Longitude Saturday: A Weeknd To Remember

After Longitude organiser Melvin Benn issued an apology on Friday evening for the bottle-neck at the entrance gates on the opening day, Hot Press wondered might it still be difficult to get in on day Day Two.

No need to worry however: the heat of the day meant people were satisfied to arrive in dispatches, with the nearby Lidl and Centra being emptied of stock and the Gardai trying valiantly to tell teeming hordes of fans where they can and can't be sitting and drinking (bless).

Equally valiant on the Main Stage were Bray lads Columbia Mills, whose music – blissful electronica for the uninitiated – washed across the Park. It's never easy to a small band on the biggest stage at a festival, but Columbia Mills more than held their own for half an hour.

As more people filtered in, loyalties were very quickly divided and the thousands of fake/farmer-tanned punters spread out across the four custom stages. Blink and you might've missed it, but a collective of Scandinavia's finest held sway over two stages at Longitude, with Norwegian sensation Sigrid occupying the Whelan's Tent, and Icelandic four-piece Kaleo singing the blues on the Main Stage.

Hot Press managed to catch them all, before ending up waiting by the Heineken Tent for Pusha T's arrival.

The NYC rapper, who was called in last minute to replace fellow rapper Earl Sweatshirt, piled heaps of energy into his set and got the crowd going with his DJ/hypeman in tow. The hip-hop artist is absolutely at his best when he's spitting bars from his rags-to-riches polemic 'Drug Dealers Anonymous', at his worst when he's in the middle of some vapid pop featurette.

Braggadocio can only take a rapper so far, even in a live setting. This is what Mac Miller discovered on the Main Stage right after Pusha T. This being the end of his tour, the rapper was enjoying the moment. He's surprisingly good when he goes acapella, but there's a few throwaway pop tunes in there too, which don't exactly hit the mark.

Kaytranada was next on the Main Stage. One of the most gifted and inventive producers in the world, his Longitude slot felt a little ill-considered. This is someone better suited to a more intimate stage, with more time and less daylight. As much as the Canadian dance producer rose to the occasion, not many in the crowd saw him as anything other than a warm-up act for bigger things. What a shame.

Speaking of rising to the occasion, Dublin's own electronic-indie boys All Tvvins were one step away from the headliner at the Heineken Stage. It was a tough choice for this Hot Press reviewer having to leave Skepta on the Main Stage (a better HP reviewer than me will say how he performed!), but All Tvvins have always had a magnetic live stage presence (and Lar Kaye did go slightly berserk over the course of this particular performance). An hour's set saw them dish out plenty from their debut album, as well as a few new hits. We're excited by the prospect of whatever they've got in store next.

And finally, Hot Press made its way back to the Main Stage for the final act. The Weeknd, casually attired in denim jacket, entered to mass cheers and swooning in the crowd. 'Starboy' kicked off a set which proved that, whatever your feelings are about the singer, you simply cannot look away from his alluring brand of R&B in a live setting. Eerie visuals, fireworks and fanfare all serve as the backdrop for a performance where Tesfaye's vocals were the centrepiece. The triple climax of 'Can't Feel My Face', 'I Feel It Coming' and 'The Hills' meant that not a soul left disappointed.