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By Annah May Gilroy

Sold out in just 12 hours, this year's Oxegen music festival looks set to rock Punchestown over the weekend of July 8-9. Billed as the hottest ticket of the year, artists set to take the main stage include Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Paul Weller and Goldfrapp.

The 2006 line-up also includes The Who, The Strokes, Hard Fi, Arctic Monkeys, Republic Of Loose, Sandi Thom and Damien Dempsey, to name but some of the musicians performing at the festival.

But, what is the Oxegen campsite really like? In the countdown to what is billed the number one festival in Ireland, Hannah May Kilroy looks back on her experience of Oxegen 2005...

AS I wandered around the mud soaked campsite, watching sleepy heads emerge from soggy tents, I began to feel a pang of worry as I searched for my own tent.

It was Saturday morning, the first official day of the Oxegen festival 2005 and I was lost already.

Ah, the summer festival. A necessity for all to experience.

No longer do we have to travel all the way to Britain for the infamous Glastonbury, for now the Emerald Isle has its own summer music festival that's quickly becoming just as big and as popular as Glastonbury itself, and it's only in its third year.

My Oxegen experience last summer was one I won't forget in a hurry. Warm cider, putrid portaloos, dodgy burgers, a Mediterranean heat-wave and many other unexpected and often disturbing incidents.

A giant pink bunny chugging beer on stage, half-naked people running about absentmindedly and a boycott of the vegetarian food stand.

Get there Friday

For those looking to experience Oxegen to the full, take note that it begins on Friday and ends on Monday.

Take my advice and go for the full three days, as the Friday night in my opinion was the best night out of the three.

Colourful crowds will spill out onto Punchestown racecourse, lugging tents and chugging cans.

And nobody's feeling worn out just yet but simply buzzing on the fact that the fun is only just beginning.

My Friday was spent waiting for hours to get a bus to Punchestown, eventually getting a ride with a Dublin guy who had a map of Ireland tattoo.

Saturday - smushed, soggy, sweating... sensational!

After getting there and not setting up the tent in time, after fighting with my friends, after socialising with old school mates, Saturday morning was quickly upon us.

It began with a few drops of drizzle and a search for my tent (in case you're wondering, I eventually found it, smushed and soggy with the rain-proof cover having blown off.)

Luckily for everyone there, by early afternoon the sun had burnt off the depressing drizzle and before we knew it, we had a heat-wave on our hands.

Not exactly good news if you were planning to spend half your day sweating out your insides in a smelly moshpit, but none the less it made for a fabulous atmosphere.

And, sensational music, the whole point of Oxegen itself.

Five stages adorned the festival ground with the Oxegen Stage, the Ticket Stage, the Green Room, the Dance Stage, and the New Bands Stage, so festival fans are spoilt for choice, as well as having a chance to discover new bands.

Sprinkled in between stages were over-priced food stands, selling everything from waffles with butterscotch sauce (which I couldn't get enough of) to noodles and veggies.

There were also tons of stands selling clothes and what not, with t-shirts, bags and God knows what else you'd find for sale, even underwear!

Not only that, but there were also a number of fairground rides including a ferris wheel (probably not a good idea if you've had a few).

My Saturday was spent slurping Heineken and dancing away in the dance tent (I don't even like dance music, but it was in a tent, therefore it was lovely and cool).

We had a few funny moments too like when my friend opened up a portaloo door to discover a guy asleep on the toilet, or the time we spent wandering around and getting lost, causing us to miss a performance by Snoop Dogg because we went to the wrong stage and we giggled over stealing someone's blanket to sit on, before dancing away to the bands we had come to see.

We bopped to Queens of the Stone Age (the band I most wanted to see), and after we stayed to watch The Frames and Green Day, who put on an amazing show.

I'd like to say that I spent the night partying as most youths would, but after Green Day left the stage I sleepily and soberly made my way back to my tent, desperate for a kip.

I couldn't help but feel like a total loser as I slumped through the screaming fans who were jumping around as the Prodigy took to the Ticket Stage.

None the less, I was awoken soon after by a drunk wearing a black afro wig who crawled into my tent for a nap.

After getting over my initial fear I realised that I knew this wig-wearing wacko.

Sunday - sticky hair and gooey cheese

Sunday was even hotter and as I awoke to feel my hair sticking to my face I began to wish that I'd brought shampoo.

After a breakfast of warm mango juice and gooey cheese toast, it was time for the second day to begin.

My Sunday was spent queuing for over-priced drinks, falling asleep during Audioslave (surprisingly after checking out the Oxegen website I discovered that I wasn't the only one who fell asleep during them!), getting sunburnt beyond all belief and searching for my missing friend. We also saw more bands that day, although we stayed well away from the over-heated moshpit.

Taking in performances by Audioslave, The Streets, the tail end of The Foo Fighters and even the one and only James Brown, Sunday was a great day.

Packing up - smelly and seatless

Monday morning was again sweltering, and it was time to pack up. We stuffed our smelly tent into our large food bag (we had ripped the tent bag on the first day), and we scraped our greasy locks away from our sunburnt faces.

My missing friend eventually resurfaced and we suddenly realised that we had no idea how we were going to get to the train station.

We spent hours (I kid you not) wandering around the whole racecourse searching for a bus in the burning heat (one of my friends was so uncomfortable that she left her Doc Martens behind and walked around in her tights.)

As luck would have it, we somehow managed to skip to the front of a queue of people getting a bus to Dublin.

We didn't even have tickets and still don't know how we managed it.

The bus ride was indescribable.

It took even longer to get to Dublin than it would have taken for us to go all the way back home to the West. Four long hours.

