Electric Picnic, Stradbally Hall, Ireland
Day Three, Sunday 2nd September 2007
by Yvonne Gordon
The closing act on the Main Stage last night was a fab two-hour long set by the Chemical Brothers which went on till 2am. Unfortunately, someone collapsed in front of the main stage just before the end and an ambulance had to work its way through the crowd and stopped near us and we found out today that a young man died. Gardai are conducting a post-mortem (it was a suspected overdose) but said they thought the crowd was ‘good in general’ with only one arrest Friday and one on Saturday (apparently that is good!).
The sun’s out today - there have been a few heavy rain showers of rain, but not enough to prevent tired festival goers chilling out on the grass around the site. An interesting discovery has been the Salon du Chat in the Leviathan tent - a ‘restaurant’ where you can order ‘chat’ instead of food. You sit down and order a starter, main course and desert from the menu - all items on the list are subjects to talk about, and then begin talking. A bell rings if anyone is caught diverting from the topic. It looks great but we’re too all-talked-out to take part!
However Glenisk are giving out free organic yoghurt and there are some comfy haystacks to sit on just outside - a great pick-me-up - and the Cultivate stand has an interesting religious-type carbon confessional where you can calculate your carbon emissions and find out your carbon footprint.
The Pixie Pictures tent -solar powered- has been showing some eco-warrior films and nearby, a collection of fancy-dressed characters have been indulging in a spot of speed dating in the Speed Dating tent.
The Comedy tent has been a big crowd-puller today, with Aidan Bishop and Karl Spain entertaining the masses in the afternoon and the Crawdaddy tent has also been packed for most of the afternoon, and especially for a surprise late afternoon acoustic set at by The Beastie Boys, who already played the Electric Arena last night. Iggy and the Stooges and Primal Scream are the headliners on the Main Stage for later tonight, with Unkle and The Go! Team over on Electric Arena.
There’s lots we haven’t got to see yet - which is great as it means there’s lots to do - like the theatre, circus, panto, silent disco, having a pamper in the powder room, or checking out the Boutique campsite where they have Tipis and beach huts.
But whether we get to see it all or not before the end, it’s been a really fantastic festival with a lot of things to enjoy - great music, great entertainment, a great atmosphere, well-behaved audiences and much shorter queues than last year for food, which is always a bonus. It’s hard to believe it’s nearly over and we haven’t seen it all, so roll on the next Electric Picnic!