Live Review

RockNess – Loch Ness

• 14th Jun 2009

RockNess goes Bonkers!

Scotland’s number two festival in it’s fourth year is in full swing. It’s not the number one because of T in the Park, a longer standing, more established festival, in a not so remote part of the Scottish Highlands.

Loch Ness home of Rock Ness is 200 miles from Glasgow. It’s so far north even the Scots don’t relish the trip. It may not be best UK festival but it is certainly the most beautiful. The main stage backing on to the great Loch in all its resplendent glory.

Glasswerk.co.uk is surrounded by scores and scores of Jocks in the The Ed Banger party. which takes over and rules the Bollywood tent on Saturday and this is where we spend most of our time on Saturday night.

Kicking off with an immense set of pounding French electro from Krazy Baldhead, melding the smooth and funky basslines with rock beats, transitioning smoothly into an electrical distorted and fully exerting set from DJ Feadz, which as the night progressed, faced less opposition from the main stage acts.

By the time DJ Medhi took the stage Basement Jaxx had finished and the tiny Bollywood tent was rocked to it’s bedouin roof. The Bollywood tent has made its way all the way from Bestival, and it is thought the Sunday Best connection at this years Rockness had influenced some of the great artists that this trip was a worthwhile one. “Busy, Busy, Busy, Fucking P” is the chant for the Ed Banger leader. and from the moment P drops in with Vampire Weekend A-Punk the tent is overflowing with tres cool RaveNess.

Elsewhere in camp Ness, Mylo is embroiled in a frantic DJ set from an awful SoCo tent that sells nothing but the sick sweet stuff. The main attractions, headliners Orbital have the rest of the crowd evenly divided between the Clash Magazine Arena, where Orbital’s breathtaking performance took place, and main stage which is owned by Sir Dizzee Rascal. Quite simply there are those who have heard of Orbital and those who are too young to resist the urge of going absolutely bonkers.

A wild and unruly crowd of teens owns the front of the crowd and Dizzee has to berate them with instructions to keep back from crushing those at the front and more strangely to stop fighting! Old mother Rascal is concerned for the welfare of his fans who are jostling for position like Dizzee is the new Jacko.

Orbital have no such crowd trouble, with a deeply introspective rave, their digital experience of eight rotating video screens merges the past and the present of computer science imagery, while a solitary four lights man the machines on stage. A classic and vital booking from RockNess on par with Underworld last year and Daft Punk the year before that.

A day that began so well with a cut n paste set from DJ Yoda. Typically crowd pleasing and Yoda is everyone’s festival hero and with a Johnny Cash medley has the crowd singing along.