AMY Winehouse turned up. So to did the sun belatedly and unexpectedly yesterday leaving legions of frazzled and sunburned fans in its glare.
Oxegen '08 had many highlights but perhaps the biggest star of the whole show was the venue itself. Punchestown showed that, with the right preparation and investment, any venue can withstand the vagaries of the Irish summer, even a summer as wet as this.
The weather did its worst for the first two days, but the new roads built around and through the campsites made for a dramatically better experience. There was little repeat of last year's mudfest. Oxegen '08 was all about the music.
"It's been brilliant," said 20-year-old Niamh McConville from Newry. "We loved The Prodigy, Pendulum and The Verve. You can't expect anymore."
From the radio-friendly tunes of opening act Amy MacDonald to the incendiary, agitprop of Rage Against the Machine, who closed the festival last night, so many disparate and eclectic acts rose to the occasion. "It was dead-on and well-organised," said Gavin McAteer from Newry, "but the line-up clashes too much. Every band you want to see is on at the same time."
On Friday night, fans scurried from high-energy English band Go! Team so that they could hear Mundy duet with Sharon Shannon on Galway Girl. Headliners Kings of Leon attracted a massive crowd of perhaps 50,000 fans. Lead singer Caleb Followill confessed his bewilderment at just how popular they have become. "We still consider ourselves a small band, but you make us feel so big."
On Saturday, Hot Chip, The Ting Tings and Vampire Weekend attracted capacity crowds. On the main stage, REM, though they still might resemble a collection of bank managers jamming at their Christmas party, played with abandon and looked to be having the time of their lives.The moon made an appearance just as they closed their set, appropriately, with Man on the Moon.
The Verve's Richard Ashcroft slagged off the United Nations' attitude to Zimbabwe, as well as Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, in a rant before their best-known song Bitter Sweet Symphony.
Saturday, though, was all about Amy Winehouse. That she turned up at all was a triumph in itself given her well-documented troubles; that she performed so well thrilled her mostly teenage fans who chanted her name and willed her to succeed.
The sun came out yesterday and Eddy Grant's reggae was the perfect opener for those lying out on the grass. By late evening, the fans, many of whom were beginning to wilt after four days on site, were looking forward to the most anticipated act of the festival Rage Against The Machine.
Conor Slatter, 18, from Templeogue admitted that it was tough going. "The camping is uncomfortable. You can't really come here with expectations of luxury." It had been a long time since Thursday morning. A long weekend of rock'n'roll.
