never seen so many people singing N17 or Hay Wrap. We then headed to the Hotpress New bands Stage, to catch some of Will and The People, watch out for these poppy happy people.
From here, We wanted to stay out of the rain, so we went to the Green Spheres, partly because it was the big tent near the main stage, and partly to see Dniel Merriweather. Then it was time to brave the weather, to catch The Blizzards, who have fuckig huge egos on them, but sure what harm. A dcent yet unimpressive set, but others seemed to like it. James Morrisson ws next, LASHING RAIN it was, but we wanted a good spot for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, mostly due to the sound completely bottoming out when the speaker stacks were lowered to avoid the high wind. Heads Will Roll, Zero, Maps and It’s blitz kept people moving through the rain, and kind of lifted our spirits.
Soaked to the skin, we hit the Hotpress Tent, to see Little Boots. The number of people sticking to the edges of the tent ment we had a hard time getting in, but once we did got right up to the front. A great gig from what we saw, finishing on the Hot Chip cover Stuck On Repeat.
Elbow have been one of my favourite bands of the last year, so after a bit of drying off we grabbed some food, and hit the main stage again. They were great, if a little low energy in the rain, but I swear the bass line in Grounds for Divorce finally fractured the clouds, and the rain started to clear. A great finale featuring One Day Like This A Year, white confetti streamers and smoke really cheered people up.
We went for a bit of a wander, to survey the damage to the site, before heading back to the Main Stage for Bloc Party, who were alright, and Kings of Leon, before the toll of the day got to much, and we bowed out.
Song of the Day – Toss up between One Day Like This A Year, and Stuck On Repeat.
Quote of the day – This crowd is amazing, despite the fucking rain.
General impression – We, but happy, the quality of the bands kept my spirits up, think if it wasnt for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Little Boots, and Elbow, I would have not survived the rain. A little pissed we missed Regina Spector – tent was rammed due to rain, and Codes – a mixture of things, but all in all, a good day.
