Eurosonic Festival

That Eurosonic is not your average showcase festival is evident when the Mayor of Groningen introduces a 50-strong troupe of medieval German metallers who perform the Nazi-era opera, Cantus Burana, on replica 13th century instruments.
While it’s hard to imagine Corvus Corax being clasped to too many Irish bosoms, the sooner the DJ Grazzhoppa Big Band get their record-boxes over here the better. An even more deranged take on Soulwax, the 12 turntablists do things to their Technics that in less liberal countries would be deemed illegal.
The main reason we’re in town is to check up on the continental progress of The Radio and The Chalets who are both here at 2FM’s behest and, indeed, expense.
Having overcome some horrendous technical difficulties – sack the laptop, lads! – the former send multiple shivers up spines with their Stereolab-meets-The Mary Chain dreampop.
There’s a wonderful ‘wrapped in an eiderdown’ quality to Caroline Lee-Baker’s voice, which will be even more of an asset when the new addition overcomes her very obvious stagefright.
Once upon a time Paula Cullen and Caoimhe Derwin had that rabbit dazzled by headlights look about them too, but a year of pretty much non-stop gigging has left the Chalets girls looking and sounding supremely confident.
Not having encountered too many xylophone-touting Dublin fivesomes in their time, Groningen’s pop kids are indifferent at first but abandon their lowland cool when the band launch into a particularly bubblicious ‘Feel The Machine’.
If crowds can be similarly won over next month when they go out with the Kaiser Chiefs, it could be mainland Europe rather than the UK which provides The Chalets with their commercial breakthrough.
The weekend’s biggest buzz band, though, are Editors who leave 500 very disappointed people standing outside Huize Maas in the vain hope of getting in.
Singer Tom Smith apologises for being ring rusty – they haven’t gigged in a month – but there’s no need as the likes of ‘Blood’, ‘Munich’ and ‘Bullets’ have every ounce of malevolent emotion wrung out of them.
They may be the new originals of the species, but Interpol are going to have to work bloody hard to prevent their thunder being stolen.