There weren't enough seats, so we lay slumped on the floor, sore, sunburnt, sweating and sleeping.

The first thing I did when I finally arrived home was grab the soap and shampoo to scrub away all the Oxegen dirt and I've never been so happy to have a shower.

Overall, however, I was a happy camper in the end and whether the line-up consists of your favourite bands or not, there's a lot more to this festival than music.

It's a fabulous experience and one not to be missed.

With all that said, I'm positive that this year's festival will be much better than last year's for me.

Why?

Well now that I've been before, I know what to expect, what to bring, what to leave behind, and most importantly how to get there and how to get home!

So here is my list of guidelines and advice that I wish I'd known before I packed my bags and set off for the Oxegen experience.

Handy hints for Oxegen goers

1. TRANSPORT: Yes, I know it's boring, but make sure to organise transport both to and from the concert.

I went with two of my friends and we took the train to Sallins expecting to find a way to the concert immediately and to magically find a way back to the train station on Monday.

Don't do this!

Unless you want to spend hours waiting for a bus that won't come on Friday and wander around the racecourse for hours on Monday searching for a way home, then the easiest way to get there and back is to book a mini-bus for you and your friends to bring you to and from the concert.

Last year Zhivago music stores organised a bus from Galway to Punchestown and back.

Dublin Bus also run a bus service to Punchestown for Euro20 return.

Don't be left stranded!

What to pack

Packing for Oxegen is a daunting process if you've never been there before.

Don't bring anything valuable unless you have it on you at all times. Remember to pack light as you'll have to carry your stuff from the queue to the campsite. Here's my advice on what to bring and what to leave behind.

Booze

Throwing everyone's booze into one huge food bag and having to lug it along isn't the best idea. (Yep, that's what we did.) When it comes to booze, more is better than less. Glass bottles aren't permitted although we saw plenty of people with glass bottles inside, but better to be safe than sorry.

Remember that warm cans won't be too tasty on day three, so a travel ice-box would be a good idea.

As for bringing alcohol into the concert itself, well it's not permitted and be sure that a quick pat-down of your bag will take place.

You may, however, bring bottles of water into the concert.

Food

Being a diabetic, I brought bags and bags of food with me.

My mother made an endless amount of potato and pasta salads.

We brought loaves of bread, ham and cheese slices and huge bags of crisps and chocolate, thinking that we'd eat it all and still be hungry.

It all went in the bin on Monday morning. I'm serious. Don't waste food and don't waste space with food.

They sell plenty of over-priced hot food there and all you really need to bring yourself is snack food, plenty of cups, and some big water bottles. There will be sinks with drinking water there so you can top up.

Make sure you also bring bin bags with you. If everyone had done this last year maybe we wouldn't have been swimming in rubbish by Sunday.

Hygiene

Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Not at Oxegen, it's not!

If you've heard about 'washing facilities' at Oxegen and wondered what they were, I can tell you now that they are sinks.

And by Sunday, many will be broken. Baby wipes and soap are the answer, so make sure you bring plenty.

And don't forget to stock up on toilet paper and bring a toothbrush and toothpaste.

I steered clear of the sinks and brushed my teeth with bottled water.

Concert Attire

Perhaps this year we'll be lucky and have another heat-wave.

Or maybe we'll wake up in a pool of ice-cold water.

Either way, it's best to choose your clothes carefully.

Like any concert, comfortable clothes are a must.

I'd like to say that style isn't as important as comfort but you'll regret wearing sweatpants when you see the glamourpusses swanning around in their designer wellies.

Dress in layers, which will prepare you for any weather. Sunglasses, hats, sunscreen and waterproof gear, just in case, and shoes that you don't care about, because they're going to get wrecked.

What to bring into the concert

Obviously carry any valuables with you, your phone, wallet, etc. You won't need much else (except for toilet paper!).

It's good to bring a portable phone charger with you as well. One of my friends went missing on Saturday and if she'd had a charger it would've saved everyone a lot of time and worry.

Other Stuff

Guitars, stereos, portable hair straighteners, any other extras like this are handy but make sure that you don't mind if you never see them again.

In my opinion, bringing folding chairs and blow-up couches is vital. Unless you want to perch on a slippery mud-slope all day.

Be on time!

The campsite opens this year on July 7 at around mid-day.

Try to get there before then, as queues will be huge and make sure you get there before dark to make things easier for yourself.

When pitching your tent steer clear of portaloos and try to avoid any alcohol before setting up your tent, otherwise you'll probably put up your tent wrong or get lazy and leave it in a heap.

It's also a good idea to either pitch your tent near a distinguishable spot or bring a flag or something like that so you'll be able to find your tent after a long day of partying.

We broke all of these rules and could smell the putrid portaloos each morning, as our tent fell apart on a daily basis.

The only way we could recognise our tent was thanks to the fact that the rain proof shield had blown off and we were left with a skeleton of a sad looking tent.

Last year there were two campsites, A and B.

We stayed in the A one which had a big screen showing films on the Friday night, while in campsite B there was a small stage on the side of a truck sporting various bands.

You won't get to choose your campsite, but you can go back and forth. Security start throwing people out on Monday between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Over 18's?

Yes, the gig is supposed to be over-18s.

However, if you're under age there should be no problem.

All you have to do is print out forms of consent to be signed by your parents from the Oxegen website and you also have to be with someone who is over 18.

So there you have it. I hope the advice helps make your experience of Oxygen a great weekend.

For more advice, directions on how to get there, competitions and random crazy stories check out the Oxegen website.


Source: Tuam Herald