Onto the music, first on our agenda was “Grit Pop” Brother’s main stage set, was marred by the most recent down pour,the tunes carried through and whilst the crowd was small, they were supportive of the cause. We didn’t hang around to see if they repeated their Katy B cover, it was wet!
From a dance perspective Nero brought the bouncing to the Golden Voice tent, with his drum and bass/ dubstep style. Quickly followed by DJ Yoda whose comedy blend hip-hop saw samples from the Specials, Bob Marley and even The Doors, winning punters back, who had wandered away from the stage after Nero.
Clouds at the Sub Club tent, are very much a combo on the rise, astutely identified by Filth at the Ironworks when they played there earlier this year.They opened with Daft Punk’s classic (Robot Rock) and starting a bit of a theme as Daft Punk was intertwined into Zane Lowe’s set later on the main stage. Feedback from Clouds set highlighted the large depth and range of the duo.
The crowds also flocked back to see Katy B with a very appreciative crowd, ably assisted by MC Versatile, and highlighted the strength in depth of the line up.
Zane Lowe was on the fairly, sorry very, safe territory, blending a series of anthems together into a dance-a-sing-a-long-a-thon. Oasis, House of Pain, Daft Punk. It was fair to say that Mr Lowe clearly ensure the party had started.
The final act that we saw before the headliners was DJ Shadow who played the same stage as Katy B, although there was a strong emphasis on visual.
Certainly we anticipated that this could have been the “Daft Punk” moment of 2011 and I suspect many other would have agreed.The Hip-Hop/Jungle style certainly hit the right chord as the tent quickly began to fill. The use of a centre piece globe, which was projected on, appeared innovative and even at times culturally appropriate as we saw inbhir nis projected on it, a token of appreciation for BBC Alba covering the event , maybe not.
Many many thanks to every one at invernessGiGs (Garry, Frank and Houdi take a bow) for what was an extraordinary effort to cover the first day.
