David Higgins

David Higgins at Oxegen? Yes, believe it or not I was!

I only went for Saturday’s music however it’s clear that I will definetly be returning in 2010 for a 4 night camping holiday.

As with any big trip the preparation starts before the day and Oxegen is no exemption, even on a day ticket. The night before I packed wellies, spare socks, drink, bottle caps (I’ll explain below) and some snacks to eat.

The day began at 7.00 am with the monotone buzz from my alarm clock. This was most unwelcome considering that I have never woken earlier than 9 during the summer, also because I only got 3 hours sleep the night before (excitement keeps you awake, especially at Christmas)!. Then at 8.00 am I arrived at my friend’s house which was the Rendezvous point for the 7 of us going to the music festival.

The others arrived a little later and we then took the bus into town. Afterwards we went to O’Connell Street to purchase our €20 bus ticket when we were blessed by an offer we couldn’t refuse, free tickets on the Lucozade party bus! The coach left a little after 10.00 am and it was clear before we left that this bus was not only free, but better! We were allowed drink on the bus and there was a guitar. One of the Lucozade workers had an acoustic with him and he led a sing-song for the hour long journey. This, along with the drink got us off to a perfect start to what would be a perfect day.

Upon arrival, it was clear that Oxegen is not just a musical festival but a drinking one too. Everywhere you went in the grounds there was drink. People with cans, crates, bottles or other types that you just know are alcohol. We joined in and found a nice patch of grass to lie down on as we fueled ourselves for the day. The area where we were was just outside the entrance to the stages.

After the supplies were consumed we went inside for The Saw Doctors @2 p.m. We had VIP tickets so check-in was instant however we were subject to search like everyone else. Any bottles of liquids you have must have their caps removed incase they get used as a missile. This is where my concealed bottle caps came in handy.

We went straight to the main stage and the small number of people there meant that we got very close to the stage. We then listened to great songs like N17 and About You Know. The Saw Doctors are a fantastic Irish band and they’ve stood the test of time against an ever changing taste of music within the youth of society.

After that we went and got some food in one of the many overpriced stalls at Oxegen. Later in the day I went back for more food and the grand total came to €20 (Thankfully that was the figure I would have paid on Dublin Bus!).

• Small Ham and Mushroom Pizza – €8
• Gourmet Burger – €7
• Plain Hot Dog – €5

I also later bought a €2.50 bottle of Coke!!!

Now that our hunger was satisfied we decided to check out some of the tents. This was a good move because it was starting to rain. We immediately avoided the dance tent. We were told that half the drugs seizures happen there and also it was full of horny 20 something year olds. Instead we went into the Heineken Tent and caught the Saturday’s as they finished their set. There was once a humour in our school that the Irish girl in the group, Una Healy’s sister is a teacher in our school. Unfortunately that’s not true

When they had finished the rain was pretty heavy so 3 of us decided to search for the VIP area. We had missed it on the way in and we were sorry we didn’t find it sooner. The main feature of VIP is proper toilets. Proper as in, not being a smelly port-a-loo! After relieving ourselves in comfort we went into a cool tent in the shape of Indian Huts. Inside it was warm, sheltered and there was good music playing. The early start had knocked a lot of energy out of us so we immediately lay down in a corner and rested for a while. Then on the way out of the VIP area we came across a camper-van with Xbox 360′s inside. We were able to just walk in and play games of Gears of War and Tekken. VIP is truly worth it and I’d recommend it to anyone, regardless of the cost.

After the casual gaming we decided to find the rest of our group. We found them outside the Main Stage enjoying the end of The Blizzards. I don’t know any of their songs except Fantasy so it was great to hear that song. By now it was 5:30 p.m and only 6 hours until King of Leon. Amazingly the queue into the pit was growing hugely and so some of my friends decided to get in it to secure their place at the front for KOL at 11.30 p.m!

The rest of us returned to the VIP area to chillax some more. This time we went into the bar and amazingly the 3 of us were served. However it’s €6 a pint plus a €3 deposit on your cup! Even so we were able to sit back and relax with a nice cool beer. This was the queue for 2 of my mates to fall asleep! I decided to go and play some more Xbox with a more sober guy from my group and we then returned to find the two lads still in slumber. We woke them quite suddenly by throwing our bags on them, however one of them still slept .

At 7 p.m we left the VIP area and strolled around the site and we bumped into a good friend of ours from school. He was camping for the 4 nights and his weekend hadn’t been going so well. He told us that his tent was a foot underwater and that as a result he got no sleep in the two nights previous. That combined with E-Tablets he said caused the white in his eyes to turn red, prompting a passing Guard to questions his activities. However even though things weren’t great for him (he also hadn’t had sex yet to his displeasure) he was still in the mood of the festival and it proved that nothing can upset you greatly at Oxegen. It was at this time that I realized that rain had run-off my waterproof jacket into my jeans pockets. I subsequently discovered that my phone’s keyboard was not working. Sure I needed a new one anyway.

By now the queue for the pit was enormous and it was unlikely that we’d get in to join our friends already there. Also two of my friends wanted to see The Mars Volta at the O2 stage.  I decided with another friend to try for the pit and this was greatly assisted by the friend from school we just met. He stealthily distracted a group of people in the queue while me and my friend slipped into the queue, thus propelling us within meters from the top of the line.

At the top of the line, a clearly drunken man approached the stewards waving a fake pass saying that he had to get into the pit for dear life. The steward calmly told him off saying “These guys [pointing at me) have been waiting over and hour and a half, so back of the line!”. Haha, yeah right. More like a minute and a half .

Now inside the pit we then had the arduous task of reaching our friends at the top. It was vital that we made it there by Kings Of Leon. One of my friends had a calculated plan to display the word milk with four T-shirts, each one displaying a letter. 8 people were required to perform the stunt. We had plenty of time though. We just caught the end of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and there were two more acts until KOL. The first of these were Elbow. I was eager to hear them as they are opening for Coldplay in September and when they walked on stage with a string quartet it was looking promising. Their songs were good however they were a bit slow and I only really enjoyed the last song. Not to worry though because at 10 p.m Bloc Party arrived.

I thoroughly enjoyed them especially their hits like Helicopter and Hunting for Witches. This brought us to 11 p.m and by now I was with my friends and it was only half an hour until KOL. By now I had been 3 hours in the pit and my bladder was beginning to enlarge. With no other feasible option I had no choice but to urinate in a plastic bottle .

However nothing could take from the atmosphere. One could never imagine that being so tightly packing into such a small space could be enjoyable but being in front of a massive stage with a band only feet away is an experience too good to miss. You don’t care that you’re being swayed left to right, back and forward as some eejits attempt to force their way to the top. You don’t care that you’re being touched at all side by a bunch of strangers older than you and you don’t care that the place smells like B.O and shit. This is Oxegen and in Oxegen all your worries are gone.

The clock turned 11.30 and Caleb Followill walked onto the stage followed by his two brothers and his cousin. The Kings of Leon opened with Notion, their newest single. It had to be my favourite song of the night. KOL make great use of piano in this song.

Their entire setlist was a great combination of the old and new tracks and it was well received by the crowd. Unfortunately some of the songs were slower than usual and this took away from the mood somewhat. Also there appeared to be a cock up by the drummer in Sex on Fire but it didn’t bother me too much. All in all it was a fantastic concert however they didn’t play Milk .

The music ended at 1, we got a lift at 2, I was home by 3 and in bed by 4 just as the sun was coming up.

Oxegen 2010, I can’t wait.