13 July 2010 (gig)
05 July 2010
It’s here, Scotland’s best music festival Rockness 2010 opens it’s doors on the beautiful banks of Loch Ness. This ‘monster’ of a festival parties three days straight with the hottest bands: Fatboy Slim, Pendulum, Blondie, Leftfield, The Strokes and Ian Brown all take to the stage this year to make Rockness the magical festival that it is.
This year sees one of the wettest forecasts to hit Rockness, but with welly boots and ponchos, no drizzle or downpour could trample the atmosphere this year. Opening Sunday are The Xcerts on the main stage, a trio from Aberdeen with a great style. The sound on stage doesn’t do as much justice for the boys as recent album ‘In The Cold We Smile’ does, but still clarity of musical brilliance shines through their performance. Making their Rockness debut next in the GoNorth tent are He Slept On 57, another great trio carrying the style of The Xcerts into the afternoon.
Last year, Pearl and the Puppets played a shy set in the VIP bar; this year Pearl takes to the main stage with a massive audience. Lead singer Katie matches her gorgeous attire to her gorgeous voice, vindicating completely the intensity of her success this year. Taking shelter in Wiseman Dairy’s cow tent, there is just enough time to catch afro-electro Nevada Bass pump out an awesome Editors-esque set.
Not just providing a haven from the dreary Scottish weather, this year’s GoNorth tent is also the home of the best new bands from around Scotland. Rachel Sermanni provides a touch of grace and delicacy, whilst Kitty the Lion shake things up with a barn dance and tumble. Not just the best act to play GoNorth, but perhaps one of the best acts at the whole festival is The LaFontaines, with an energetic blend of Scottish hip hop and fairytale-gone-wrong lyrics.
Sunday is definitely about GoNorth this year, with Woodenbox With A Fistful of Fivers, Meursault and The Law playing into the evening. The tent seems a little too empty for Meursault, which is totally crazy because the chilled out atmosphere and the awesome vocals of Neil Pennicuilk make Meursault another stunning act.
Blondie’s comeback is the guilty pleasure of Rockness; going to see one of the most influential and credible pop bands of all times is the talk of Sunday. Debbie Harry looks less than feisty in her witchy dress and weird shoes, but she can still belt out a tune or two. Blondie are definitely the big cheese of Rockness, but deliver a disappointingly low number of classics in place of poor new songs that would better saved for an album release launch.
Twin Atlantic hit the main stage with great energy and passion, showing off their fantastic album ‘Vivarium’ and proving that they are not “just another Biffy Clyro” quoted from some near by sceptical listeners. On the main stage also are Vampire Weekend, winning this year’s ‘worst band’ trophy. Call me controversial, but the simple rhythms and dull vocals make Vampire Weekend really boring and a terrible act for the main stage. They may be popular in the charts this year, but are guaranteed to flop by this time next year.
Despite a day of traditional bone chilling Scottish rain the crowd awaiting New York five-piece The Strokes were in high spirits as the band stormed onto the stage. Launching headfirst into a raucous rendition of ‘New York City Cops’ the band set the tone for the set as one of no-nonsense greatest hits. Continuing with the ageless ‘Heart in a Cage’ and ‘Vision of Division’ alongside the ever popular ’12:51’ and ‘The End Has No End’, Casablancas endeared himself even further to the already adoring crowd by encouraging further celebration of the fact that the USA took two points from the ‘Auld Enemy’ England in the World Cup that weekend. With the main set ending in the same manner as it began; with a storming version of ‘Last Night’, the group returned for a generous four song encore, beginning with ‘Juicebox’ and drawing to a close on Is This It’s ‘Take it or Leave it’. The only disappointment I heard voiced from the jubilant audience was that The Strokes failed to premier any new material – keeping any ideas of what to expect from a potential album number four firmly under wraps.
