Oxegen Review: Saturday

With Rage Against the Machine being the main reason for ticket getting, most people made Sunday their day of choice for hitting Oxegen. I however couldn't resist the lure of Justice, and headed down on Saturday afternoon with dancing on my mind.

I was not disappointed.

Highlights in the readmore...

We arrived to rain & mud, but thankfully it was the only shower of the day- we got pretty lucky on the weather front. First stop was Holy Fuck, who were very impressive with their combining of synths & beats with live bass & drums. Nice and funky, but laid back enough to start us off easy. Check out their sweet dirtying up of Radiohead's Nude:

Radiohead- Nude (Holy Fuck Remix)


Click for mp3


After Holy Fuck we paid our first visit to the Dance Stage to check out Michael Mayer. The co-founder of the Kompakt label, and one half of excellent techno dou Supermayer (left) proceeded to give a masterclass in the dance-set, starting things off slow and steadily increasing the BPM to ensure that when the set finished people left on a high, and gagging for more. For a taste of Supermayer, here's Two of Us:

Supermayer- Two of Us

Click for mp3

The 2FM New Bands Stage played host to a handful of 'ones to check out', so most of the afternoon was spent wandering in and out of there between beers & yummy Happy Pear cookies. Vampire Weekend and Alpha Beats didn't do much for me, and my five minutes at Pendulum seemed a bit too 'Scooter' to warrant hanging around.

Stuff kicked off again at 21.45 when we ventured over to the dance stage again to check out some of Boys Noize before heading to Hot Chip at ten.

Alexander Ridha (the boy in Boys Noize) had other ideas, and after a few minutes it became clear we wouldn't be getting anywhere near Hot Chip. Dirty bass and unrelenting beats made for fantastic music, while the lighting was 99% lasers, a la Tool's show in the point last year. A personal highlight came when we were treated to Ridha's remix of The Faint's The Geeks Were Right, which rocked quite hard. Check it out for yourself:

The Faint- The Geeks Are Right (Boys Noize DIM Remix)


As you can see from Mr Youtube below, the atmosphere was quite decent, and the laser show rocked. Maybe next year, Hot Chip...



Having a quick change-over is definitely one of the benefits of playing a Dance stage, so after Boys Noize we were only kept waiting for a minute or two before the bright cross was raised on stage, and Genesis boomed out over the crowd. How satisfying it must be to have an opening number specifically designed for perfection... It certainly set the mood, and soon the room was a massive, sweaty pile of craziness.

Justice certainly know how to work a crowd, and throughout the set we're teased with hints of D.A.N.C.E. before it's snatched away and replaced with something else, ensuring maximum mileage from their hits. We Are Your Friends is also used as a recurring refrain, and a welcome one. I was also glad to hear an unexpected hint of their Franz Ferdinand remix sneaking into DVNO. The band play for what seems like hours, and completely justify making the trek to punchestown. Justice may not be producing the new Chili Peppers album, but I'm sure their future output is going to take them to their own heights. After this set, they've certainly proved to me that they're one of the greatest acts in the world.

Here's the Chewie Chocolate Cookie remix of Genesis, via SSDT:


Justice- Genesis (Chewie Chocolate Cookies remix)


Click for mp3


By the time the music eventually finishes, the dancing can't be stopped- and continues right outside the arena where the end of the Prodigy's set can be heard from the o2 stage. We briefly entertained the thought of hanging around til the morning and watching Rage, but knowing that the happy-Justice buzz would eventually wear off, we resolved to stick to the plan and head back to Dublin. Kudos must be given to Dublin Bus for running a tight ship- we were back in no time- and collapsing into my own bed a couple of hours later made me glad of my decision. Tent-sleeping is certainly not one of my favourite aspects of festival going.


Bob made his way down to Oxegen as I was sleeping off the booze, so his review of Sunday's festivities will be coming soon...