Monster time at Loch Ness!

Jun 11 2008 By Charlie Rowney, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

DESPITE being sunburnt beyond belief, aching from head to toe and so lacking in sleep I could have kipped at the bus stop on Monday morning, I returned from Rock Ness a very happy camper.

And ask any one of the other 34,999 (ish) music fans who flocked to the beautiful banks of Loch Ness last weekend and I’m sure they’ll tell you it was two fun-packed days of amazing music and fabulous entertainment.

From the minute the main arena opened on Saturday morning, the party atmosphere at Rock Ness was outstanding, with some revellers turning up in fancy dress.

Aided by the glorious sunshine, spectacular back-drop and maybe a few drinks from Bollywood bar or the Gaymers Cider Garden, the hordes of music lovers who made their way to Clune Farm, Dores seemed to have a Monster time (see what I did there?!).

With the sun setting behind him Fatboy Slim’s spectacular XFM Main Stage set, which closed the show on Saturday night, was one of the festival highlights and had tens of thousands of fans on their feet.

Complete with lasers, Norman Cook’s two-hour set included crowd-pleasing mixes including The Automatic’s 2007 anthem, What’s That Coming Over the Hill - no doubt a wee nod to Nessie herself - while revellers also lapped up closing track, Love is in the Air.

Fans desperate to catch Dundonian rockers The View packed into the Clash Tent earlier on Saturday, with hundreds more queuing outside.

Sporting eye make-up and a hoop earring that would make Long John Silver jealous, front man Kyle Falconer got the crowd going with a string of hits.

And the Soulwax Radio Presents... arena was a haven for dance fans who flocked to see 2 Many DJs, who closed what was a superb opening night.

After a surprisingly good sleep (dancing all day really takes it out of you) everyone was looking forward to seeing what Sunday had to offer.

Hadouken! played an outstanding set inside a jam packed Skins Live tent with hundreds of fans waving big bright yellow foam Hs in the air.

Another highlight of what was a superb festival was the MySpce Bus.

Some top names appearing at Rock Ness - including Mylo, Digitalism, Pete Tong and Mystery Jets - performed special intimate sets on the brightly coloured double decker in front of only a few lucky fans.

Brazilian electro-pop troupe CSS, aka Cansei De Ser Sexy (Portugese for ‘tired of being sexy’) featured in the Clash Tent on Sunday, where ubercool if not slightly eccentric singer Lovefoxxx, dressed in a flowered cat suit with paint all over her face, got the crowd going.

XFM Main Stage headliners Razorlight were outstanding on Sunday night, with the crowd having been more than warmed up by the excellent Cribs.

The indie rock three piece from Wakefield set the stage alight with tracks such as Our Bovine Public, before making way for Editors, who showed the crowd exactly why they’re one of the best bands to come out of the UK in recent years.

Rock Ness, despite only being in it’s third year, is shaping up to be one of the best festivals in the UK with more of a mix of indie, rock and dance acts on the line-up than last year - well worth the sunburnt burnt nose and three and a half hour drive home!