Having given us her Electric Picnic preview last week, Anna from Dott drops back in to give us the rundown on her Top 5 Irish acts in Stradbally last weekend…



I had such an amazing weekend this year at Electric Picnic. I think we all owe infinite pints to the person who obviously sold their soul to the devil for that weather. I got to see so many good bands but was really struck by the fact that the quality of Irish bands playing was really amazing this year. It’s an exciting time to be involved in music here in Ireland. Here are my top 5 Irish bands from Electric Picnic that made my weekend…

1. Squarehead
Squarehead played on Sunday morning when I was feeling particularly woozy but my spirits were lifted when I got to hear some of the new songs due to feature on their soon to be released split album with So Cow. They were joined by a special guest on second guitar, so it was fun to hear the songs filled out that extra bit, not that they need it. Plus they finished the set with a cover of Be My Baby by the Ronettes and Roy finished the song by diving in the crowd into someone’s arms, just like Baby in Dirty Dancing. Ok, I made that very last bit up.

2. Tieranniesaur
Saturday night 2:40am and I wandered into the forest where it seemed EVERYONE was hanging out waiting for Tieranniesaur to begin. Tieranniesaur’s set was delayed so there was lots of drink swapping and tasting going on and I was told that you can use a box of wine as a pillow once it’s empty, you just blow it back up again! By 3:30am Tieranniesaur were on and the whole forest was dancing. You can’t not have fun at one of their gigs but the late night divilment and maybe the fact that they were playing on a boat in a forest made this gig extra special. Kudos to Ian for hopping from platform to platform without missing a note, or letting his Blue Steel stare slip from his face for a second.

3. No Spill Blood
No Spill Blood are causing a bit of a stir lately so even though their time slot clashed with none other than the Cure, they still drew an enthusiastic crowd. Apparently Lar had just returned that morning from a mammoth US tour with Adebisi Shank. You wouldn’t have known though cos they absolutely rocked. It was the kind of gig which resulted in a front row of boys with their tops off punching into the air. This was my first time seeing them properly live and I was suitably impressed, so I really look forward to their release of Street Meat. Oh and I hadn’t realised until then that their song No Retreat was the theme music for DCTV’s ‘Community of Independents’. Tune.

4. David Kitt
I only got to see a small portion of this due to his time slot clashing with my own band’s sound check. The Big Romance reminds me of being a teenager having my own bedroom for the first time. This album was on repeat for months, I would listen to it two or three times before going to sleep. Kitt was joined by Richie and Glen from Jape in a lovely sway-along sing-along set I wish I could have seen more of.

5. Miriam Donohue
Sunday afternoon in Natasha’s Food Emporium, eating yummy treats and sitting on an arguably comfy wooden pallet was the perfect opportunity to chill out and watch Miriam Donohue. She is a very talented songwriter with a voice that reminded me of Suzanne Vega or Beth Orton and sang delicate songs about shipwrecks and feeling lost in New York. I’m looking forward to hearing her debut cd, which apparently will be out soonish.

Dott play Regans Bar, Schull, Co Cork on Fri Sept 7th at 9:30pm as part of the Harvest Moon Festival; and The Pavilion, Cork, Sept 8th, w/ Hunk

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