Deadmau5 sends the Oxegen crowd back to their tents on a high

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Oxegen 2011

Friday 8th to Sunday 10th July 2011
Punchestown Racecourse, Naas, Co Kildare, Eire, Ireland
�224.50 for 3 day including camping

Things kicked off on the Vodafone stage with former Miss Ireland Amanda Brunker. I went along to see this for the comedic value and wasn't disappointed. It was an utterly shocking performance not worthy of the Oxegen festival and it is a shame that other bands were denied the chance to perform. She said she was glad no one threw eggs at her, if the fifty or so people in the crowd had access to eggs I believe they would have. I will say no more.

Luckily the weather which was pretty dismal on the Friday picked up and the sun graced Punchestown. It allowed people to sit on the grass, drink cold Heineken and enjoy Plan B playing on the Main stage. Lead singer Benjamin Drew, musician/actor/director entertained and relaxed the crowd with a diverse mix of melodic hip hop tunes. 'Praying' and 'She Said' were highlights.

Not so much of a highlight was Beady Eye and ex-Oasis front man Liam Gallagher. Watching them perform I couldn't help but think they sounded like nothing more than a very bad Oasis. Based on the performance it is fairly obvious that Noel Gallagher was the genius behind Oasis and classic songs like 'Champagne Supernova' and 'Wonderwall'. Whilst 'The Roller' is a decent song, all in all I found them to be rather bland and ultimately disappointing. They quite simply lacked any real panache.

The Arctic Monkeys and Alex Turner turned in a memorable performance playing hits off of their new album 'Suck It And See' and the old classics that have been ingrained in our collective psyches. Fast becoming somewhat of a British institution they wowed the heaving crowd with 'Mardy Bum' and 'When The Sun Goes Down'. The Arctic Monkeys are young, cool and energetic and they played with a precise ease that was both breathtaking and a testament to their skill as musicians. The crowd screamed back lyrics, danced, swayed and appeared to have a generally brilliant time. "I bet that you look good on the dance floor", salute to the muddy Kildare field for providing that dance floor!

Also worth a mention is Brandon Flowers the former Killers front man. I managed to catch the first three songs on the Heineken Green Spheres stage. His hit 'Crossfire' was excellently performed and the atmosphere was awesome. I had the pleasure of watching the Killers perform at Oxegen in 2005 and Flowers once again did not disappoint in my brief visit. He is clearly a very talented musician and songwriter.

Rounding off the night on the Vodafone stage was Deadmau5. The electro, dance act played hits including 'Ghosts n Stuff'. Also on offer was an amazing light show which lit up the festival sky and beamed out over thousands of adoring fans. Anyone reading who hasn't had heard of Deadmau5 should check them out. The phrase gets thrown around a lot but the atmosphere was nothing short of electric and the crowd were sent back to their tents on a high.