The new that this year's Electric Picnic sold out well in advance of the start of the festival took many of us by surprise, not to mention disappointing many a prospective Picnicker, but last night's headline show from Fatboy Slim succinctly showed just how many people are at the Picnic this year. It seemed that practically every one of the 35,000 attendees were crammed in front of the main stage for the Brighton DJ's set.
Said set was perfect fodder for a late night boogie, with Cook ever-so adept at working the crowd by teasing in snippets from his hits along in his house-based DJ set. He even found time for the now obligatory 'Get Lucky' remix.
With the possible exception of last year's set from The Killers, we've never witnessed so many people at a single show at Electric Picnic and all of 'em were unified in their appreciation of Norman Cook's performance. Friday night's revellers weren't given many options once the sun went down due to the festivals other stages (Electric Arena, Little Big Tent et al) not yet being open, so once 10pm hit it was either Fatboy Slim or a wander through the delights of Body & Soul. In the end, entertainment.ie did both.
Among all of the musical treats we witnessed yesterday, we saved the best for last. Kilkenny's R.S.A.G. (or Jeremy Hickey to his mother) played an absolute blinder to a packed Body & Soul crowd. R.S.A.G. (Rarely Seen Above Ground), for the unaware, is a drummer/vocalist who sits solo on the stage and plays along with a musical backing track - and dear lord, was it ever amazing. Simply put, Hickey is one of the best drummers we've ever seen, perfectly blending awe-inspiring power and delicate, intricate touches behind his kit. Magic.
Ska act The Beat are opening the main stage at the time of writing, with Ocean Colour Scene due on next but it's Robert Plant at 7pm that we're particularly excited about!
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