In spite of the looming threat of rain it was obvious this was going to be packed ! We got there early and got ourselves positioned on the crowd barrier that circled the mosh pit at the front, so it was an excellent view and not too far away from the stage. This years fashion statements are the cut off jeans or hot pants and the multi patterned welly boots ! I am sure that was last years fashion statement too, though festival goers always dress in the hope of a sunny day, rather than the reality that it IS going to rain ! The billing only named Kings Of Leon and the Vaccines but the show kicked off with an Irish band called The Minutes. The least said about them the better, and they were followed by The Undertones, reformed without Feargal Sharkey but great entertainment none the less ! They packed 22 songs into about an hour including Teenage Kicks, Here Comes The Summer, Jimmy Jimmy, My Perfect Cousin, and got a lot of smiles with their Irish humour between songs. There was a lot of build up and expectation for the Vaccines, and they did play a very tight set but the sound was badly mixed, so despite all their energy and enthusiasm it came across as a bit flat. There were a few highlights and the crowd responded to two or three songs like If You Wanna, which is a real future classic.
Right from the off Kings Of Leon were stunning, this is the third time we have seen them now and this show feels like this is what they have been working towards over the years. The crowd knows most of the songs but the band still play each one like it's the first time. Even the new single Supersoaker had a lot of people singing, I am sure the new album due out next month is going to be a huge hit. It was great to see Caleb smiling, there were several moments in the set that the whole crowd were singing, and he was obviously enjoying those moments. You could see the rain coming down in the lights but no one seemed to notice, what's a little rain to a hardened Irish crowd ? It's difficult to get good photo's in conditions like these, but here are a few that came out okay :
