Electric Picnic 2008

infobox music festival
music_festival_name =


caption =
location = Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland
dates = 29 - 31 August 2008
genre = Rock
website = [http://www.electricpicnic.ie/ www.electricpicnic.ie]

Electric Picnic 2008 was the fifth Electric Picnic festival to take place. The three-day event took place on the weekend of Friday August 29, Saturday August 30 and Sunday August 31 at Stradbally in County Laois, Ireland. The festival was headlined by Sigur Rós on the Friday, George Clinton and Franz Ferdinand on the Saturday, and My Bloody Valentine and Sex Pistols on the Sunday.

Build-up

Tickets

The 2008 festival was confirmed when the official [http://www.electricpicnic.ie/html/ticket_info.html Electric Picnic website] announced the usual pre-sale was to happen again. These tickets went on sale on November 9 2007 and full price tickets went on sale on Friday March 28 at 9 p.m. Weekend tickets – there are no individual day ones – cost €240 including camping, with the various sites opening at 9 a.m. on Friday August 29. Camper van access cost €60. Also available were family tickets permitting entrance for two adults plus four children aged 12 and under. Otherwise it was strictly over 18s with photo ID required. Tickets had sold out by June 17. [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4592840.html|title="Electric Picnic SOLD OUT!"|date=2008-06-18|accessdate=2008-06-18|publisher="Hot Press"]

In the build up to the festival the main page of the official website was replaced by a sequence of brightly coloured boxes (originally smaller in number and toward the centre of the screen but subsequently expanded). For a period this would reveal a 'secret' message concerning the line-up followed by the caption, "Electric Picnic, August 2008, Stradbally Estate, County Laois". The boxes then became more erratic and the message evolved to reveal a particular date and time referring to the release of the line-up.

Jeopardy threats

The 2008 festival was thrown into jeopardy in June when the Irish Music Rights Organisation said Pod Concerts had no right to run the festival again. IMRO is seeking more that €432,000 from the promoter because of royalties allegedly not paid from a series of music festivals, including Lovebox and Garden Party, over the past four years. [cite web|url=http://www.phantom.ie/content/view/1620/104/|title="Electric Picnic organisers in court"|date=2008-06-18|accessdate=2008-06-18|publisher=Phantom FM] The organisers had to make reassurances that the festival was in no doubt or jeopardy. [cite web|url=http://www.phantom.ie/content/view/1621/104/|title="Electric Picnic UPDATE"|date=2008-06-18|accessdate=2008-06-18|publisher=Phantom FM] They also had to deny rumours that the site was flooded in the build-up to the festival.

The festival

The 2008 festival was attended by more than 32,000 people.

Music

Sigur Rós, George Clinton and Sex Pistols [cite web|url=http://www.phantom.ie/content/view/1446/104/|title="Sex Pistols, My Bloody Valentine confirmed for Electric Picnic"|date=2008-03-26|accessdate=2008-03-26|publisher=Phantom FM] headlined. Other musicians appearing included My Bloody Valentine, Franz Ferdinand, German rockers Faust [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4514717.html|title="Faust to play Electric Picnic, Spiegeltent Cork"|date=2008-03-21|accessdate=2008-03-24|publisher="Hot Press"] , Tindersticks, The Breeders, [cite web|url=http://www.phantom.ie/content/view/1447/104/|title="Sigur Ros and The Breeders confirm Picnic appearances"|date=2008-03-26|accessdate=2008-03-26|publisher=Phantom FM] Grinderman, Goldfrapp, Gomez, Gossip, CSS, Duffy, Foals, Hadouken!, Wilco, The Roots, Turin Brakes, Carbon/Silicon, [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4553455.html|title="Carbon/Silicon to play Electric Picnic"|date=2008-05-12|accessdate=2008-05-12|publisher="Hot Press"] Conor Oberst and New Young Pony Club. Irish acts to appear included Kíla, The Stunning, Sinéad O'Connor, Christy Moore, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Boss Volenti, The Waterboys, The Flaws, Ham Sandwich, Fred, Super Extra Bonus Party, Jape, Lisa Hannigan, Cathy Davey, Gemma Hayes and Mark Geary.

The initial line-up was officially announced on Wednesday March 26 at 6 p.m.

