Too many white male middle class singer-songwriters have guitars that sound and look the same and run out of ideas and run on the spot.
No.
Dermot Kennedy, who headlined last night’s Electric Picnic, at first seemed ill-suited for a festival that prides itself on being a little off the beaten path. That was my (irrational) fear before the Rathcoole artists took the stage at 10:30pm.
He’s a magnificent fellow with his lovely aunt, Mary Kennedy, and has stayed away from television before, but his music can be a little one-sided at times.
Why wasn’t Fontaine DC and the incomparable Dennis Chyla on the main stage closing out the opening night of the first Electric Picnic?
Within five minutes, Kennedy had proven all the cynics completely wrong.
Dressed in a combat jacket, tracksuit pants, and fashion-forward runner, he captivated audiences with his obscure mutant of hip-hop and out-of-tune folk ballads. He showed what a live concert fellowship is. He made the experience intimate for his 30,000 fans. So, after a two-year hiatus, Electric Picnic returned last night thanks to a specific virus whose name we should refuse to mention.
In the Covid era, humans had no connection. They needed someone like Dermot Kennedy.Songs like ‘Better Days’ sounded like the anthems of the era last night – ‘We Used to Be Giants’ in its own way.
In truth, he was the perfect headliner for any post-pandemic/post-anxiety man who wanted to spend the time of his life on the big fields of Strandbury.
They sang as if he was speaking directly to them.
video of the day
“I know you’re hurt”/I’m waiting on a train that doesn’t come very often/Rain, it’s not permanent/And soon we’ll be dancing in the sun
“This is for one day when my wish comes to life,” he said before introducing “Rome.” Most of last night’s fans hoped to be able to relive Kennedy’s show.
Across the acres of lawn where thousands enjoyed the Friday mood in the giant tents of the Electric Arena, Fontaine’s DC took the stage to Sinead O’Connor’s “Troy” .
The dark lament of “Hurricanes Laughter” delivers both euphoria and unease, along with maniacal industrial guitar noises courtesy of Conor Curry and Carlos O’Connell.
Lead singer Gurian Chatten took beauty from alienation. as he does well. He’s a poet, flapping his hands like Kermit the Frog in a metaphor of industrial intensity. On ‘Sha Sha Sha’ he sings:
Crowds yell every word of it and every Fontaine DC song, as if looking for some meaning to set their heads free.
Live, Chatten emotionally peeled back the layers of herself to reveal her inner self. What he reveals is no different than any other human being. We are in a kind of semi-permanent state of anxiety and flux, lost in the world.
We all love this band, this great band, so where could they go next?
Previously, Boston’s The Pixies were a notable legacy act that might trample on their legacy.
“Here Comes Your Man” stood out along with “Who’s More Sorry Now?” And “There’s a Moon On”. Led by singer/guitarist Charles Thompson IV (previously known as Black Francis and later Frank Black), it wouldn’t be quite the same without co-founder and bassist Kim Deal. What are you up to these days anyway?
Elsewhere last night, this time on the main stage, the EP was treated to one of the performances of the year by Houston’s own Megan Thee Stallion. She’s proven herself to be a much stronger woman.
“If you like your mom’s body, would you let me hear the sound?” she asked the rhetorical question of the County Leish crowd. They made some noise, of course.
She encouraged them to jump and actually make noise. As GQ magazine put it, her music is “wrapped in wit, supernaturally dazzling rapping and juicy selfies underpinned by her skills her help.”
“I love the way I rock shit,” she raps on “Realer.” “I’m a real rap bitch. This ain’t pop shit.” She danced across the stage with the dancers behind her.
It looked as if I was freestyling the entire show.
“At this motherfuckin’ festival tonight, motherfuckin’ mother fur’s all motherfasse ah ah ah ah yar?”
She immediately grabbed the attention of the entire audience.
“I came to the motherfucking party tonight.”
So did everyone at the Electric Picnic last night.
There is no doubt that the party will continue tonight and tomorrow in Laisse.
