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1st September 2018
09:18am BST
Nobody who witnessed K-Dot take Dublin so vividly earlier this year, that's for sure.
His Main Stage turn was good, at times great, but there was the nagging impression - as there often is with festival headliners - that this was more friendly exhibition than dedicated individual effort.
Playing pretty much the exact same set as in February was a red flag, as was letting the crowd do some of the heavy lifting.
Lamar remains a stunning performer, capable of incredible dexterity and boasting a physical charisma that many of his contemporaries lack, and it would be a mistruth to suggest that he phoned his night's work in.
And yet, magic was in short supply. This was a professional display, the boxes ticked, the star in his element, the masses satisfied, but no real feeling of having encountered something special.
Definitely worth waiting more than 41 minutes to reach your verdict, anyway.
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And so, to Versatile.
This was a moment. A big one.
You may not like their style, their attitude, their image and all the rest of it. Enough people do, as evidenced by a heaving Electric Arena.
"The idea behind hip hop is to shock you, to make you have a reaction," notes an enthusiastic punter next to JOE as this all goes down.
"Irish hip hop has played it too safe until now. This is what it needed."
Versatile's victory provided stark contrast to The Story of Hip Hop, returning to the Picnic for a second year.
Backed by the RTÉ 2fm Orchestra, an all-star homegrown line-up of Mango, Erica Cody, Jafaris and Jess Kav were ultimately buried by a sound mix so poor it proved pointless to stick around past a couple of songs.
Elsewhere on Friday, Delorentos enjoyed a triumphant Electric Arena spotlight as cuts from latest album True Surrender showcased august songwriting amidst crowd-pleasing favourites.
Back on the main stage, CHVRCHES offered up an intriguing proposition.
Three albums in, the Scottish trio remain tricky to pin down, a trait that mostly works in their favour.
New record Love Is Dead did an admirable job of expanding their sound but you'll still be able to identify a CHVRCHES song at 100 paces.
Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, and their strobe-heavy early evening clash with a fading sun proved more arresting than the average reveller may have anticipated, not least when Martin Doherty windmilled for the audience as if trying to start a riot at a football match.
Lauren Mayberry, however, remains their leading light. In conversation with JOE earlier, she mused on how her band aren't a deliberately political outfit even if they occasionally find themselves cast in such a role.
Still, there's a defiant anthem-like quality about 'Recover' as Mayberry, eyes bejewelled in brilliant blue, throws her gaze upon the crowd, pleading for communion.
She receives it.
Before all of that, credit goes to Ash for showing that they still have a presence worth shouting about, Tim Wheeler kicking off Main Stage duties with gusto before noting that this is only his second time taking on Electric Picnic.
The first came last year at the pleasingly bedraggled Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow.
The 2018 upgrade is more than justified thanks to an ever-charming frontman, a bassist who thinks he's in a nu metal band and tracks like the masterful 'Shining Light' putting smiles on faces even as clouds form above.
*Main image by Ruth MedjberExplore more on these topics:
