Slane 2000 went without a hitch on Saturday, but the uneventful concert featuring Bryan Adams, Moby and Macy Gray veered dangerously close to being a non-event.
You can't expect Lord Mount Charles and promoters MCD to come up with the goods every single year, and last year's triumphant show by Robbie Williams was a hard act to follow. So we had to settle for an uninspiring bill featuring an ageing groover from Vancouver, a bald Christian vegan who performs advertising jingles, and a flaky soul diva with a voice like chocolate-covered raspberries.
To their credit Bryan Adams, Moby and Macy Gray turned in solid performances, making up in individual style what Slane 2000 lacked in collective inspiration. Between them they covered nearly all the musical bases, Adams doing the old-fashioned rock'n'roll routine, Moby mixing modern dance with vintage blues, and Macy Gray adding a dash of funk'n'soul.
By 6 p.m. there had been just 10 arrests, nine for possession of drugs, and one for public disorder. There were also 66 seizures of cannabis and ecstasy. A young man was injured when he fell from a "human pyramid". He was taken to hospital in Drogheda with head injuries.
The attendance, according to the promoters, reached about 65,000.
The forecast was for a mix of sunshine and showers, and many wondered if there would be a repeat of the thunder and lightning which punctuated Bon Jovi's concert at the RDS on Friday night.
But the expected downpours didn't materialise, apart from a light shower during Macy Gray's set. The heavens were smiling down on Slane, and while Gray sang her best-known hit, I Try, a rainbow appeared on cue.
As the crowds began to fill the natural amphitheatre by the Boyne river, Irish acts Dara and The Screaming Orphans provided the entertainment, followed by British band Muse and British-Swedish singer, Eagle Eye Cherry, sister of Neneh.
Melanie C was the big star of the afternoon, however, and the lady known as Sporty Spice got the crowd going with her solo hits, Never Be The Same Again and I Turn To You.
Both Moby and Macy Gray proved to be wise choices to warm up the crowd for the main act at Slane. Moby has licensed most of his songs for advertising, film and TV, so even the dogs in the street can yap along to his tunes.
His album, Play, and Macy Gray's On How Life Is are two of Ireland biggest-selling albums of the past year, so the crowd knew nearly every song right from the opening beat. Dressed in a furry white jacket, Gray delivered laidback funky songs like Do Something, I Committed Murder, Still and I Can't Wait To Meetchu, while Moby upped the ante with Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, Bodyrock, Honey and Feelin' So Real.
A short acoustic version of Porcelain was disappointing, but Natural Blues got the crowd roaring the refrain of "Oh Lordy, trouble so hard". Bryan Adams made the audacious move of performing with just a guitarist and a drummer, taking a gamble that his back catalogue of hit songs would carry the day. Dressed in white, with Adams himself doubling on bass guitar and lead vocals, the trio ran through such golden oldies as It's Only Love, Cuts Like A Knife and Everything I Do (I Do It For You).
They were joined briefly by Mel C for a duet of Adams's recent hit, Baby When You're Gone, and by Irish musician Davy Spillane, who played low whistle on the high-minded Heaven. It wasn't quite a night to remember, but at least it wasn't entirely forgettable.
