The Sea Sessions

The ever-vengeful weather Gods were not kind to the Bundoran set on Friday night, sending down bucket after bucket of rain as homegrown heroes O Emperor and The Minutes took to the stage. The skies cleared up somewhat when the sun went down, which was very lucky for the dozens of Ham Sandwich fans watching the show from outside the packed-out North Shore tent. The feisty foursome treated the crowd to a rousing version of ‘Heartbeats’ by The Knife, as well as hits from their two LPS White Fox and Carry The Meek, including ‘The Naturist’, ‘Click Click Boom’ and radio favourite ‘Ants’.
Back on the main stage, Villagers plucked at heart strings with sublime renditions of ‘Ship Of Promises’, ‘The Meaning Of The Ritual’ and the glorious ‘Pieces’, before testing out a couple of new numbers on an elated audience. Next up, Japanese Popstars played an absolute stormer, bringing the night to a frenzied close with a set that more than a few revellers dubbed the best of the weekend. Energetic ain’t the word...
Saturday saw the return of the sun, with many festival-goers chilling out on the grass, soaking up the (almost) rays. The first stop for team Hot Press was Gemma Hayes, who was happy to return to her debut album Night On My Side for tunes like ‘Hanging Around’, ‘Back Of My Hand’ and ‘Let A Good Thing Go’. Accompanied by Ann Scott on synth, guitar and backing vocals, Gemma also knocked out a stellar version of punk classic ‘Ever Fallen In Love?’ by Buzzcocks.
There was just enough time to stop off at the Ramprage BMX area and marvel at some truly head-spinning stunts before The Skatalites took to the stage. Hero of the weekend award went straight to front woman Doreen Shaffer... we’re not ones to reveal a lady’s age, but for a woman of her vintage, she had some serious moves!
Over on the main stage, The Go! Team struggled with sound problems, but front woman Ninja kept us entertained with her Mr Motivator-esque style and swagger. Meanwhile on the North Shore stage, Bitches With Wolves drew a massive crowd, partially due to frontman James O’Neill’s colourful surf-inspired get-up. Some rather fabulous backing singers held their own in the style stakes, with ‘80s-tastic shoulder pads and sequins galore. O’Neill’s voice shone, and the Dublin lad proved himself to be a top notch entertainer – but there’s only so much sparkling electro-pop a girl can take.
Bell X1 showed why they’re still one of the best-loved live bands in the country with a well-chosen mix of songs from all five LPs, with ‘Next To You’, ‘The Ribs Of A Broken Umbrella’, ‘The Great Defector’, ‘Eve, The Apple Of My Eye’ and newbie ‘Velcro‘ drawing the loudest cheers. Paul Noonan seemed particularly delighted with the set-up, beaming “We’re on a beach in a town in Donegal – what more could you want?”
But the performance of the night was always going to come from DJing pioneer Grandmaster Flash, who mixed old school hip hop gems from the likes of Wu-Tang Clan, The Fugees, Dr. Dre and Nas, before playfully veering into ‘99 Red Balloons’. Brilliant stuff.
As luck would have it, the sun came out in full force for day three, just as the HP contingent were packing up their tents and hitting the road. While we managed to fit in more than a couple of thrilling performances, it’s clear that the laid-back vibe is the real star of the festival. From indulging in a spot of barefoot wine tasting to slugging around the stalls (we were mightily impressed by young designer Nicholas Ryan‘s wares, which he sells under the name Lir Child), there was never a moment wasted. Here’s to 2012!