Epic performance by The National is cherry on top of great Picnic

Everyone has their own particular Picnic. Some folks club together with friends and rent a mini-bus to bring them to Stradbally. The Groove Tube’s weekend began in the car park of the Headford Road shopping centre, getting some last-minute supplies (those earplugs were a godsend!). But hats off to the 900 people who took part in the Tour De Picnic – a fundraising cycle from Dublin to the Electric Picnic. Over €450,000 was raised for Temple Street Hospital – a great start to the weekend.

Friday, day one of the three day event, was an absolute scorcher. Sweaty punters were beaming as they carried their stuff to the campsites (Jimi Hendrix, Andy Warhol and Oscar Wilde lent their names to the temporary villages). Spirits were high. And why wouldn’t they be – most people hadn’t used the portaloos. Yet.

With the poles assembled and the groundsheets laid, it was time to head towards the arena. On the way in it was good to see the return of the Salty Dog – a stage built on a pirate ship.

At the main stage, one of the hotly-tipped acts of the weekend was making her entrance. Shortly after six, Janelle Monae kicked her set off. The diminutive American, in her trademark tuxedo, strutted across the stage but her vocals were hard to hear over the bass-heavy mix. Still, Tightrope proved why it’s one of 2010’s top tunes. Get dancing, y’all!

Up next, also on the big stage, were The Waterboys. Mike Scott and his band were making their Electric Picnic debut and boy did they deliver. Fisherman’s Blues, The Whole Of The Moon and Glastonbury Song were all blasted out, accompanied by the unmistakable fiddle of Steve Wickham. A cracking set.

On the food front, many punters were delighted to be reunited with Pieminister. The English based company were kept busy all weekend, doling out pies, peas, mash and gravy. Happy days. There were also stalls selling paella, pizza and, for the adventurous carnivore, ostrich burgers.

As night passed over Stradbally, one of the Picnic’s headliners took to the stage. Roxy Music were one of the biggest names on the bill but their set lacked the punch of a heavy hitter. Bryan Ferry was in good voice and charismatic as ever but a set short on hits left some feeling disappointed. Love Is The Drug sounded great but it’s a real shame Avalon, Dance Away and Oh Yeah were left out.

Clouds gathered overhead on Saturday morning but showers were intermittent and mercifully light. Seasick Steve tore it up on the main stage proving, yet again, that for festival organisers the wily blues man is as close as you can get to a sure thing. He was followed by Imelda May, who delivered a stomping set. The effervescent Dubliner even invited her parents on stage.

The line-up was top heavy with talent on the Picnic’s second day and tough choices had to be made. Seeing Steve Earle meant missing Hot Chip but the Texan-born songwriter did not disappoint. Opening up with Copperhead Road, Earle had the Crawdaddy tent won over from the get-go. He criticised Tony Blair before launching into Rich Man’s War, then followed it with a new song about the Katrina disaster in New Orleans. A riveting set from a righteous performer.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.