Tepid T in the Park

By Thomas McGuigan
BBC News Online Scotland

The T in the Park crowd dance the day away

Like most important birthdays, the biggest fear has to be unwrapping a present and experiencing an anti-climax.

While T in the Park, celebrating its 10th year on the music festival circuit, rarely fails to satisfy, it can sometimes fall short.

Having gone to and having loved the first T in the Park in 1994 at Strathclyde Park - and having missed out on each one since - it was difficult to know exactly what to expect.

On that occasion Cypress Hill and Rage Against The Machine chewed up the crowd and spat it out during a pulsating set, which was the highlight of the weekend.

This time round, a perfunctory glance at Saturday's line-up did not trigger the same excitable hopes of a repeat experience.

Good sense

Yet, the mammoth queues outside Balado were testament to the festival's attraction. They were keen to retreat from the punishing sun and hear some fine music.

Unfortunately, The White Stripes had to cancel on Friday following a car accident in Detroit.

In their place came The Flaming Lips - a move that smacked of good sense.

There's a general lack of atmosphere today. It's as though people are waiting for something to happen Fan Toni Dinardo Festival-goer Send us your T in the Park reviews and pictures

But the Lips and many other bands on the day were beset by sound problems - or at least it seemed that way.

Perhaps the wind in Perth and Kinross is more formidable than in Hamilton. Whatever the reason, the sound did not travel well.

Rather than being blown away by the Proclaimers' 500 Miles, the expectant crowd were standing on tiptoes desperately holding on to every word.

Likewise, the Cardigans failed to ignite the restless audience, which by late afternoon had begun to get a bit sweaty and fed up.

Flaming Lips step in at the last minute

Sunshine and Scottish music festivals are distant relations but on Saturday the weather was quite superb.

The balmy conditions contrived to make the lack of atmosphere all the more galling.

Most people seemed to be looking forward to the evening with Idlewild, Super Furry Animals and REM.

Others appeared more in tune with the hypnotic and far too energetic dance tent and Bacardi Bar which disgorged sweaty, flushed dancers clutching bottles of water.

The Saw Doctors, appearing at the NME stage, injected some much-needed passion into some wilting music enthusiasts.

You okay?

Wading through sleeping bodies, discarded beer cans and half-finished plates of noodles it was thirsty work flitting from one stage to another.

As the sun cast a shadow across the main stage and lighters flickered throughout the crowd, Michael Stipe bounced on sporting orange eyebrows and a blue T-shirt with Boeing emblazoned on the chest.

REM were the headline act and Stipe, perceptively, asked if the sound was "okay out there".

Coldplay are the Sunday headliners

It wasn't, but he received a more positive response when asking if everyone was happy the rain had stayed away.

"We'll play a song, then another, and another, then another and then we finish," Stipe explained.

Despite the sound problems Imitation Of Life and Losing My Religion sparked people into life.

Thousands of hands shot into the air - alongside beach balls, inflatable dolphins and St Andrews flags.

Idlewild were impressive and Super Furry Animals went down a storm on the NME Stage. The band coming back for an encore dressed as golden retrievers to belt out the song of the same name.

The only band I really wanted to see today was The Proclaimers, but with the queues seeming to stretch for 500 miles outside we missed them Paul Cairns Manchester

John Squire, former Stone Roses creative genius, played some of his own material.

But it was when he played the opening chords of Fools Gold that he had the crowd eating out of his hand.

He also sang Tightrope and How Do You Sleep, tracks from the Stone Roses' final album The Second Coming.

Fan Toni Dinardo, 24, from Muirhead, said Squire had "a better live singing voice than Ian Brown".

Toni added: "There's a general lack of atmosphere today. It's as though people are waiting for something to happen.

"Sunday's line-up looks far better and The Charlatans and Inspiral Carpets should get everyone going. Maybe this year it's taking a little longer."

No crowd surfing!

His 24-year-old friend Paul Cairns, from Manchester, travelled up on the strength of Sunday's line-up.

Paul said: "The only band I really wanted to see today was The Proclaimers, but with the queues seeming to stretch for 500 miles outside we missed them!

"It's not been a great start, but things will liven up on Sunday."

It was fascinating to hear so many people talk about the bands appearing the following night when Saturday's programme was barely half way through.

A sign at the side of the main stage read Crowd Surfing Will Not Be Tolerated.

There was little chance of that.

The main stage could have done with The Charlatans or Supergrass wedged between Idlewild and REM to raise the noise level and quicken the collective pulse.

But the nature of T in the Park this year seems to be waiting for something to happen.

It's going to get better, just a matter of when.