The Bodytonic tent line-up for 2008 included Ben Klock, Ashley Beedle, Linkwood, Calibre, Spillywalker (live), Siphon and Syntheastwood. Plans for their Twisted Pepper stage continue, with a Digitonic AV/VJ showcase assisted by Vince Watson, Eddie Brennan of POGO, Barry Donavan from Lunar Disko, 091, Shed and Redshape. [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4685778.html|title="Bodytonic Electric Picnic lineup gathers pace"|date=2008-07-30|accessdate=2008-07-31|publisher="Hot Press"]

"Hot Press" Chatroom

The "Hot Press" Chatroom returned for a fourth consecutive year, hosting exclusive public interviews with some of the weekend’s big names, [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4514923.html|title="Electric Picnic tickets go on sale next Friday"|date=2008-03-22|accessdate=2008-03-24|publisher="Hot Press"] including Carbon/Silicon, Elbow, The Flaws, That Petrol Emotion, The Stunning, Mark Geary, Cathy Davey, Kíla, Josh Ritter, James Yorkston, The Roots, Gemma Hayes [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4704297.html|title="The Roots, Gemma Hayes added to Hot Press Chatroom"|date=2008-08-19|accessdate=2008-08-22|publisher="Hot Press"] and Michael Franti, [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4705277.html|title="Michael Franti added to Hot Press Chatroom"|date=2008-08-21|accessdate=2008-08-22|publisher="Hot Press"] Oppenheimer, Jinx Lennon, Joe Rooney and his very special comedy guests, [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4722884.html|title="Updated: Oppenheimer, Joe Rooney, Jinx Lennon for Hot Press Chatroom"|date=2008-08-26|accessdate=2008-08-28|publisher="Hot Press"] Foals [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4723141.html|title="Foals confirmed for Hot Press Chatroom"|date=2008-08-27|accessdate=2008-08-28|publisher="Hot Press"] and David Holmes. [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4738600.html|title="David Holmes joins Hot Press Chatroom line-up"|date=2008-08-27|accessdate=2008-08-28|publisher="Hot Press"] On the Friday, Kíla's Hogan brothers talked of [http://www.hotpress.com/photos/photo.php?id=4767074&idx=0 their Main Stage show] that day, which featured a custom-made backdrop, Brazilian dancers and an acrobat show. [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4767301.html|title="Friday's done and the chat was fun!"|date=2008-08-30|accessdate=2008-09-02|publisher="Hot Press"] On the Saturday, Elbow frontman Guy Garvey talked about his band's celebrity fans John Cale and the Coen brothers and explained how he ended up appearing on record with Cathy Davey, Oppenheimer told how they went from relative obscurity to having tracks appear on hit US TV show "Ugly Betty", Cathy Davey appeared with her dog, Rex to discuss the success of her latest album, her forthcoming show at the Dublin Fringe, her version of the events that led up to the Elbow collaboration, and how she got on supporting R.E.M. at the Olympia whilst That Petrol Emotion members Steve Mack and Raymond Gorman telling of their decision to play Electric Picnic after turning down several high-profile support slots for the likes of U2 and David Bowie, and discussed the possibility of recording together again. On the Sunday, Foals spoke of the incident at Summercase in Barcelona the previous month where themselves and Kaiser Chiefs broke up a fight when Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke was assaulted and racially abused by members of John Lydon's entourage. [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4768091.html|title="Sunday's chatter: a full report"|date=2008-09-01|accessdate=2008-09-02|publisher="Hot Press"]

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Sunday [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4739478.html|title="Hot Press Chatroom at Electric Picnic: provisional times revealed"|date=2008-08-28|accessdate=2008-09-02|publisher="Hot Press"]

*Pustra/Vile-een's Vaudeville

References

External links

* [http://www.electricpicnic.ie/ Official Electric Picnic website]
* "Hot Press" reviews: [http://www.hotpress.com/news/4768093.html Friday] [http://www.hotpress.com/news/4768096.html Saturday] [http://www.hotpress.com/news/4768101.html Sunday]
* [http://entertainment.ie/music/music-news-article.asp?NewsID=22915 entertainment.ie] : [http://entertainment.ie/summerfestivals/news.asp?fid=1397#504 Review] ; Photos: [http://entertainment.ie/caughtout/gallery.asp?ID=430 Day 1] [http://entertainment.ie/caughtout/gallery.asp?ID=432 Day 2] [http://entertainment.ie/caughtout/gallery.asp?ID=433 Day 3]
* "State" reviews : [http://www.state.ie/blog/electric-picnic-diary-friday-niall-byrne/ Friday #1] ; [http://www.state.ie/blog/electric-picnic-diary-friday-simon-roche/ #2] ; [http://www.state.ie/blog/electric-picnic-diary-friday-phil-udell/ #3] ; [http://www.state.ie/blog/electric-picnic-diary-saturday-simon-roche/ Saturday #1] ; [http://www.state.ie/blog/electric-picnic-diary-saturday-niall-byrne/ #2] ; [http://www.state.ie/blog/electric-picnic-diary-sunday-niall-byrne/ Sunday] photos : [http://www.state.ie/blog/photos-electric-picnic-1/ #1] [http://www.state.ie/blog/electric-picnic-photos-2/ #2]

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