Ibiza had the sand, but Mosney had the mud, and 35,000 dance fans trudged through acres of the slippery stuff in search of DJ kicks.
The second annual Homelands Festival featured a massive lineup of DJs and dance acts, transforming Mosney Holiday Centre into Party Central for one night only. Vendors sold whistles outside the festival site, and punters put them to good use throughout the day, whistling in time with the thumping beat to show their approval. Despite the soggy ground, Irish dance fans were determined to prove they were absolutely mud for it.
The promoters of Homelands had predicted a sunny day, but the early arrivals had to contend with heavy rain for the festival's first couple of hours. The skies cleared at around 3 p.m., but the grass, already soggy from an extended rainy period, was quickly trampled into mulch by thousands of trainers. As the mud rose, however, so did the spirits, and by early evening the party was in full swing, as the crowds leapt up and down to the non-stop rhythm.
The action was split between six tents, the largest of which, the Lush Arena, came closest to recreating the Ibiza vibe. Happy house and ecstatic trance music permeated the area for most of the day, and you could practically see the steam rising from the crowd. DJs Jeremy Healey, Boy George and John Cecchini and Mr Spring kept the sweat pumping; some fans had scaled the giant tentpoles and were swinging happily from a great height.
In the Home Arena, rock singer Ian Brown seemed a little out of place among the four-to-the-mud beats. The former singer with the Stone Roses delivered his trademark indie-groove sound, but it seemed pretty downbeat amid the prevailing techno moves. Much more rewarding was Death In Vegas leader Richard Fearless, who provided some electronic heaven in the Influx/Red Box arena, and New York DJ Jon Claussell, making a rare appearance outside his home city to play in the Sir Henry's Arena.
With no actual bands to look at onstage, the focus was on the crowd itself; each tent was filled with a heaving mass of humanity, all of whom were preoccupied with the serious business of getting down and larging it up.
Things got muddier after dark, but the sea of squelch was dotted with islands of straw which the organisers had brought in to ease the discomfort. Grateful punters immediately sat down on these bales of straw, finding a nice soft cushion to rest their weary dancing feet.
Those who had passes retreated to the VIP area, with its firm concrete and carpeted floors, while others found respite in the Bacardi B-Bar, with its wooden floors and carnival atmosphere.
Primal Scream's dance-rock attack lured a few more punters to the main arena, but it was headliners Leftfield who filled the place, delivering some loud, electro-dub beats and giving the Mosney mud fest a final blast of techno.
