No way Unicorn, Nick Cave was brillant. Maybe it was where you were standing. But he was really pumped it for it and The Bad Seeds were on top form too. A great way to end the weekend. Overall I saw - MixMaster Mike, Hot Chip, Goldfrapp, Arcade Fire, Royksopp, Flaming Lips, Redneck Manifesto, Declan O'Rourke, Bob Mould, The Kills, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Saw a few comedians on the Sunday in the Comedy Tent including Des Bishop and Dave McSavage outside the tent on the Saturday. Saw about half an hour of that Metallica documentary in the Cinema Room and caught the return of Bosco in there. Arcade Fire were unreal and the crowd at it was probably the best for the whole weekend that I witnnessed. Everything about the festival this year was brilliant. I was stunned at how well it was and how enjoyable it was compared to Oxegen.

Well there's where the problem lies, you don't like but I think that the double album 'Abbattoir Blues/ The Lyre Of Orpheus' is an amazing album. Contrasting opinions is all.

It really was great Arcade Fire were other wordly - I wasnt expecting them to be so NUTS!! And Win jumping into the audience - hes f**king huuuuge. Got a great view of it! Flaming lips were excellent too - I was one of the 'small ladies' involved in the crowd collapsing under the ball he was in but it as worth it man! I really enjoyed Kraftwerk - bringing out the robots for 'We are the robots' was one of the best visual experiences ever! LCD Soundsystem was probably the highlight of Sunday. Great vibe and great that it was outdoors. Channel One / CH-1 rocked it up in the Crawdaddy tent supremely. Yes I know the drummer but seriously I'm not bullshtting it was f**king intense. Congrats to them for sure. Audio bullys sound was awful in the electrci Arena. Clor were pretty halfarsed or so it seemed to me.

jealous as f**k.

i am quit

....ahem...yes, i am quite happy to declare arcade fire the best band in the world at this present time - absolutely go with that, unicron... ...i am a big nick cave fan but had commitments in dublin on sunday and wouldn't have made it back down until about 8.00... in the end, i decided not to return, probably because seeing nick cave with full band on a main stage playing mainly stuff from his last album didn't appeal to me as much as his vicar street gig 2 years ago did... i'm sad i missed it but not overly so

Ahh this is torture!! - I couldn't make it down to the festival. Arcade Fire sound amazing, hopefully they play here again soon.

They seem to have made a massive impact at the European festivals in the past 2 weeks and they've got some free time from the end of October up until the end of November when they're opening for U2 in Toronto and Montreal so hopefully they'll be back for a bigger European tour around then. I'd imagine after the reception they recieved on Saturday they wouldn't object to coming here again. Having said that they've been touring pretty intensly for the last 12 months so they might want to take some well deserved time off. They've got a church to renovate afterall.

I'm really envious. Just bought a gaff and I could'nt afford it. Will defo be going next year. I hear they are going to make it 3 days next time around.

brilliant weekend. when tickets first went on sale I was a bit dubious of getting one, with a few of the let downs from last year, but overall everything was great. main highlights were Damien Dempsey, Hot Chip were real good, Golgfrapp, Arcade Fire were class, Toots and the Maytals were amazing, only caught a couple of tracks from Nick Cave, but great none the less. also caught Lemon Jelly, couple of Soulwax, Rednecks, and De La Soul who were all also great. really pissed off that I missed Mixmaster Mike, think they swapped him with Hot chips or somethin. I thought Flaming Lips were unreal, even with Wayne Knocking a whole load of us to the ground. thought Fatboy Slim was pretty s**t, was actually really looking forward to see him too.

my only thoughts on the weekend right now are: arcade fire arcade fire arcade fire arcade fire arcade fire arcade fire arcade fire i feel like a teen kid with his first pop crush (as opposed to the crush caused by lead singer jumping into crowd). Easily the best live show i've seen in years. From the crowd chanting and cheering during the soundcheck to the sheer intensity of the show, it was absolutely extraordinary that said, the whole weekend was also extraordinary. the best festival i've been to in ireland by a long, long mile. the people made it - vibey, happy, pleasant, smiley. it didnt rain. the food on the stalls was brilliant (the pieminister) and it was a real FESTIVAL. kudos to the organisers - well done.

