This year, RockNess was a tale of two camps, and I am not talking General and V.I.P. I am talking indie to my left and dance to my right. Separate stages. Separate sounds. In previous years, acts such as the Bloody Beetroots have proved that genre-defying sets are popular, so why did organisers keep them apart this year? Perhaps they were polarised for fear of fight; they expected a Chemical Brother to laser a Wombat, or Paolo to smash decks with his acoustic. Whatever the reasoning, and despite having to ping-pong across the site to have an eclectic festival experience, both camps provided music that ensured 2011 was in fact ‘The Year Of The Ness.’
A highlight from the indie camp was Frightened Rabbit. If the Glasgow based band’s fan base was snowballing, it will soon avalanche. Scott Hutchison used his voice perfectly to balance honey high note ballads and scruffier, gruffier, fast-paced rock songs. The honest and heart warming set closer ‘Keep Yourself Warm’ managed to be both explicit and eloquent, and roused a memorable sing a long. As the band left the stage it was clear it had been as rewarding an experience for them as it had been for the audience.
Another band pleased with their RockNess experience was We Are Scientists. Backstage, vocalist Keith Murray described their set as “Grand! A triumph!” Murray was particularly pleased at the way in which their heavier material was received, as it reflects their new direction “A lot of riff-heavy music being made isn’t good enough … take Queens of the Stone Age, they have the riffs but the vocal lines just aren’t there. We’re going into the studio soon and we’re going to do it right.”
Lazing on a Sunday afternoon was simply not an option this year as the dance camp had plans to keep the wellies in motion - live sets in the Goldenvoice Arena from Fake Blood, Beardyman and SubFocus. Beardyman’s varied set which included beatboxing, singing, DJing and a sense of humour was a reminder that dance music is more than bass drops and an air of cool (I’m looking at you, Annie Mac!)
The dance camp was looking good at RockNess, literally. The visual aspect of DJs performances was paramount. The Chemical Brothers trippy backdrop was phobia filled; beetles, tigers, clowns … the floating heads of choirboys. The set took crew about ten hours to set up but it was worth it, absolutely mesmerising. SubFocus revealed that he used the same lighting company to accentuate his dubstep set “I’m a big fan of those guys … the lights are triggered by me when I’m playing which keeps it tight to the beat which is pretty cool. I can also trigger sounds by moving my hands in the air!”
With those in the indie camp looking to resurrect the riff, and those in the dance camp pushing the boundaries of music technology, it is not surprising that the two are being enjoyed apart. Music is changing. RockNess is changing. After all, nobody ever expected a Paisley lad with pretty eyes and pop songs could be a headline act. But as fireworks fell to the loch, Paolo fell to his knees, and thousands of festival goers fell in love, it was clear that RockNess was a success; nothing endures but change.
Published on 30 June 2011 by leoniecolmar
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