After being a veteran of, ahem, two festivals on the Isle Of Wight, this year I had decided to venture further afield in order to excite my musical taste buds. After much deliberation, me and my festival friend decided to travel outside of the UK and head for the Emerald Isle for the Oxegen festival in Dublin. What’s more, is that after deciding on a festival with a stunning line-up we proceeded to choose a not so great method of transport, foolishly avoiding the expensive plane for the tedious train and ferry combo.
The journey was arduous to say the least, experiencing more than our fair share of drunk middle aged men, lack of sleep and snoring over-sized ladies on a ferry in the middle of the night. We took all this with a pinch of salt, and continued on what seemed more like a pilgrimage to see the best bands in the world rather than a late night hop across the Irish sea.
After more trials and tribulations, we finally got off a coach in a sleepy state, and over the brow of the hill we could just about make out the world “OXEGEN” in giant green and white inflatable letters. Even though the campsite wasn’t yet open, the atmosphere was different to anywhere else. Maybe it was the Irish showing us Britons how to really party throughout a festival, or the excitement levels had been amplified due to us being so weary, but whatever it was, Oxegen was already beginning to be something special.
As I entered the main arena for the first time it was clear that the organisers had thought out the layout very well, as all the stages were within close proximity of each other without blurring the music together, something that Glastonbury has been criticised for in the past. As we’re on the subject of the Somerset festival, I think Oxegen got a severe case of Glastonbury-itis in terms of the weather, as for the majority of the weekend the heavens poured down, and even my raincoat cried out for some relief from the rain. Saying this, festival goers’ spirits seemed to reach a new, unheard of, level of joy, creating large expanses of mud pits around the main stage. Many Irish people seemed to be following in the footsteps of their ancestors by digging in the mud, playing the role of a farmer, searching for the odd potato here or there.
Oxegen festival has prided itself on being “The best Rock N’ Roll weekend in Europe”, and it is extremely hard to see why it shouldn’t be. With artists such as Jay-Z, Kasabian, Muse, Eminem, Fatboy Slim, Faithless and The Black Eyed Peas all appearing across the weekend, music of this calibre is always hard to turn down. All the artists seemed to perform the gig as if it were their last, whilst applauding the crowd for sticking it out in the rain, whereas Fatboy Slim gave us a welcome antidote with his two hour long Ibiza-esque set. My personal notable mentions go to Example, as he attracted a crowd that seemed to defy the capacity limit of the 2 FM tent, and Florence and The Machine for reminding people that despite the poor weather that they always have got the love, and always will. Despite realising many of dreams by seeing Kasabian play Fire, and being just metres away from Ellie Goulding, the music can only be a part of your experience at a music festival.
Irish people are quite possibly some of the most charming characters I have ever had the pleasure to meet, and even though we were instantly friends with them when they realised we were from London (or so they thought), never before have people been so willing for others to have such a great time. They’re not scared to have a conversation with you, and even though there are some oddball characters, it will always be amazing to share the experience with such vibrant people.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully determine why Oxegen festival was such a memorable experience, as it could be drawn from a number of things. Was it the people? Was it the eye-catching line-up? Or was it simply the luck of the Irish? Whatever it was, there was certainly something in the air.
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