AND the rain kept coming down. And it didn't stop until the good vibes had completely soaked in. It was Radiohead's Big Wet Day out in Galway yesterday, and the west was awash as 15,000 rock fans on the country's most densely populated damp patch. Castlegar Sports Grounds on the Dublin Road, just outside Galway city, was the venue for the final big bash of the Galway Arts Festival, and it was the nearest thing Irish rock fans got to a genuine outdoor rock `n' roll bash this summer no surprise then that the Sunday afternoon worshippers were anointed by a constant downpour. Not that anyone really cared they were here to see one of rock's hottest tickets, Radiohead, and nothing was going to drown their enthusiasm.
Derrick Devine (18), from Dun Laoghaire, sat on the damp grass and looked down at his wet T-shirt. "I like the rain," he smiled, "I don't mind it at all Radiohead are playing tonight."
Medbh Boyle (15), from Bray, Co Wicklow, had no time for complaints about the weather "Only happy people should be allowed here, and moaners should be kicked out."
Many young people had travelled by bus and train for the big day out, and some had brought tents in the hope of finding a nearby field to camp in. Most had made a weekend of it, arriving a day earlier to get a head start on the celebrations.
Few had come prepared for rain, and when the torrent came, people sheltered under sheets of plastic and cardboard, and some even tore pieces off the material which had been laid down to protect the sports ground from damage. Bin liner chic was the fashion of the day, as people sported individual creations made from black bags it made a change from the usual denim jackets and Radiohead T-shirts.
The portents in the sky were minous as The Divine Comedy took the stage in the mid afternoon, and thunder and lightning added some celestial sound effects. Mr Neil Hannon's high brow style rock. The Swedish group, The Cardigans, put a sunny face on things with their jolly melancholy songs, and the Bluetones blew a few clouds away with their sweeping Britpop tones.
By the time Neneh Cherry bounded onstage, dressed in kha-ki camouflage, the sky had begun to clear, and the fans, no longer troubled by the elements, began to let loose and make a day of it. When the main attraction, Radiohead exploded onto the Castlegarsiage, the fans were left happily high and dry, going wild in the country to one of rock's newest superstar groups. The British band, led by the enigmatic Thom Yorke, and backed by some superb and inventive songwriting and musicianship, have hit the right chords with both old and young rock fans, and by the time they finished their climactic set, the rain had been replaced by sweat. A Big Day Out that ended in cheers.
