EP 2016

The anticipation of getting back to the picnic was huge, it really is an awesome site for a festival - check out this drone footage:

After a 5 year hiatus, 4 picnics had passed by since my last one and it was with huge excitement I arrived at eco camping on Friday afternoon. The traffic handlers had directed me away from the north side yellow entrance which I had targeted coming into the site via Rhode island, Mount Mellick. The ground and my trolley were solid and getting my gear over to the red parking entrance, which eco camping was right beside was a non-issue. McG had my tent up :-) Now we just needed to put together the gazebo, a roll of trusty gorilla tape was indispensable. A close second to ring is Jim carrol's annual festival tips. Camp flag up and job done.

Flag up eco camping

I read about the addition of swimming at the picnic this year, it was open at 5.30 on Friday evening, realistically that was the only time to go, it would be my first thing at the picnic this year. We were the first adults to arrive at the swimming, it having been open to families that afternoon, getting there was a mission, with staff giving wrong directions. There was about 6 safety crew so they took that very seriously. The manmade lake was created by the Cosby family, the ancestral owners of Stradbally Hall, during the early 18th Century. We swam a couple of laps, what a start!

Lake swimming down by family camping

Right off the bat, there was a clash that for me would be tough to beat. Nas on the main stage or Broken Social Scene, both nostalgia trips, Nas I had never seen and I love my hip hop but Broken Social Scene had too many amazing memories for me not to be revisited. One of the band even started a Robbie Keane chant in tribute to his retirement. Their set covered their last 3 albums, dropping the majestic 7/4 shoreline early and the euphoric Dreams of Pavement their penultimate track. Todd Terje is an ideal festival vibe, no interaction with the audience, though, it got me thinking about Orbital's head torch glasses as a great way to help with that.

McG was up for Super Furry Animals and I went with the flow, never having paid them any attention, going back to Glasto 2002 even.

Super Furry Bing Bong

Dineen in the Body and Soul pit 12-3 on a Friday night was classic for years. Miss 4 picnics and come back and he's relegated to the Body & soul Earthship stage for and hour and a half Saturday night at midnight. Everything moves on.

Friday Music

• Broken Social Scene - Electric Arena (7.30)
• Todd Terje - Electric Arena (9.00)
• Super Furry Animals - Electric Arena (10:45)

With breakfast at the campsite, there's no huge rush to walk in - realistically you are not coming back until done. Saturday afternoon was a Mindfield wander, the new Irish Times tent a great starting point with a coffee from the amnesty stand and listening to Malacky Clerkin, Gavin Cummiskey and Sinead O'Carroll talk about interviewing players after matches and they all having media training and the difficulty of getting something real.

Sports Talk: Malacky Clerkin IT, Sinead O'Carroll The Journal, Gavin Cummiskey IT

First music was the Jim Carroll tipped Whitney. I arrived to find the base player jumping on top of the singer for a snog. Very enjoyable show. Front man , Julien Ehrlich, is also the drummer so the kit sits centre. His falsetto vocals complement the music which reminds me of the fleet foxes at times. With Dingle close to my heart I am curious about Walking with cars and stay for their opening song, a minute of the gorgeous purple rain tributes into a song the tent know. There is only one destination now, Engine Alley at the Jerry Fish Electric sideshow. Having seen then band live over 50 times in the 90s this is a pure nostalgia trip. "Song for Someone", what a timeless gorgeous song and then their Diamond Jill and crazy jane  getting things organised with a hammer and a plastic spoon.

McG & me enjoying Engine Alley

Straight after it's across to see the Rusangano family from Limerick/Clare via Zimbabwe and Togo. Wonderful energy.

Rusangano family

Next up is Little Simz, she was compelling, a highlight was God bless Mary, a thank you to her neighbour who never complained all the years she was playing her stereo loud at all hours. It has to be back over to Jerry Fish, to see the Franks, so great to hear Fashion crisis hits new York, After All. Now it's time to head out to the Other Voices stage in the woods, down from Trenchtown and before the Salty Dog, a new stage for me. The rectangular tent is packed and we start squeezing in from the rain, I eventually settled into a grand perch inside the door sitting up on a beam. It's been a few years since I seen La Galaxie in Athlone and their energy is still massive, big vibe from the jammed tent. A highlight.

La Galaxie

Finally, I get to the main stage for the first time and it's gone midnight - technically Sunday. LCD Sound System. More nostalgia, but what a festival band, the weekend highlight hands down. James Murphy is not losing his edge. And then onto the new Oxjam, a small tent in the middle of the field with it's back to the exit tot the campsites as people leave the main stage. But I'm there for a reason, trawling through the line-up that morning I had find, Augustus and John, Cane 141's Michael Smalle's a;test incarnation and his first gig at the picnic since I saw them there at the chill stage in Body and Soul in 2007. There might have been 10 of us there. But it was the dancing highlight of the weekend for me, I love dancing to his\their music.

