- Summer’s over (sob, sob), but not without one final farewell to long sunny evenings: the Electric Picnic 2006 – the perfect opportunity for precisely 32,500 people to get their mojo on with gusto. This year's sold-out, three-day, all-camping event added new stages and features, plus theatre groups and art installations, and it seemed like anyone with an ear for good music was making the trip to Laois (many coaches and services were booked out). I scrambled to get there early Friday evening to sample the many delights which this ever-growing festival has to offer.
DAY ONE
All roads lead to Stradbally - after an arduous battle with pegs, poles, diagrams and instructions (which might as well have been written in Hebrew), I managed to pitch my tent, before legging it over to the Bodytonic stage just in time to catch Fish Go Deeps' set.
The Cork city dons of all things deep opened up with Dennis Ferrer’s killer vocal track 'My Underground', followed later by Mathew Jonsons' 'Folding Space'. As the chunky, uplifting grooves and work-your-body house tracks shook the tent, it felt like the Electric Picnic had begun in earnest. Elegant vocalist Tracy K joined the duo on a couple of their own numbers: 'Battery Man' early on and then finisher 'The Cure and the Cause', just released on Defected. The roar of approval from the elated dancers in the tent proved that Greg and Shane have maintained a loyal following.
Having worked up a sweat, I got some refreshments and took a brief look at the lineup for the remainder of the evening. I caught the tail end of Norway's Todd Terje and some of Crazy P's live disco-funk before deciding on a change of scenery, moving over to the main stage for the evening’s headliners.
The area in front of this stage promptly swelled with bodies as thousands flocked to see a rare performance from Bristol legends Massive Attack. With a serious speaker rig to drop their fat, skankin' dub basslines through, it didn't take long to get their followers whooping and punching the air triumphantly.
Giving us those timeless gems we have come to know and love like 'Karmacoma', 'Hymn of the Big Wheel' and 'Teardrop'; Massive Attack satisfied the crowd now enraptured by a combination of the highly charged atmosphere and dazzling stage lights. 'Unfinished Sympathy' caused a commotion before the group surprised many finishing with some screeching guitar solos and driving punk rock.
I wandered back along the trail towards the campsite, still intoxicated by the funky grooves and the political ramblings of 3D and Daddy G, before sensibly deciding to catch some z's with another two full days of festivities to go.
DAY TWO
By now many people were getting orientated on their campsite surroundings, indeed many were also getting a little disorientated - and why not? After availing myself of the onsite showers I sought some well-being with a massage at the aptly titled Body & Soul Village – very nice! So many chilled-out looking types were wandering or floating around, probably puzzled by the choice of therapies on offer: cranosactal or aryuvedic? Erm...
Over at the Bodytonic tent, Ireland's nu-skool kid on the electro block, Dancepig, was giving an afternoon lesson in staccato sound. Anyone not quite awake by now was shook from their slumber – Dancepig’s humorous 'Countdown' theme tune makeover gave the crowd a real lift. Barry Redsetta took over afterwards filling in for Nathan Fake who apparently missed his flight - silly beggar!
After a quick scout around and some munch, it was time for some serious turntable trickery from Krafty Kuts. Rockin' it in a mix stylee, Mr. Reeves played many of his own mash-ups as well as bootlegs of Daft Punk, The Prodigy and some old-skool flavas. With finger-lickin breakbeats, boombastic meltdowns and an urge to scratch like no other, Krafty Kuts almost wore the crowd out before finishing with Johnny Osbourne's 'Buddy Bye Bye'.
DJ Shadow rocked it up at a packed Electric Arena with his MC really getting into the festival vibe. Zombie Nation proved to be far too weird and wirey for me so I decided to take refuge over by the main stage and enjoy some tasty Mexican cuisine. New Order delivered a slightly jaded set with many of their fans making themselves known. Hook appeared a little bothered by some TV crew fellow in his midst, but managed to get over it by the time they gave us their 'Blue Monday' anthem.
The Belgian Radio Soulwax/2 Many DJs collective commandeered the Bodytonic tent reworking big party anthems like Thomas Andersson’s 'Washing Up' and Altern-8's 'Frequency', which didn’t really float my boat, but the big talking point backstage was that they were apparently in some sort of accident en route to the gig with one or two of their guys a little traumatized. Good job there’s too many of them.
