Stuart Clark on Snow Patrol and Franz

Snow Patrol
Jeez, the adrenaline is still pumping. You kind of thought that Snow Patrol would pull out all the stops for their hometown show – I know, they’ve three of them – but even by their own high standards this was a cracker. Arriving on stage to a heroes welcome, Gary & Co. delivered big time with a set that took in pretty much all of their Final Straw album along with two choice oldies, ‘One Night Is Not Enough’ and the Coq Le Roq-assisted ‘Punk Post Progression’. As with their recent Ambassador gig, the boy Lightbody had to stop singing half-way through ‘Chocolate’ and the anthemic ‘Run’ because the crowd were drowning him out. I’m not a man given to hyperbole but this was fucking awesome!

The Killers
Saturday’s most knackered band has to be The Killers who look like they’re still fighting the Vietnam War. Despite the thousand yard stare, the Las Vegas branch of the Noel Gallagher Fan Club manage to lure a tent-full of punters away from Cap’n Bob and The Cure with their expertly crafted synth-pop. The star of the show is Johnny Depp lookalike singer Brandon Flowers who proves to be everything Julian Casablancas wasn’t an hour earlier on the Main Stage – charismatic, coherent and in tune. The lyrical Hiroshima that’s ‘Indie Rock ‘N’ Roll’ aside, it’s all good with their breakthrough single, ‘Mr. Brightside’, the most potent anthem of Oxegen’s opening day. It’s a good thing they’ve no problem with being as big as the Oasis’ and U2s of this world, because it might just happen.