Creamfields UK 2002 review

Paul Stickings - 24 August 2002

VirtualFestivals spends 24 hours with the Cream of the DJ'ing crop

2 months ago whilst losing it somewhat on an unnamed London dancefloor, I found myself at the mercy of Underworld's 1st single post-Emerson, called 2 Months Off. 2 months on, whilst losing it somewhat on a disused slightly muddy airport in Liverpool, I once again found myself at the mercy of Underworld's 1st single post-Emerson, 2 Months Off... only this time I was hearing the tune live.

Creamfields 2002 didn't have the August Bank Holiday sun of previous years, but with Underworld performing live on the enormous Cream Outdoor stage the sun didn't have to have its hat on, because they were that good. Karl Hyde was like a singing Duracell bunny of energy; committed, passionate and vocally exquisite, as his voice echoed around Old Speke airport with a tingling air of crisp perfection. Indeed a job well done... so who's this Darren Emerson fella that everyone keeps talking about then?

On arrival at Creamfields, it's always a question of where do you begin? A six-hour car journey meant that the rumblings in our stomachs were inevitable, so we headed off for some grub and to discover our first dose of musical a compliment. The Passion tent was first to draw us in, as Dutch heavyweight Armin Van Buuren let fly with the emotionally charged 'Seven Cities'. A good start to the day then. In preparation for Underworld, we decided to put the funk into our feet and let Jose Nunez in the Subliminal tent put us through our early dancefloor paces.
Shakedown' is still very much doing the business on the evidence with the sexy crowd and despite the occasional teething problems from the CD-R, the breakdown had everyone singing along. Singing so loud in fact, that Jose even switched the volume off for the chorus to achieve that 'extra special moment'... cue pandemonium everywhere, not least from 'me other arf'!

Meanwhile, over in the (always quality) Global Underground tent, Lee Burridge was on tribal funk alert, with the crowd jumping in agreement. But sadly, the jumping had to end there because it was time for Underworld... not that we minded of course.

'Karl's lyrics were crystal clear throughout Underworld's performance, which in turn enhanced my own level of performance if you know what I mean? Pearl's Girl, Born Slippy and King of Snake... a lifetime's memories rolled into an hour and a half of madness. Post-Underworld came Cassius back in the Subliminal tent and what followed was a final half hour mix from the French duo, full of funky filtered house. Flashbacks to Ibiza were overwhelmingly powerful; whilst a touch of 'Daft Punk' bouncing over the electro smash, 'Cosmos' was equally as endearing... things were beginning to get messy all right!