Music Blog - Things We Learned At Oxegen

Every year we learn something new at Oxegen, something that makes us more festival-fit facing into the following year. This year was no exception. Here are some of the things we learned over the course of a very rainy weekend at Punchestown.

* That it may never be sunny for Oxegen Festival again. It's a grim prognosis but the odds are not looking good.

* Just because a jacket claims to be "waterproof" doesn't mean that it actually is, and the prettier the raincoat the less chance there is that it will actually shield you from the conditions and keep you dry. Fashion always has a price.

* No matter how many years they headline the festival, watching The Killers will never get old. Brandon Flowers is the ultimate showman - that jacket, those shoes, the floral arrangements! He can come back every year as far as we're concerned.

* No amount of tea or coffee will warm you up once you've been standing out in torrential rain for several hours. As a believer in the mantra "tea fixes everything" it pains me to say it but tea cannot counteract the conditions at Oxegen!

* Some acts really are worth getting wet for, even on Day One at the start of the bill. The Coronas should take a bow right about now for holding a massive crowd in torrential rain on Friday afternoon at the very start of the festival.

* Even the rain cannot spoil performances which are really special. Elbow know what we're talking about. Not only did they have to play to a very wet crowd but they also had to don ponchos and wade around a very waterlogged stage and yet they still gave the kind of performance that you'd be talking about for months after.

* That The Pet Shop Boys have the power to amaze – if you were there no other words are necessary, if you weren't catch them live at least once. It's an experience.

* That perfectly normal people will feel the need to lose the run of themselves completely at the sight of a bit of muck.

* That befriending strangers with common musical tastes can sometimes make your enjoyment of that gig all the more interesting… sometimes not, we can't vouch for everyone!

* That wellies were not intended to be worn for 16 hour stretches and danced in (unless you're a pretty funky farmer who likes to crank up those tunes in the hayshed!). Your feet will get sore, fact! This is all the more likely when the conditions are so awful that you can't even sit down on the grass for a few minutes between the acts.

* That you should (if you're not watching something else amazing) try to get to the main stage at least 15 minutes before the headline act kicks off. Nobody came out of the surge for Kings of Leon well on Saturday night.

* That some of the food outlets on site have more than one van in the area so before arranging to meet your friend at the Abrakebabra van you should check which one of the three he or she will be standing at to avoid blazing phone rows, getting lost and that general type of thing.

* That a distinctive flag, hat or glowstick that you can wave around in the air is useful when trying to direct friends to your location half-way through the headline act.

* That you will never be able to watch everything on the bill over the weekend. Make some hard decisions, stick to them and don't spend the weekend regretting the one the got away.

* That almost anyone sounds good if they're playing in a tent during a thunder and lightening storm with torrential rain.

* That it's ok to skip a headline act if you really want to see someone else. Sorry Snow Patrol but Republic of Loose kicked ass in the Green Spheres tent. 

* That the acts playing the festival will never learn that Punchestown isn't in Dublin, no matter how loud we all scream at the stage. It's just another one of those little things that we have to accept.

* That deciding to be brave and not take Monday off work is always a mistake!

Linda McGee

Check out our Oxegen 2009 Photo Gallery here. 

Read our Oxegen backstage interviews here.

Why not tell us about your festival highlights by leaving a comment below?

Check out RTÉ 2fm's festival coverage (with live sets and interviews) here.