For me the highlight of Saturday was the set from stalwart Andrew Weatherall, who stole the show with a scintillating blend of twisted electro and grade-A techno. The 2 Lone Swordsman has produced some memorable electronic music (and is no stranger to these shores), and tonight each record was a progression of the one before it as Weatherall lit his afterburners and scorched the tent. Standout track: Oliver Huntemann's 'Flesh'.
With sore legs I chose to chill out in Chai Wallahs, one of the many cafes on site. After a hectic day, laidback music, laidback people and hot chocolate were just what the doctor ordered.
DAY THREE
On the third day they rose again according to the scriptures! Has anyone else in Ireland suffered brainwashing as a child? Maybe not – there were some signs of fatigue around the site on Sunday, but going to the chapel was hardly foremost in anyone's thoughts. Now and again a cheer would sound out which would develop into a Mexican cheer spreading throughout the campsite - we weren't beaten yet bejaysus!
Galway’s' Disconauts provided the tonic over at the Bacardi Bar with some lazy house tunes as the sun made a welcome appearance, and all those with groovy moves got down to the funky music as even the downtrodden were revived. I scooted over to the Bodytonic tent where German Ian Pooley was delivering spacey tech house and smooth Latin strains, finishing a fine set with his new version of '90 Degrees'.
One of Detroit's true kings of techno, Carl Craig, made his mark arriving onstage in a flamboyant white suit, baseball hat and bug-eye sunglasses. He got stuck in early on with some solid techy business, adding grit and noise to his vinyl from a laptop. Soundstream's '3rd Movement' added the cosmic-funk, but he chose mainly to thump it out, giving a more uptempo set than his June appearance at The Garden Party. Carl worked the crowd into a sweaty mess, throwing in 'Strings of Life' before rounding off the set with more sonic mastery.
State-of-the-art pioneers Coldcut swung into town with enough stage technology to give any sound engineer a whopping headache. 'Walk a Mile in My Shoes' was an early high, but I departed to the comedy stage, getting a good laugh from Aussie Adam Hills who is a big hit with Irish audiences. A well-deserved breather was needed so I hung out and stocked up on the fluids and grub in preparation for a night of dancing.
Back over at the Bodytonic stage Layo & Bushwacka were plugging away with some deep tracks getting the crowd ready as the sun dipped low in the sky. Berliners Tiefschwarz built on this momentum with their of-the-now electrohouse, but then it was time for the legendary Francois Kevorkian to show these new pretenders how it's done.
Spiraling, spooky chords grabbed centrestage with Francois practically remixing each track used in his set. Morphing his way through soundscapes, the NYC luminary wreaked havoc before dropping Rolando's 'Jaguar' to sheer delight from the crowd. The stage was now set for Gallic techno warrior Laurent Garnier to appease the assembly.
The crowd at the Bodytonic tent was now spreading out to the surrounding area as many like myself knew this would be unmissable. The oh-so deep, live set had the non-believers scratching their heads as Garnier built the atmosphere with Gottsching's 'E2E4' and his jazzy 'Barbiturk Blues'. The man with an unbridled passion for his music patiently took his audience along refusing to ham things up.
Artwork from Laurent's own visuals man worked well as we got treated to 'Crispy Bacon', which upped the pace and left the crowd hungry for more. Garnier duly supplied, shaking the tent so much I feared it would collapse. He introduced his keyboardist and then sax player Philippe ("The man with the red face") - This was what we had all been waiting for as Garnier at the helm of some kind of mothership won the right to finish the Electric Picnic 2006 with thanks and a bow - tres magnifique!
This festival has it all and there was so much I missed (Basement Jaxx, Groove Armada, Gary Numan). It's hard to pinpoint any one element that makes the Electric Picnic so special, but if I were to hazard a guess, I would have to say the friendly and relaxed atmosphere. From the organizers, the artists/performers, the stage crews through to the people working on the ground - the level of effort was also huge.
Special thanks to Deirdre@POD, John@Bodytonic, Shane and Ian for info help, Charlie, Jaz and Anita and anyone else I met along the way. Cheers!