by Yvonne Gordon
George’s Dock in Dublin’s Custom House Quay was transformed into a unique venue last night for the BudRising Street Party, one of the highlights of the five-day BudRising festival taking place around the Irish capital city.
Having drained the docks and built a stage in the middle of the dock basin, organisers turned the area into a mini-festival site with a great atmosphere for the once-off event headlined by British rapper The Streets.
Although a lot of the dock was drained, heavy showers of rain earlier in the evening threatened to put a dampener of another kind on the proceedings, However there was no need to worry as the main stage was completely enclosed within a smart white tent.
And judging by recent festivals (Glastonbury or CastlePalooza 07 anyone?), heavy rain seems as much a feature of Irish and British festivals now as tents, portaloos and paper cups.
The Body Tonic Toe Jam ‘market’ was full of treats, mostly of the audio-visual kind, with some funky DJ’s spinning the decks courtesy of the happening venue the George Bernard Shaw, and FutureShorts film screenings all adding to the carnival atmosphere where people frolicked around in mini festival kit like flowery hats and orange plastic shades.
oHowHowever the highlight of the night was when The Streets took to the stage just after 9pm to play their first Irish performance since 2004. Mike Skinner, the Birmingham rapper behind the band, told the crowd they were lucky to get to see The Streets ‘before we become big’. However with three hit studio albums so far – Original Pirate Material, A Grand Don’t Come For Free and The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living – and a fourth on the way later this year, that moment has probably passed and it was great to see him play such an intimate performance.
During his set, Skinner brought out all the big hits including ‘Fit But You Know It’ and ‘Blinded By The Lights’ and he had the entire crowd down on its knees more than once during the performance. Unfortunately the end arrived all too quickly, however after being told to ‘Dry Your Eyes Mate’ during a rousing encore, it was impossible to feel sad for long.
The Streets were followed by an energy-filled performance on the decks by Mixmaster mike, resident DJ for the Beastie Boys, who played a hip-hop happening hour or two of great tunes and really got the crowd during with funky mixes and scratches of dance classics.
BudRising has been going for three years now, with the aim of bringing the best international and domestic talent to venues large and small, nationwide. Last night, the festival brought something very special to Dublin’s docklands and set the tone for what is sure to be a great year for Irish festivals both large and small.
Yvonne Gordon is a MelodyTrip writer. Read her preview of Electric Picnic 2008 here:
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