OVERVIEW

Homelands Ireland 2000 review

There was still enough mud on my trainers and trousers to attract disparaging looks from the air hostesses on the flight back. Carl Cox was on the same flight - how come he still had clean shoes?

The queue to get in was hilarious, with more ale'd-up people in evidence than in Leeds on a Saturday night at closing time. Frankly it was a wonder that any of those queuing made it to 2pm let alone 2am. But hey, this was Ireland and this crowd knew how to hold it down and party.

Despite the weather, several thousand friendly and totally up-for-it people were happy to queue in the cold & rain waiting for the gates to open. By the end of the day, the 30,000 plus sell-out crowd had been warmed not only by the change in the weather but by the awesome entertainment. The energy and vibe were fantastic, with everyone determined to have a top day out.

The venues were three massive big-tops and four other music areas - the site is a good one for this sort of event - the mixture of tents and permanent buildings allowing guarenteed warm and dry areas as well as proper sit down eating areas. The non-tented dance areas also provided a different feel with their low roofs, and the opportunity to see the lighting to full effect while daylight remained - the tent entrances allowing too much light inside.

Home was the main venue, hosting the live acts with DJ's indispersed. This didn't always work too well, with fan-type crowds leaving for elsewhere after seeing their chosen act. This brought the atmosphere down, particually after Primal Scream where David Holmes had the hard task of trying to change the feel back to a dancefloor after the more rocky-type sounds. Leftfield, playing their first live show in over four years sent those who watched home on a high.

The event was webcast live - Irelands biggest ever - allowing people worldwide to watch all the action, while Irelands 2FM broadcast large amounts - returning to our car at the end we were treated to a re-visit of Scott Bond and then Judge Jules. MTV also had camera crews on site, and this will be broadcast in the near future.

The majority of the crowd seemed to be in the 18-25 age range - younger than a UK crowd would normally be. But they'd got the right attitude, and we say a big hello to our new Irish friends!

So, to sum up it was a fantastic day. There was way too much on offer to feel that we'd captured more than a glimpse of what was available and so we're really looking forward to Homelands England to check out some that were missed.

The big disappointment has to have been the live bands. There are so many live acts out there that would have been more suited to this type of event. We won't be moaning about Primal Scream not playing England, and know that Moby will do a far better job of lifting the crowd -not because his stuff is better but simply that it is better suited to this type of event. The real difficulty will be selecting from the greater number of acts on offer.

But for Ireland, it has to have been the most fantastic crowd that will be remembered and some *$&!ing good tunes!