Oxegen 09

Friday, Jul 10th, 2009 - by Michael McKeegan

Related to the show at Oxegen Festival in Naas, Ireland.

Oh yeah Oxegen here we go. Another weekend of festival fun for the 3 of us and our mighty crew. I drive down with Cj to pick up the chaps from their Dublin hotel and even though i have a bit of a nasty chest/throat infection (man flu or swine flu, take yer pick), am well entertained by a selection of vintage METAL…Great White, Warrior and Rogue Male all make the playlist. Making good time we grab a coffee in the hotel lobby whilst waiting on the chaps. They flew in the night before whilst Steve and Mark have driven over with our backline from London. All fed and watered we head off to Punchestown and as the roads begin to get narrower we surmise what'd happen if a nightliner met a tractor on here…who'd win, Stardes or Deere?

Once we're fully 'passed-up' we drive over to the backstage area which is set in the main stand of the racing ground. Quite a funny set-up as it features a long corridor of dressing rooms each with its own 'viewing balcony', i suppose these are the corporate boxes for when the gee gees are running. Our dressing room is flanked by The Answer and Duke Special so we're definately in good social company.

First things first and we hit the catering, very tasty it all looks and we attempt to have a good pre-show meal as we probably won't get a chance to eat after (signing and press commitments plus an 'early leave' to beat festival traffic have put paid to that). Go for the salmon which is great then we head back to our 'box', chat with the Answer boyos and catch up for a bit. Buzz has us on the press run today so first we do a live interview with Phantom FM and play an acoustic version of "Somnambulist". It's a tiny studio and they look a bit scared when we arrive with 2 guitars, snare/cymbal etc…all becomes clear when we see it'll all be 'recorded' with 2 vocal mics. Not to worry and we're soon on air and having a good time. Song goes well, no idea how it sounded on air but in that carpet-walled booth it was sweet.

Then its over to Today FM which is a bit more of a sedate affair and we get everything mic'd up and soundchecked. Do a short i'view with Paul and run the song which sounds damn good. Do a quick bit for ATL in the rain…then quick farewells and back over to dressingroom to get ready for show and warm-up a bit. As our stage is a drive away we haven't even so much as had a look at another band or the stage set-up. Soon enough we're getting the most lacklustre introduction ever ("Mumble mumble mumble…Therapy?") and we're into "Enjoy The Struggle". Unlike some other festivals this year we've got a full 60 minutes so we have a slightly longer set and reel out "Isolation" and "Stories"…."Exiles" is brutal and by this stage the whole crowd is up and dancing. The rest of the set is a blur then we're off back into the rain and then shuttle bus it to the dressing rooms. A quick change of clothes then it's off to the Hot Press tent for a signing. This is a lot of fun and there certainly are some proper mentalists along today…plenty of autographs, pictures and laughs were had.

Do a couple more TV interviews then we're free for an hour or so to relax and decompress. We venture into the VIP area which is a tad damp and desolate but soon hook up with a cast of the NI bold and beautiful. Meet David Holmes for the first time in a while and its good to catch up with him, Cashier boys are also there and in good form. Various crew and family members flit about and chat with Edwin and Carrie for a bit. At one point i even thought i saw the singer from Accept but must've been a trick of the light…

Soon enough its leave time so we head up and pack the bags and begin saying our farewells. Good work Oxegen, top gig.

Mikehellx

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