Arcade Fire was my gig of the year. The crowd were fantastic, the band amazing, the songs utter brilliance. Other highlights were The Pricillas @ Lost Vagueness, Back 2 Basics @ Bacardi Bar, the southern comfort cocktails, JJ72's set (if delayed), LCD Soundsystem, DE LA SOUL, the no traffic driving to or from the festival and, the most important one, watching The Goonies in its entirity in the cinema tent. Low lights: forgetting to go to the silent disco, organisation sloppiness of the guestlist and blag Qs, lack of toilets apart from in the Electric Picnic Garden, Husky Rescue, Roisin Murphy cancelling, the sound @ Electric Arena

don't hate, just making a valid point about the general dodgy organisation behind some parts of the festival. Did anybody else go to FatBoySlim on Saturday (not the Jon Carter night)? The 3D glasses were awesome. Bravo Norm

Ah Una, I'm just teasing. I didn't see Fatboy Slim but I had a go on the glasses in the campsite afterwards, pretty cool.

My favourite things about the Picnic were; The Crowd - There was a distinct lack of knackers in track suits. This pleased me no end. As did the lack of fifteen year old Killers fans puking on their own shoes. The Arcade Fire - Quite possibly the greatest gig I've ever seen The Security - They used expressions like "please", "thank you", "enjoy yourself" and "have a nice weekend". I even saw one of them blowing bubbles at the front of the De La Soul gig. Plus they didn't bother searching you for booze when you left the campsite for the main arena. Also despite the fact that everywhere you went there was a lovely whiff of hash I didn't hear of one person being busted by the DS. The Flaming Lips - Just magical. Food and Drink - Pies with mash, gravy and mushy peas. Cabonara and Bolognase. Fried potatoes with Garlic Cheese. Tents with small Queues offering drinks other than budweiser. What more do you want? The Redneck Manifesto - They completely packed out the Crawdaddy tent. My advice is to enjoy them while you still can. Soon David Gray fans will be raving on about them and we won't be allowed to like them anymore. The Campsite - It was right beside the main area so you could nip back to your tent between acts without having to embark upon a thirty minute trek. Plus the fact that they permited disposable BBQ's allowed me to start the day with a proper fry up as opposed to a soggy cheese sandwich. Who Made Who - You've got to love those crazy punky funky Danes. Plus their guitarist's moustache was majestic, though not quite as impressive as the afro sported by the bass player from Be Your Own Pet. The Weather - It stayed dry for the whole weekend. Yay! Mixmaster Mike playing the clash, Mr Scruff playing Quantic Soul Orhestra, The Matthew Herbert Big Band playing The Audience, Soulwax playing Rocker - Proper Festival anthems. My least favourite things about the Picnic were; Fatboy Slim - God he was rubbish. Why didn't they just swap him around with Kraftwerk in the Electric Arena? That way everyone could have seen them and the Flaming Lips as well. Hippy Nonsense - A red tent in the body and soul area which was a fortress of peace and tranquility for pregnant and menustrating women? For f*ck's sake! James Blunt - Did anyone else hear his mauling of "Where Is My Mind"? Hanging's too good for him. Sound Problems - My enjoyment of Mixmaster Mike, De La Soul and DJ Format was seriously hampered by the fact that I could barely hear make out what they were playing half the time. Hot Chip not playing Playboy - It's their best Tune. De La Soul neglecting to play the hits - I actually enjoyed this gig but no Eye Know, Three Is The Magic Number or Ring Ring Ring? Middle Class, Middle Aged, Middle of the Road C*nts - Pretentious D4 twats who think Groove Armada are "edgy". The place was full of them especially during Goldfrapp. Sample quote "Giles was fab, although I prefered him when we saw him in Crawdaddy in June". Cancellations and No-Shows - No Vitalic, Roisin Murphy, Rakes, Danger Mouse or Nouvelle Vague. LCD Soundsytem being on the main stage in the middle of the day - They were great but I would have preferred to have seen them later at night in a small tent. Line Up Clashes - I caught over twenty different bands and artists over the weekend but there were still loads more acts which I would have loved to have seen. Port-A-Loos - A few more of them wouldn't have gone astray. Sunburn, a punctured air matress, two four hour bus journeys and a twisted ankle - nothing to do with the organisers but umpleasant never the less. Over all I'd say it was the best outdoor event that I've ever been to in this country and I'll be back next year (hopefully for three days).

