RockNess 2012: Review

Friday 8th to Sunday 10th June 2012 – RockNess @ Clunes Farm, Loch Ness Words: Alexander Bradley

Set on the shores of the Loch Ness, Rockness offers scenery unparalleled by any other event in Britain. Welcoming all ages and many different types of music lovers, it’s deservedly proclaimed as one of the UK’s best medium sized festivals.

With arguably their best line-up to date, Rockness offered the best variety of musical talent with Mumford & Sons, Deadmau5 And Biffy Clyro headlining the main stage over the weekend. Not to mention a special guest appearance from the Olympic Torch!

Marcus Mumford and his merry band got ‘Easy Listening Friday’ going with a much more enthusiastic approach to their folk rock sound that has become synonymous with his band. After a lacklustre start to the day, Mumford pulled the proverbial rabbit out the hat, fluctuating between fist pumping moments and deeply touching moments created through a rich variety of instruments, beautiful harmonies and catchy chorus’s.

Starting with ‘Little Lion Man,’ MUMFORD & SONS went from strength to strength, playing most of their hugely successful debut album ‘Sigh No More,’ whilst playing four tracks from the forthcoming album including the well received ‘Ghost That We Knew,’ and ‘Lover of the Light.’

However, with such a varied line-up, as Rockness goers you are forced into a compromise; have an open mind and broaden your horizons or not get your money’s worth from the festival.

Well I allowed my palette to develop and I was not disappointed, especially on ‘Electro Saturday.’

BEARDYMAN stole the show for me; his brilliance, creativity and sheer knowledge and understanding of music captivated the main stage audience on the Saturday afternoon. A small crowd swelled into a large rave as the set progressed from ‘chart-dance-pop’ to ‘reggae’ to dup-step’ all from the beat boxing of Beardyman. The zany and kooky interactions he had with the crowd mixed with his nerdy technical understanding made an act that was as unique as the music he was making.

His ease at creating these tracks, for me, undermined the whole of this electro-dance craze that is sweeping across popular music and that was a real eye opener. In no way is this a criticism but as not the most technically-savvy person, Beardyman gave me interesting perception of electro-dance manufacturing .A feeling which was confirmed by ZANE LOWE’s set on Sunday; a set comprising of current ‘hits’ and ‘popular’ music which sounded like a catalogue of songs that the human beatboxer could have concocted.

‘Electro Saturday’ allowed to experience two of the biggest acts in electro and dance music with Justice and Deadmau5 headlining the GoldenVoice Arena and Main Stage respectively.

JUSTICE were brilliant. With a sleek set-up on stage and a comprehensive set including classics such as ‘D.A.N.C.E’ and ‘We Are Your Friends,’ Justice offered a much more holistic approach to good live music. DEADMAU5, however, I felt, was just something more synthetic and manufactured. It was a shame that Justice were left with only a few fans by the end of their set because of the start of Deadmau5, an all too familiar clash that ran through the whole of the festival.

Electro Saturday did, however, throw up some rock music over at the Clash Arena where THE VIEW literally brought the roof down. An energetic, crowd pleasing performance was over all too soon when one of the tent supports came loose and the rest of the gig called off much to the displeasure of the crowd.

Although, much like the whole ethos of Rockness, despite this particular cloud there was a silver lining. With the set cut short and Justice an hour away, I went for a wander to test the infamous food the festival has to offer. Now, you know the standard food stalls at a festival; the ones that plain and simply say: ‘Paella’ or ‘Fish and Chips,’ well forget them; if you branch out a little further at Rockness you will find real, local chefs offering local produce, cooked correctly, and all for a decent price.

Another highlight for Rockness, away from music, was the selection of comedy taking place throughout the festival. MC BILLY KIRKWOOD did a rousing job as compare at GoldenVoice Arena, regularly having to think quickly to fill time whilst maintaining the engagement of the crowd- he did a real admiral job.

The comedy highlight came when TIM MINCHIN took the stage with his Grand Piano on Saturday. The usual cheeky humour comes as part and parcel with most successful comedians but Minchin’s supreme piano talents catapult him into his own comedy dynamic- a symbol of great classical music talent, a witty composer of a musical and comedy narrative and a stand-up one line wonder all in one brilliant bundle of red hair.

Minchin doesn’t fear revisiting classic joke idea’s such as feminism and religion as his musical approach dissects these subjects in a completely new fashion- a brilliant performance which perfectly set the tone for the festival: talent in abundance but a much more relaxed harmonious community.

Rocky Sunday rolled around all too soon but promised a lot which it surely delivered.

Over in Clash Arena the day got off to a brilliant start with ALL THE YOUNG. Modern rock epitomised by growing, powerful choruses won the small crowd over. The four piece from Stoke-on-Trent rocked the small stage to its core with a set which was over a little too soon.

Following that came an interesting band called TO KILL A KING. Half rock, half indie-electro they seem to have sacrificed a good rock band for the sake of sounding like everyone else with a synth thrown in. The acoustic song, ‘A Cannibal with Cutlery is Still a Cannibal,’ was a particularly good moment, a soulful yet powerful stab at love and all its baggage yet overall the band seemed like an awkward mix of idea’s, even in appearance, a mesh of rock music and electro indie folk that unconvinced me.

The rock acts on Clash Arena were capped off formidably with both The Rifles and Ash.

THE RIFLES brought their sophisticated ‘London Oasis’ style to the stage kicking off with the anthems ‘She’s Got Standards,’ and ‘Local Boy,’ from their first album ‘No Love Lost.’****

ASH marked their 20th year of being a band with a magnificent performance which rolled back the years. The band from Northern Ireland rolled back the years with songs like ‘Kung Fu’ from their first album ‘Trailer’ whilst playing mammoth songs like ‘Shining Light,’ ‘Burn Baby Burn,’ and ‘Sometimes.’ A brilliant performance that was reminiscent of the band in their heyday- a true success in the Clash Arena.

Rockness was then rounded off in true festival style, with an epic rock ‘n’ roll performance. Fresh from an appearance at Download Festival, with a crowd built up into a frenzy after energetic performances from FRIENDLY FIRES and ZANE LOWE, BIFFY CLYRO lit up the main stage.

Accompanied by amazing pyrotechnics and lighting, BIFFY CLYRO played songs both old and new each received in their the same raucous response as the one before- a true master class in rock music and an eye opener to exactly how many hits Biffy have.

From ‘Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys,’ to the new ‘The Jokes on us,’ Biffy showed a lot of fans they are much more than their award winning ‘Only Revolutions’ album.

That said with huge hits like ‘Mountains,’ ‘Many of Horror,’ ‘Bubbles,’ and ‘The Captain,’ Biffy Clyro powered through a lot of their last album not to the disappointment of the crowd.

In the last moments of the festival, Biffy built to the crescendo of ‘The Captain,’ to be greeted with an amazing firework display which lit up the sky, the festival and the loch.

A perfect end to the gig and the festival.