RockNess

15/06/2010

The monster is loose on the banks of Loch Ness

RockNess
Dores
3/5

Returning to RockNess after five years, Fatboy Slim finds the Highland festival, which began in 2006 when he brought his Brighton beach party north, to be in rude health. Now spanning three days and pulling in more than 30,000 revellers, the monster party is bigger than ever.

After a warm up from rock/dance crossover Aussies Pendulum and dance/rock crossover Hertfordshire lads Friendly Fires, an enthusiastic crowd are ready to take it up a notch with a hits-filled set from the ‘boy himself. Pulling out vintage club classics ‘Right Here, Right Now’ and ‘Praise You’, the artist otherwise known as Norman Cook is happy to oblige wrapping up the Friday night in a party mood.

As the sun sparkles on Loch Ness, the valley above has acquired a distinctly unwholesome feel for a Saturday that’s heavy on big beats and headmashing mixes. Aphex Twin turns in a borderline unlistenable contribution – to the delight of many who have found some way to dance asymmetrical rhythms and blinding laser show. There’s no relenting for Hot Chip’s house-heavy set, nor by 2manydjs.

Plan B’s heart-felt set on the main stage provides some much needed soul in the middle of the afternoon. The one-time shock rapper turned smooth crooner has every girl in the suddenly packed main field swooning. ‘She Said’, ‘Welcome to Hell’ and ‘Stay Too Long’ from his current concept album The Defamation of Strickland Banks reveal a prodigious talent.

For those tending towards the indie rock end of the spectrum, Sunday provides a smorgasbord of offerings old and new. Starting gently in the Howard’s End Pub, the Maccabees put in a stripped down (by their standards, this still includes a brass section) session, which culminates in a beautiful version of ‘Love You Better’ that's all the better for the laidback intimate surrounds.

The buzz for New York new wave legends Blondie has been building all weekend but Debbie Harry – opting for an ill-advised aging goth look, which underplays how striking she remains at 64 – and co are distinctly underwhelming to start. Picking up a little for ‘Heart of Glass’ there’s a glimpse of the punk snarl that so defined them, but overall the set errs a little too much on newer, blander fare such as 1999’s ‘Maria’.

Vampire Weekend, by contrast are very obviously a band at the peak of their – not insignificant – powers. ‘Diplomat’s Son’, ‘Cousins’ and ‘Holiday’ from their superb sophomore album Contra are so gloriously sunny that the pervasive rain dries up and ponchos are thrown aside in time to bounce up and down to established festival favourite ‘A-Punk’.

It’s another blast from the past to close the day, but a very popular one as the main stage area is more packed out than it’s been all weekend for the live return of another New York institution – The Strokes. The band have apparently taken over a Scottish castle for their stay, which may explain frontman Julian Casablancas’ abnormally cheery and chatty form. In between mocking a behind-the-times fool with a laser pointer (“There’s a dude with a laser pointer in back, why is that dude always here? Even after all these years, he’s still going to festivals and thinking to himself, ‘Yeah, I’m going to laser point the shit out of these guys!’”) and praising the rest of the crowd (“I forgot how frickin’ rad you guys are”), Casablancas lead the band through almost all of their seminal 2001 album Is This It. ‘Soma’, an explosive ‘Last Nite’ and ‘Someday’ provide particular highlights, with pulsating strpies or giant games of Pac Man, Pong and Space Invaders in the background.

It’s a crowd-pleasing set even if the overwhelming feeling was of a lap of glory rather than a real return. With no new tracks ready for public appraisal, fans will have to wait, it seems, to see whether this was a farewell or the opening of a new chapter.