The festival itself suffered from a lack of attendees, with some bands only getting to play to a dozen or so souls at a time. From talking to punters it seems this was largely due to a huge jump in ticket prices, which rose from around €60 in 2010 to around €120 this year. Also, the 'health and safety' issues which prevented us from getting into the arena for an hour at 5pm on Friday - despite bands already playing on the stages - beggared belief and was followed by a similar scenario briefly on the Saturday. In terms of positives, the staff and security were all very friendly, while the location and camping facilities were great too - with the few minute walk from the car park to the camp site particularly welcome. Highlight of the weekend music wise was definitely The Minutes, who were energetic, passionate and downright brilliant. Whipping Boy were also great to see and though Fergal's vocals may have disappeared for 'Twinkle' and he may have seemed on edge throughout, the closer of 'We Don't Need Nobody Else' made it feel like the 90s again for a few sweet minutes. In a saturated market one can only hope that this year's meagre attendance hasn't hindered the festival's potential future too much. A revised price structure and they could easily rebound with a much improved performance next year. Here's hoping...
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