With a line up that boasts appearances from the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Streets, Avril Lavigne, Kelis and Faithless, Derry’s One Big Weekend festival is nothing if not aptly named. Housed in a massive, bright blue big-top at Prehen Fields beside the river Foyle, the free two-day extravaganza has attracted 10,000 punters to the city – parents with toddlers in tow, beered-up twentysomethings and legions of Avril-worshipping teenagers – some of whom have been queuing for premium viewing spots since six o’ clock this morning.
Hotpress is in town for Day Two. While Saturday catered for fans of Seb Fontaine, Pete Tong, Judge Jules and Faithless, Sunday’s bill is a much rockier affair. It kicks off with an appearance from the fantastically named The Love Gods – who, with their song, ‘Sadie Mercedes’ – came up trumps as the winners of the BBC Unsigned Band opening slot. Although we arrive too late to catch their set (shame on us), the verdict from those in attendance is wholly positive.
Next up are indie hopefuls Keane who greet the screaming crowd following an introduction from the show’s scarily gregarious host, Vernon Kay. As the rock onslaught ensues, the tent begins to fill up, and has almost doubled in size by the end of the set. There’s a good reason too: the afroed goddess of hip-hop Kelis is up next, strutting onto the stage like she owns it to the slick beats of ‘Baby I Got Your Money’. The crowd begins to wane slightly during some of the lesser-known numbers until, that is, the onset of a filthy version of ‘Caught Out There’ (during which she deftly whips off her T-shirt) and her current uber hit, ‘Milkshake’. Kelis is barely audible over the throng of voluntary backing singers in the crowd, and departs the stage to a roar that’d rival that of Lemmy’s bass amp.
Suitably warmed up, the now heaving tent completely erupts at the mere sight of Scottish guitar heroes Franz Ferdinand, who immediately launch into a blistering set. ‘Matinee’, ‘Darts Of Pleasure’ and ‘Take Me Out’ sound gigantic – a wonderful thing, I think you’ll agree – and more than prove the band’s live credentials. The limelight, however, is stolen by none other than Brixton wide boy Mike Skinner who begins proceedings with an almighty rendition of ‘Let’s Push Things Forward’. The set is mostly comprised of Original Pirate Material, erm, material, with only three tracks from the new album A Grand Don’t Come For Free: the trippy, chilled ‘Blinded By The Lights’, sweet dance-ballad ‘Dry Your Eyes’ and the ‘Parklife’-inspired ‘Fit But You Know It’. While the first two are somewhat overlooked by the crowd (most likely due to the fact that the swampy sound rendered the lyrics virtually incomprehensible), the latter incites something of a frenzy in the pit, as does Skinner’s acappella version of ‘Teenage Kicks’, in homage to The Undertones.
As he skips off stage, hotpress retreats to the bar for refreshment pending the arrival of Kevin the Teenager’s long lost sister, Avril Lavigne. As ‘Complicated’ blares out from the speakers, we poke our noses inside tent to witness a performance of the latest single, ‘Don’t Tell Me’ and, unmoved, make a beeline for the exit. Despite the fact that we are sadly forced to sacrifice Ash’s set (by order of Bus Eireann), Derry’s One Big Weekend was most certainly a success. Let’s hope it’s not a one off.