Augustus & John

Saturday Music

• Whitney - Cosby Tent (5.15)
• Engine Alley - Jerry Fish Electric sideshow (6.30)
• Rusangano family - Little Big tent  (7)
• Little Simz - Little Big tent (8.15)
• The Frank & Walters - Jerry Fish Electric sideshow (9.00)
• Le Galaxie - Other Voices (9.45)
• LCD Soundsystem  - Main Stage (00:05)
• Augustus & John - Oxjam (02:00)

Sunday kicked off in the Mindfield again, and Amnesty tent, the only way to start the day really. Blind boy was talking about "What the F*** is culture" in the Leviathan tent, explaining about meta-modernism and why we like Stranger Things (Netflix series, family film one minute, horror the next) because it's like our Facebook feed. The tent was packed and just caught some of this from outside. So much going on in this field, I catch Limerick author Kevin Barry reading, I think, from his novel, Beatlebone, funny stuff. I've no must-sees before Savages so wander, catching a song from Frankie Cosmos and Saint Sister before grabbing a seat at the back of the body and soul amphitheatre and listen to Elm. I then catch a song from Blossoms and also Wild Beast who are complete with rock star front man. Then it's most definitely over to Rankins Wood for Savages, - it was mesmerising, we can't take our eyes off Jehnny Beth.

Jehnny Beth crowd standing

The rain was coming down now so with Animal Collective coming up there was no going anywhere, I love some of their recorded music but I couldn't really get into their show as much as I appreciated it. Back to the main stage for New Order. They start with a song front the new album, Singularity, wow, new Order are back! True Faith, Blue Monday, super set, finishing of course with Joy Division.

New Order

Music wise Jerry Fish closed the festival with the end of the world party as the rain hammered down, sage advice and great vibes!

Sunday Music

• Elm - Body & Soul main stage (5.00)
• Savages - Rankins Wood (6.30)
• Animal Collective - Rankins wood (7.45)
• New Order - Main Stage (8.45-10.00)
• End of the world party - Jerry Fish Electric sideshow (01.00)

Garbhán sent a post-festival questionnaire:

• Highlights - LCD Sound System, Savages, Broken Social Scene, New Order, La Galaxie
• Lo-lights - Animal Collective
• Depth of mud - There was never any mud in our campsite, see the picture at the end of the field after I packed up. A couple of cm in the thoroughfares between the main campsites (where were the metal walkways?) after the Saturday morning rain.
• LCD? Massive. James Murphy said he'll be back next year, see set list
• Campsite night noise-o-metern - Eco camping was away from the Charlie Chaplain field and right beside the red entrance, it was quiet once you got home when all the music had stopped!
• Atmosphere - 37,000 fri & sat and an extra 18,00 supposedly on Sunday. I am struggling to think of any bad vibes, I didn't even bump into a nasty drunk
• Volume of mud between toes - Now my Keen sandals are the first thing I pack for a festival and use exclusively before anything mucks up. There ain't no mud getting into my hiking boots though! I didn't even need to break out the gators!
• Batman locator - the bat was this year replaced with a pink elephant, the tent pole needed some nursing and definitely needs to be re-strung before the next outing. We didn't have many friends to pull in but used it to locate each other . McG swore he never saw it the whole Savages show after I had told him it would be up. Finally, he believed me when it's in one of the photos when Jehnny Beth is crowd surfing. Plenty of punters thanked us for allowing them to hook up too! 
• Toilets/ Showers - didn't check out the showers and never had a bad toilet experience, this year they were split between male and female with plenty of male urinals too.
• New Order - A great surprise, I had not realised they had ditched the guitars and gone back to their original blueprint, see set list
• Dryness in tent - I was surprised I got a little leak on one side, not sure why, maybe the swirling wind, but nothing got wet and it was easily soaked up with my towel.
• Super Furrys - A nice surprise having never paid them attention, Gruff Rhys was constantly entertaining 
• Food - Saba wedges with Thai curry sauce were mind blowing, chips with curry sauce will never be the same again. Brilliant tip from the on-site ticket.
• Don't tell me there wasn't mud everywhere - not til Sunday night there wasn't, at that stage McG was gone home.
• Spoken word area - quality, IT tent nice addition (think added 2015?)
• Free tea and a mini flake this year? Didn't get any free food :-( Prices up a bit from before, 9/10 for most mains.
• Jenny Greene and RTE orchestra - believe? Heard orchestra was class but didn't make it
• Da match.....NT tent had it but it was jammers and not possible to get in, we sat and ate close by but could hear nought, confined to updated from punters/phone in the end
• Gortex to the ears, and beyond.... My Ground Effect Flash Gordon (Hydrofoil technology) did the trick and my waterproof pants weren't needed until Sunday night
• Pink sunburnt heads???? I think I remember applying sunscreen at one stage!

My flag flying after breaking down my tent in the eco camping field on Monday