Ö÷²¥´óÐã

Main Stage, Saturday 11th July, 7.10pm

Describe in a Tweet:Ìý Hurricane Karen hits Oxegen.

What happened:Ìý The rain and wind are hammering against the stage, promting ATL to wonder if it hasn't somehow managed to make it's way onto the deck of a boat in the middle of a typhoon, instead of the main stage at Oxegen. However, Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brain Chase slink out onto the stage, and look the storm head on - IT'S ON!

However, the weather literally eats up the sound coming from the stage, leaving little but a low drone and a pounding beat. However, Karen O still manages to have the crown in the palm of her hand, howling and panting, twisting and turning. She's such a consumate perfromer, that it's almost impossible to imagine her doing anything else. This woman was built for the stage.

Recent hits 'Heads Will Roll' and 'Zero' get an enthusiastic reaction from the crowd, but the set is distinctly uneven New material seems unfocussed, greeted with little enthusiasm from the crowd. 'Date With the Night', on the other hand, provookes something akin to an earthquake. But the real highlight is a stripped down version of 'Maps' (due to technical issues, apparently). Stripped down to it's emotional core, this song somehow manages to be even more moving than the recorded version, the haunting fragility of the song framed by the appaling conditions in which it is perfromed.

"It's a battlefield up here!" Exclaims Karen O at one point. It was no picnic out front, either.

This is a high:ÌýKaren O's beaming smileÌýcouldÌýwarm even the coldest heart.Ìý

This is a low:ÌýAt this point, the weather could probably be described as "biblical".Ìý

Oxegen rating: 6/10Ìý