June 4, 2000

Scotland

The final installment of the triumvirate of [a]Homelands[/a] sees [a]Leftfield[/a] finally find their feet albeit quietly...

Buckfast-vomit, single-figure temperatures, Irn Bru-hued fake tan and a tatty survival blanket fashioned into the strappiest of frocks which struggles to cover the merest handful of marauding goosebumps - welcome to Homelands Scotland, the final instalment in the triumvirate of Ericsson-sponsored dance all-nighters.

The line-up is faintly tweaked from the format of Homelands Ireland and England, to give a tartan-techno taste - Darren Mackie and Iain 'Boney' Clark take the early slots while the graveyard shift is strewn with Central Belt radio station Beat 106 and Tunnel regulars such as Colin Tevendale, Steven McCreery and Lisa Littlewood. Jengaheads have valiantly offered to bookend the day with slots early doors in the giant Ericsson@Colours arena and late in the evening at the intimate VIP Tunnel tent.

But the lightstick wielding and inflatable-hat wearing masses are detonated first of all by BT, the man who has just revealed to us that his fave album of the year is Travis's last offering. Thankfully he resists the temptation of segueing 'Turn' into his sweat-inducing set.

The official line is that 17,000 tickets were sold, but it looks nowhere near that as an early dusk is ushered in beneath menacing clouds in temperatures that barely clamber above 10 degrees.

The crowds trickle back and forth between a storming Reprazent set and feelgood merchant Justin Robertson.

It was always a safe bet that Moby would whip 'em into a techno-rock frenzy and he politely obliges with no surprises. Ian Brown's 'Billie Jean' is, of course, cack and the joke has long since worn thin but the boy's looking surprisingly fit. Sister Bliss packs the Inside Out arena with a love, peace and peroxide vibe, glam gals in stetsons and hotpants giving it arms in the air joyousness.

But the first time we find ourselves playing sardines is for Leftfield, who sweep and rock and rumble through our ribcages into our hearts, but disappointingly they don't come close to that legendary 140 decibel depth of aural decimation.

Hype of the night though was Public Enemy - the masses are here to be blown away, but though it's heavy and hard, somehow it's just not packed enough or loud enough to satisfy. Sorry, but for tonight, as the mighty Chuck D would (and indeed did) rant: "don't believe the hype".