Indiependence Festival

What we thought would be a gruelling four-and-a-half hour journey to Cork turned into a pleasant three hour trip – a great start to the day. We arrived in Mitchelstown at around noon and headed straight to O’Connell Park where Indiepedence was taking place. We were quite impressed: it was obvious that a lot of work had gone into this weekend and even the mud and lack of wellies (on Louise’s part) wasn’t going to stop us from enjoying ourselves.
After eating, we returned to the festival site. People were arriving and bands starting to play. We managed to catch a few acts before we went on, including Belfast's Pocket Promise and Panama Kings. Pocket Promise had an almost Postal Service sound to their songs and Panama Kings had a catchy quality I really enjoyed.
We hit the stage at half-five and were happy with our set. We certainly got a good reception from the crowd. Unfortunately we had to leave shortly after. Before hitting the road, though, we caught Ham Sandwich, who were punchy and energetic. We returned to Dublin, content, after an enjoyable day, and covered from head to toe in mud!
ELLIE MACNAMARA

Cork has always been a great hotbed for festivals and gigs, so we were excited to be asked to perform at Indiependence. Gillian Verrecchia on the Cyprus Avenue stage was the perfect way to open the day. She may be small in stature, but her voice is a soaring thing of beauty and it filled the impressive marquee effortlessly. Augmented by two musicians, she attracted a big crowd and by the end of her short but sweet set, any residual hangovers festival-goers had from the previous night had evaporated.
Over on the main outdoor stage, driving rain meant that punters were a little reluctant to catch Nicole Maguire and 16 Layers. All the same, they put on a decent show. There was a good crowd at the front of the Bavaria Stage for our early evening set. We included two new numbers and they went down well. We left them with a Clash cover.
Local heroes Fred were up after us, and were as entertaining as ever. Over in the Cyprus Avenue marquee, Villagers put on a cracking show, as did Director who had the unenviable task of following them. However, both of these bands are at the top of their game and it was great to see a full tent showing their appreciation.
There was a bit of drama backstage ahead of The Blizzards’ performance on the Bavaria Stage. A couple of nights earlier, Niall Breslin had broken his hand in an accident – it was touch and go as to whether he’d be able to play the guitar. In the end, he couldn’t play but he could sing. So Dan O’Connor from Boss Volenti stepped in to save the day. For many they were the band of the weekend.
I’d been waiting years to watch The Frank And Walters on home turf and it was a joy to see them in a packed Cyprus Avenue marquee. From the first note to the last this was a set packed with four minute pop gems.
Another truly underrated band are Super Furry Animals, and the headliners didn’t disappoint on the Bavaria Stage. Their set was stuffed full of stone-cold classics with tracks from every era of their extraordinary career – from ‘God! Show Me Magic’ from their very first EP to classic singles such as ‘Demons’, ‘Golden Retriever’, ‘Rings Around the World’, ‘Juxtaposed With You’ and perennial set closer ‘The Man Don’t Give a Fuck’.
All in all, Sunday at Indiependence was a classic festival day out. Here’s to next year!
MICK CRONIN