Friday 12/06/09 RockNess Festival 2009, Day One @ Loch Ness, Scotland

When travelling so far north you’d probably expect drizzle and grey skies, but arriving at Loch Ness a hot Scottish sun blistered every tent-pegger in sight, the Loch bedazzled in the distance and the surrounding sun drenched highlands enveloped each growing camp-site.  Already this festival felt very different to those such as Leeds and Reading, the scattering of Scottish accents, the complete remoteness and the stunning postcard scenery make RockNess absolutely unique.

Leaving the camping areas the arena itself is dotted with various tents, stages and bars where dance and electro DJs circulate throbbing music all-day every-day.  Dozens of colourful Balkan-esque flags stream towards the Main Stage which is cleverly located right in front of the Loch.  This is where The Aliens kick things off relatively late on this Friday evening; however, sounding like a distant mesh of nonsensical noise they seem to be performing to a distracted crowd.  Perhaps the excitement of the first night dimmed their significance.

Contrastingly, the Rizla Invisible Players area can easily be mistaken for some distant tropical destination, overrun by a mass of extreme holidaymakers as men in Speedos and skin-tight Spiderman suits prance amongst palm trees and flashing lights galore.  However, this is probably the idea and is not a bad thing.  This area has tacky charm, a deep green Scottish highland backdrop and good tunes to boot, which are currently being provided by Autodisco who begin with 80’s classics then smoothly twist into dance.  Killer Kitsch at the Soco Social (Southern Comfort) tent prove it is always time to party in this tent, and as the rest of the weekend showed it was a full-on favourite amongst ravers and non-dance fanatics alike.

As sunset approaches it is time for The Flaming Lips.  Multicoloured banners stream from the stage as dancing Teletubbies appear from the wings.  A thumping bass sets an epic scene for this mighty band.  Screeching fans, silky melodies, and fall-in-love lyrics combined with inflatable balls, green lasers and blow-up balloons that explode into confetti make this a very special, very surreal experience; especially since this band very rarely perform in the UK.  Highlights include ‘Fight Test’ and ‘She Don’t Use Jelly’ which features grinding guitars and stimulates that happy, festival feeling.  The band deliver the classic ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Part 1’ with a quiet, acappella approach which makes it feel a bit hollow but is still a clear favourite.  The rainbow visuals and resultant overall effect prove that this psychedelic set has been excellently produced. Finishing with the electrifying ‘Do You Realize??’, The Flaming Lips certainly know how to put on an amazing live show.  They are the ultimate festival band.

RockNess 2009 in photos: