Maybe it was the euphoric mood inside the Strangelove tent. Maybe it was the fact that it had become obvious that the rain was going to give Lovebox a miss – more or less. Or maybe it was just the Rapture DJ set, which flowed from house to electro to the very ludicrous ‘Freek’n You’ by Jodeci. Whatever it was, the good vibes in the air at Lovebox were enough to get not just the concert security, but also the St. John’s Ambulance paramedics dancing. Yeah, there was something in the air alright.
Main Stage acts like Toots & The Maytals and The Rapture (during their earlier live performance) capitalised on this, turning in hugely impressive turns. In the smaller 515 tent, meanwhile, the buzz was evident all day long thanks to some superb mixing from the likes of Dancepig and Conor G.
The first act to miss the spirit of the day were the Super Furry Animals. Or that was the way it felt, with Gruff and the boys sounding just plain off-form. There were plenty of hits in their set, including early appearances from ‘Golden Retriever’ and ‘Rings Around the World’, and a smattering of decent new material like ‘Show Your Hand’. But, with a couple of sound bugs to contend with along the way, there was no shaking the feeling that the band couldn’t rouse themselves sufficiently to get out of a workmanlike second gear. An inevitably raucous ‘The Man Don’t Give A Fuck’ impressed, but not enough to save the day.
In the heel of the hunt, Groove Armada, who helped put this whole Lovebox thing together in the first place, also took a little while to get going. Tracks like ‘Purple Haze’ were enjoyable without really taking off and ‘At The River’ is a fine song – but maybe one that was rolled out a little too early on this occasion.
But once Andy Cato and Tom Findlay hit the groove, it was obvious that everything was going to be okay. Delivering a collection of hits that made everyone dance like only pasty-faced Irish people can, they took the crowd higher and higher. As darkness finally fell, new tracks ‘Love Sweet Sound’ and ‘Get Down’ slotted impressively in with the classic material – climaxing, of course, with the monumental 'Superstylin''.
The word is that Lovebox Ireland will be back next year. We certainly hope so.