Review of Saturday at Oxegen

Grunged up to the nines and sounding very much like a Tragic Kingdom-era Gwen Stefani, Alice Gold has the potential to get Day Two off to a brilliant start. The London power-popper is supported by a stellar band, but Gold needs a little more time in the oven before she can earn a crowd’s affections.
If there’s one misadventure that will define the occasionally odd nature of this particular Oxegen, it’s the inexplicable presence of former TV host and model Amanda Brunker on the Vodafone Main Stage. Led by salsa trio Gitano, Amanda performs one tune only, a chilled out, Latin-infused cover of U2’s ‘With Or Without You’, which she breezes through in a breathy whisper. “Well,” she purrs, “was it worth all the hate?” I can’t say it was – but don’t expect an ocean of love either, when when you crack out hilarious lines like, “Hi boys,” and, “Shake your maracas, baby”. Those in search of a more authentic show will have switched to Heineken Green Spheres for charming folk five-piece Little Green Cars, but as far as the Irish press are concerned, Brunker’s performance was one of the hottest tickets of the weekend.
Later, Northern Irish rockers Cashier No. 9 provide the perfect antidote. The dreamy septet swerve from hook-laden folk-rock to full-on psychedelic key-tinkling, reaching their swoonish peak with new single ‘Lost At Sea’.
Festival favourites British Sea Power struggle to engage back on the Vodafone Stage, while Canadian art-poppers Braids are making a truly stunning job of their inaugural Irish show. In a set loaded with gentle choruses and four-piece harmonies, they’re tight, enigmatic and immediately arresting.
Meanwhile, Bangor boys Two Door Cinema Club pull the largest and most uproarious crowd of the weekend thus far to the Main Stage, and with plenty of reason. We’ve come to expect world-class performances from the Choice Prize winners and with the help of some razor-sharp riffs and punchy synth lines, by the time they get around to mega hits ‘What You Know’ and ‘I Can Talk’, everyone’s on their feet, if not the shoulders of the reveller beside them.
The Pretty Reckless attempt a return to straight-up rock and roll over at Heineken Green Spheres, with the help of biker banshee front woman Taylor Momsen (she of Gossip Girl fame). Clad in an über-slutty fishnet dress and grinding all up on a band of gentlemen old enough to be her father(s), there’s lots to distract from the tunes at this show, but actually, her hair-flipping take on pop metal isn’t half bad. The band appear to be genuinely enjoying themselves and even if it’s half rock show, half strip show, there’s no doubting 17 year-old Momsen’s frontwoman abilities.
A thoroughly different kind of musical ass-kicking is taking place over at the Hot Press/2fm stage, where vintage swing rockers Kitty, Daisy And Lewis are blasting their way through one of the performances of the weekend. It’s hard to know where to direct the spotlight, with all three members of the Durham family taking the lead at different intervals and Mama Durham and Papa Durham doing a spirited job on the double bass and guitar respectively. There’s neither hair, nor pant crease out of place as they swap drums for harmonica, harmonica for keys, keys for guitar (you get the idea), but it’s their peerless confidence that makes this a really sensational show.
Hit writer-turned-pop-star Bruno Mars looks a little more like an ‘80s rocker than I remember as he takes to the Vodafone stage with his raucous backing band The Hooligans, but from his skyscraping vocals to his standout guitar-playing, he’s certainly got the skills to foot this bill. It comes as no surprise that megahits ‘Nuthin’ On You’ and ‘Grenade’ go down a storm, but even dud tracks are delivered with stadium-sized attitude. An unexpected highlight.
Professor Green is continuing his spree of musical thievery at Heineken Green Spheres, sampling everyone from Queen to the Pixies, whose iconic ‘Where Is My Mind?’ will appear in a new guise on his next album. Green’s energy has the crowd in ecstatic form, but without the slightest flash of originality, I’m feeling tetchy.
The Main Stage, meanwhile. has all the uninspired Britrock a girl could hope for. Musically, everything about Beady Eye’s set is firmly in place, but it’s only a few songs into the gig before they lose their hold on the crowd. It’s hardly fair to expect career-peak swagger from Liam Gallagher on Beady Eye’s Irish festival debut, but shooting us little more than a steely gaze, the moody Mancunian is making it especially difficult tonight.
Thankfully, a band Gallagher Jr. reckons are “boring” are killing it. The Vaccines give their solid What Did You Expect... album a kinetic live airing at Heineken Green Spheres that easily surpasses what you hear on wax. This show will appear on the ‘Best Of’ lists of fans and bemused stragglers alike.
Next, the boisterous rhythms of Paolo Nutini and band make it downright impossible not to like the prettyboy crooner. From the woozy groove of ‘Coming Up Easy’ to the ragtime mayhem of ‘Pencil Full Of Lead’, Nutini sounds stronger and, crucially, more confident than ever before. As pop hunks go, this one’s got serious soul chops.
Punters at Arctic Monkeys’ Main Stage set look remarkably less enthused, and it could be because they’re finding it hard to connect with lines like, “Her steady hands may well have done the devil’s pedicure”. Tunes from the first two albums are the real crowd-pleasers and the Monkeys know it, saving ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ and the anthemic ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ for the last minutes of the show. Closing with slow-burning heart-wrencher ‘505’ is an inspired move and guarantees that, for all the moments of lull, no-one will leave the site in low spirits.