- Getting to Ballinlough Castle was always going to be an expedition. Navigating the backroads of Ireland can be an arduous task at the best of times – the roads are full of turns that never quite made it onto the maps and signposting is generally poor. Add to that the constant stream of traffic and the presence of the Gardai Siochana in large numbers and the Irish countryside was bound to send a few ravers on a wild goose chase that weekend. I bet some of you ended up in the parallel universe of The Midlands Home and Garden Festival. I hope you learned something about lawn furniture and barbeques.
We landed at the real Garden Party shortly before 6 p.m., just in time to catch Charles Webster, who was spinning a more uptempo take (e.g. a bootleg of Fish Go Deep’s ‘Cure and the Cause’ vs. ‘ESL’) on his usually deeper house sound. The sun was working to his advantage and the crowd was attentive – and even though the Pogo Arena was hardly full at this time of the evening, it didn't seem to matter. There was one major sticking point, however, and that was the bad sound: it was as if someone had draped a big duvet over the speakers. A pity really, because it put a dampener on a good set from Webster, who finished up on a high with a couple of his Furry Phreaks numbers, ‘Soothe’ and ‘All over the World’, the latter had most of the crowd singing along with it.
It was time for a wander, and there was so much to take in: sun worshippers, people dressed as butterflies, giant grills cooking all manner of meats. Donal Dinneen was spinning in the Enchanted Garden while The Redsettaz took over at Pogo, but a lot of Hot Chip fans headed for the main stage to catch their idols. Elsewhere a live-drumming session with some serious dancers ended up becoming an impromptu carnival with everyone jumping in. For me, it was the early highlight of the party.
With food in our bellies and the sun on our backs, it was time to get back to the main programme. The Pet Shop Boys camp cabaret wasn’t quite having the impact as their much-hyped Electric Picnic performance: 'West End Girls' might have been a catchy pop song back in the day, but Neil Tennant squawking though the mic was very much worth missing. Meanwhile, the manic sampling and pounding festival-pleasers of Switch reminded me of Fatboy Slim. By now I wasn't terribly impressed with the music, but as night fell, things changed.
The Pogo Tent really came to life with the presence of Donnacha Costello, whose live set proved to be the peak of the day. Pounding, minimised grooves and building layers got pulled apart into a headspinning climax, which brought the crowd to a roaring, fists-in-the-air stew of sweat and flesh. The volume issues seemed to have been sorted out, possibly due to Costello instructing the techie to give him more from the amps while he lowered the gains. 'OK That's Great, Start Over' and 'Rusty Sticks' were fed into his show along with good use of the 'House that Jack Built' acapella, and the intensity never dwindled with Costello finishing by freaking us all out with what sounded like a sample of Norman Bates talking to his 'mother'.
Meanwhile Carl Cox had taken to the main stage rescuing the masses from the Pet Shop Boys, and by all accounts the big man was ripping it up. Another legend who's still got it, Andrew Weatherall, took over from Donnacha Costello at Pogo, which is where I decided to stay for the finale. Kickin off with Carl Craig’s rework of Faze Action ‘In the Trees’, Weatherall launched into a tough electro set interspersed with the odd techno jaunt, keeping the pressure up for an hour or so. Unfortunately for many, the lone swordsman dropped the tempo towards the finish, bowing out with a whimper and losing the crowd who had halved in number, probably headed for Coxy.
Weatherall finished with Xpress 2's ‘Kill 100’ and Josh Wink’s interpretation of Radio Slave's 'Screaming Hands', the aftermath of another long day of festivities. Varying reports will surface over how this event was, but for me it didn't feel as good overall as last years inauguration. That said, the sun, Charles Webster, Weatherall (for an hour) and Donnacha Costello shone brightest.