A quick glance out the window to my left reveals the street outside our offices being bathed in sunshine. Is it too much to hope that this sunshine miraculously stays for the whole weekend? Some weather forecasts are predicting that we'll endure the tail end of hurricane Irene, but if there's one character flaw that I have in abundance it's a wilful ignorance and a failure to adhere to warnings. That, my friends, is why I'm packing suncream. Anyhow, below is our final list of Electric Picnic recommendations. We're sure you'll have no problems finding some aural entertainment to keep yourselves occupied at the Picnic, but in case you're drawing a blank you should check out some of the following.
PJ Harvey - Friday | Main Stage | 8.45pm
Polly Jean wowed music critics and fans alike earlier this year with the release of her outstanding new album Let England Shake, which cemented her position as being a hugely relevant artist once again after a few years in the wilderness. When she's on form, there are few musicians out there are engaging as Ms. Harvey.
Pulp - Sunday | Main Stage | 10.30pm
Ah Jarvis, how we've missed you. Cocker and co. celebrated a return to form recently with some fantastic live performances (notably at the Reading Festival), showing that, though he may have been out of sight for a few years, Jarvis has not lost any of his pomp.
The Minutes - Sunday | Cosby Stage | 2pm
The Minutes are favourites of ours here in Entertainment.ie and often you can hear the blare of their debut album Marcata emanating from various earphones as we type furiously on our computers. But don't take our word for how good they are, go see them on Sunday afternoon.
Underworld - Sunday | Main Stage | 8.30pm
For many, their first taste of Underworld would have been when Born Slippy pounded out of our TV's in the opening scene of Trainspotting, a film that catapulted them into the cultural landscape. They don't play that many gigs on these shores so make the most of this opportunity to check out some incredible sounds.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnectic Zeros - Friday | Cosby Stage | 11pm
Edward Sharpe and co. played a Picnic warm-up show last night in the Button Factory and, judging from the reports we've heard from those in attendance, it was a very special show indeed. This show will be a welcome alternative if you're not overly-enamoured by the madness of being at either Interpol or DJ Shadow who are on at the same time.