man im gonna have to stop reading this thread, just getting more n more bummed i couldn't go! great to hear that about the security guards, (and the DS, ya gotsta watch out for shiny shoes!) hopefully it will be the full 3 days next year,

My mates got busted by the DS - 3 foxy chicks apparently came over and asked for a toke and being the nice guys they are they obliged and with that the joint was put out and the badges flashed.. yep... 3 beautiful 1/4's down the goddam drain. Managed to buy some jelly shots of poitin off a cool hippy lady tho.. they were fun! Oh and the guards were well rough at soulwax...even the singer dude was like 'Jesus man there's no need for that'

ha! Man i just thought it was really s**tty for my dudes! I mean like after been nice enough to share it. Gardai f**kers!! Karma man... they'll get theirs... oh yes......

Unicron ya bastard ye!

this guy: http://thetorturegarden.blogspot.com got Win's waistcoat at the end when he jumped into the crowd. Stellar memerabilia. Here's the photo to prove it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/70206155@N00/40163631/

My two cents Goldfrapp - Good, sound not as loud down the back where I was though compared to mates up front who were frothing at the mouth Arcade Fire - very good, better than expected. They are a bit repetitive though? Doves - Sound was dismal, tunes were good Amp Fiddler- Total sexy sound! Kraftwerk - Unbelievable Redneck Manifesto - Best ive ever heard them lcd soundsytem - party-tastic The Rakes - Fairly dodgy Human League - caught two tracks, saw em in Spain earlier in summer and were better then DJ Format - Fantastic, well the MCs made the show Bob Mould - Missed cos things ran over time. Grrrrrrr Mercury Rev- very good but should lash a few tracks from first 3 records Nick Cave - I didn't think anything could top kraftwerk, but.... Overall, couldn't believe how much I could enjoy an Irish festival. Only got a few freebies Fri eve to go but was well worth the trek. Peace out C

Really great festival. More like Glastonbury than oxegen thankfully. Loved the atmosphere down there. Good people and the security weren't bad either. Well except for the undercover gardai in the campsite. Took nearly an ounce off us at our tents.Bad form! Silent Disco was a good laugh and it was great that the 2 bars stayed open with music all night in the campsite.This festival was everything oxegen isn't. Got to see: Stereo Mc's- what an amazin front man.great tunes aswell Arcade Fire- never seen a crowd to react to a gig like that in my life. The noise in the tent before they came on was incredible. Sadly got too drunk during the gig so cant remember the end. Got over excited. the first half was amazing though. Doves- Not Bad. have seen them alot better. Royksopp- Got the end. really good. Kraftwerk- really enjoyed it for a while. Got a touch tedious so left for Flaming Lips- only saw last few songs Fatboy Slim- Very average. barely mixed 2 songs all night The Rags- Some excellent songs.some not so good. Redneck Manifesto- Didnt see what the fuss was about.Average Clor- Not bad. LCD Soundsystem- Incredible. Amazing band. Class drummer. Unique frontman. Had the crowd going mad even though on the main stage at 5.30. Lemon Jelly- good Soulwax- Loud. Dirty. Quality 2 Many DJ's- hampered set with sound problems. Some great tunes. Cant wait for next year.

Yea thats was a pity about the sound problems at the 2manydjs set but they pulled of a great one in the end. Funny when those burlesque dancers crashed the stage!! They kept telling them to stop jumping up and down so much cause the decks kept on skipping!!

Pretty much agree with Stroller's summation of this brilliant new music event that is Electric Picnic. Highlight for me was Kraftwerk, utterly amazing, incredible. Four fiftysomething German blokes with one keyboard and laptop each. No interaction with the crowd!!! (this is a good thing) No smiles! Nothing! Just truly incredible music and visuals. Unforgettable!!!!! Arcade Fire were very good but not as bowled over as the others. Goldfrapp were exceptional, Alison v sexy and whata voice!!! Doves: great band but something was amiss. Crap sound. Couldn't hear the guitar parts. no knackers or skangers, nice crowd, the delicious hash aroma EVERYWHERE, low-profile security,........ ROLL ON 2006!