For a festival named RockNess, the second day of the water-straddling festival had its fair share of dance and electronic acts across the course of the afternoon. Any doubts about their belonging at a natively rock-oriented festival were soon dispelled, thanks due to one uniting contributing factor: putting on great shows.
Beardyman – Saturday, Main Stage
There are live electronic acts and there are live electronic acts – and Beardyman puts other live sets to such shame they may as well be dead. Armed with a setup of multiple laptops, headset mics, an Xbox Kinect and countless other pieces of technogubbin kit, the ironically stubbly Beardyman explained to a crowded main stage that this was in fact the first time experimenting with a large chunk of this equipment, and that plenty of the day’s act would be sampled live – and as if proving a point, sampled his own words, looped them, and chucked in some heavy beats and bass.
His own voice, screeches, howls and the occasional flatulence: nothing was safe from Beardyman’s sampling setup, and the synth wet dreams he created in the fly made him a must-see. That he’s extremely charming and well-humoured didn’t do him, or his stage manner, much harm either.
The Pigeon Detectives – Clash Arena, Saturday
A little crusty around the edges, but still going strong, Yorkshire indie pop types The Pigeon Detectives still have what it takes to hold down a stage. Eclectic guitar work, a lot of sweat and general hazy noise are the order of the day when the Pigeons swoop, lead singer Matt Bowman swinging, twirling and tossing his microphone with the efficiency of a modern day Mercury – albeit a little more sweat-soaked, and with perhaps less immaculate hair. A reliance on some of the older, bigger hits – Take Her Back, I’m Not Sorry – was perhaps to be expected a little, but that the material generated an equally enthusiastic and noisy reaction is testament to their ongoing lasting appeal.
DJ Fresh Presents Fresh Live – Saturday, Main Stage
Curious one, this. Instead of simply opting for a live DJ set with a guest vocalist, DJ Fresh has gone the extra mile and instead created an entire live band set of electronic music and more traditional rock backing. Packing a session guitarist, drummer on an immaculate electronic drum set, Fresh himself on key backing and both a hype-raising MC and Fleur on vocals, the set is one of the bigger surprises of RockNess – not just for those unfamiliar with DJ Fresh but also for existing fans perhaps expecting a more traditional live show.
The spectacular light show and energy of all those on stage, coupled with intense tracks like chart hit Golddust and Lassitude, made for an evening show perfect for hyping an audience up for later acts – but also did a pretty impressive job of making a name for themselves as an all-encompassing, genre-straddling act of unmatched calibre. Perhaps one of the best sets of the weekend.
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