Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ELECTRIC IN THE AIR
COUNTDOWN IS ON FOR STRADBALLY FESTIVAL AFTERPARTY NEWS BEER FESTIVAL CATERS FOR ALL
As Electric Picnic approaches each year, we at Ultimate are rinsed with conflicting emotions – yay! the best festival in Ireland is on next weekend or, boo! we’re another year older and won’t get to enjoy the best festival in Ireland with the same old gay abandon.
We usually end up trawling through Youtube to find clips from our favourite editions of the weekender at Stradbally Hall, near Portlaoise, before casting back, wistfully to the days of Oxegen, Witnness and Trip to Tipp... The favourite of all, though, was Feile 95 – when Trip to Tipp was in, er, Cork. So imagine the waves of melancholic delight that washed over as we stumbled upon an ad for the festival doing the rounds on Whatsapp. Topping the bill on the three-nighter were The Prodigy, Blur, The Stone Roses, Massive Attack, Underworld and the Chemical Brothers. The Orb and Orbital were there too as were Black Grape, Ash, JTQ,
Galliano, Kylie and Terence Trent D’arby, though The Verve didn’t make it following a split the night before at T in the Park.
The festival was a curious affair, the campsite miles from the city’s Parc Ui Chaoimh stadium and buzzing with wasps. We nearly got our nads rolled, got ripped off by a boy from Newry with a spider tattoo, met the Stone Roses in a pub, enjoyed an all-too brief romance with a sweet girl from Innishowen. All that for the princely sum of £45 – for a weekend ticket. You could barely get to Co Laois for that money these days.
Still, I suppose we can’t live in the past, times move on, prices rise and music evolves. And to be fair to Electric Picnic, there are so many acts on the roster, across so many stages that the €240 plus booking fee that a weekend pass is selling for at the minute, doesn’t seem so outrageous. Especially when that roster includes such bands as The xx, A Tribe Called Quest, Duran Duran, Elbow, Interpol, London Grammar, Madness, The Pretenders, Divine Comedy, Soulwax, Declan Mckenna, Le Galaxie and our own Bicep. And that’s just from skimming across the top few lines... There’s also a slew of incredible acts, comedy, performance art, stuff for the kids, side shows, workshops and all the cool stuff that sets EP apart from the rest. It doesn’t have Underworld or the Roses on the bill and it certainly doesn’t cost under 50 quid, but then we’re not 18 any more either. Just mature, like EP and fine wine.
Some tickets are still available for Electric Picnic through the festivals resale site. Visit www. electricpicnic. ie and you might just make it... Three huge afterparties to make you aware of, if you’re heading to any of the awesome CHSQ shows this weekend. First up is Ocean Colour Scene tonight and you want to be heading round the Limelight afterwards where Steve Craddock will be Djing.
It all kicks off at 10.30pm and tickets are £5.
Tomorrow night after the sellout Stiff Little Fingers the official aftershow will feature punk and rock anthems all night in Limelight 2. Doors are 9.30PM and admission £5.
And finally, on Sunday Carl Cox headlines the final night of CHSQ 2017, which is totally sold out, followed by the official afterparty round in the Limelight with Hot Since 82, Ejeca, Phil Kieran, Schmutz & more.
Doors are 10pm, strictly over 18 and admission £16. So to the Holden Beer Fest, then. It runs from Today to Sunday at the brewery near Lambeg (near Lisburn) The festival features more than 35 beers and ciders, 30 musical acts, plus secret gigs in the Tap Room, and some great stuff for kids including a drum circle, face painting, art and creative workshops and Sensory Sensations with messy play trays, UV dark tents and bouncy castles. Sounds too good for kids – why can’t the grown-ups get that too? Anyhoo, tickets for the festival at still available at taproomhilden. com.