Electric Picnic

[Dr.Nightdub]

That didn't stop security stepping up the level of searches on some entrances into the main arena. Best solution in my book is education and free and legal testing (i.e. check to see what exactly your stash is really made up of, then you're better placed to judge dosage). Anyway, I suggest the mods split the thread - one for pro-/anti-drug discussion, one for the EP.

Personally I loved it though I didn't think the line-up was as good as previous years.

Uppers
Jesus & Mary Chain - the Beach Boys with feedback. Mmmm!
Chemical Brothers - best visuals I've seen since Kraftwerk at the EP the other year
Primal Scream - well, I would say that
LCD Soundsystem - a bit New Orderish I thought, which is no bad thing
Polyphonic Spree - 19 people on stage? You gotta love it
Horace Andy - legend, just a pity the sun wasn't shining too
Dub Pistols & Terry Hall - didn't mind TH only doing three songs with them cos the band were dynamite
Body & Soul area - as a mate said, "The form is gorgeous even if the content is total bo11ocks"
Dancing to banging techno in the woods until all hours on the Friday night (not the at the green campsite, the other one)
"Lucky bags"
The Magic Numbers - lovely twee pop music for a sunny Saturday afternoon
The diverse food range - boo hiss to the let-them-eat-burgers brigade
For once, security who WEREN'T graduates of the South Korean Riot Police School of Crowd Control

Downers
Hearing yer man had died
4 hours to get there from Dublin, having left at 1 on Friday lunchtime - traffic management my eye
Missing acts early in the day - possibly related to not getting to bed until 7 that morning
Easy Allstars being on at the same time some mates were doing slam poetry in the Spoken Word tent
The queues for Pieminister (only time a queue bugged me)
Leaving my phone in a mate's tent on the Saturday night / Sunday morning, spending an hour and a half looking for the tent only to discover on the Sunday that it was only two minutes away over the next ridge all along

Meh, got anything better?
Bjork - just wasn't in the humour, maybe some other time
The Good, the Bad & The Queen - ditto

[Magicme]

Having experienced both Oxegen & EP I would have no problem with going to either again. Oxegen has a better selection of the current up to the minute hot bands which can be fun & apart from breaking my ankle there I have never had any problems or annoyances at it. The toilets were cleaner at my last Oxegen than at EP and there was the Holy Grail of having proper toilets in the dance arena.

There is not much difference in the diversity of food at EP & Oxegen.

My fav bit of EP was the Body & Soul area coz it gave an old fogey like me somewhere to rest my weary bones & my kids loved the beanbag area.

I think the whole 1 is better than the other stuff is childish as both are great for different things. If you want a chilled out relaxed weekend EP is the one to go for but if you want a supercharged weekend then oxegen.

[Neish]

In responce to jebus' one-sided rant, I feel it only fair to respond on behalf of Oxegen.

Firstly, "95% hateful people"? Grow up - a few bad apples always grab the headlines. Oxegen has about 3 times the attendance of EP, so obviously gonna hear more bad stories.

Oxegen has a far bigger budget, and so has a far more diverse musical lineup. Just beacause EP managed to find a band playing 3 cats and a ladder somehwere in Leitrim doesn't make them any good. Oxegen has the pick of bands that travel to Europe. EP have the pick of bands who aren't busy on the weekend.

EP is for old people who want to rekinlde their youth while still seeming "cooler" than those yobs at Oxegen. They come home talking about "a more diverse food range" and the "craft shops" and all stuff that they would have no interest in during the rest of the year.

EP had 2 good years, and the year of Arcade Fire was amazing, but it just seems to be going downhill now.

Oxegen is run by MCD who don't seem to give a toss about the people just want to make as much money as they can. When complaints were made to them after 2006 they either ignorred the complaints of denied anything happened. I havn't been at Oxegen since 2005 but had a few mates go in the last 2 years who said it got worse with little scumbags just hanging aroun the campsite all weekend looking for fights and setting fires everywhere.

The food at Oxegen is under cooked & over priced, majority of security are ignorant w*nkers who only want to push anyone and everyone about and not one bit interested in any issues you bring up with them but once someone steps slightly out-of line the are throwing the person about

[sligoman]

Lads, please keep this topic to talking about Electric Picnic itself. This is not for a discussion on drugs or for attacking each other.