It was always going to be a bit messy. Students being students you couldn’t but have expected the odd scuffle, girls vomiting on their expensive ball gowns, lads pissing wherever there was a wall and thousands of well dressed revellers drunkenly stumbling around the courtyards of Trinity College.
What was unexpected though, certainly for a first timer, was just how good a night the Trinity Ball is. This was an event streets ahead of most outdoor events. Everything was well organised, queues for loos and bars were minimal, and security didn’t make themselves felt. It meant that all were allowed to just get on with the night at hand and enjoy Europe’s largest private party.
And what a venue to stage such a party. The walls of Trinity College seemed to come alive, bringing a real atmosphere to proceedings, which was aided in no small part by the formal attire of the attendees. The entertainment wasn’t half bad either. Four stages meant there was something here for all palettes, but by four o’clock all eyes were on the Pete Doherty show.
Though Ian Brown was the official headliner, it was Doherty and his Babyshambles outfit that attracted most of the pre-ball headlines. Anyone there to see the 25-year-old come apart on stage was to be disappointed. Doherty looked well; healthier at least. He’s put on weight and appeared decidedly more together than most at four in the morning. Perversely though, Babyshambles looked more likely to come apart at the seams than ever before. At the best of times they were poor, and halfway through the set guitarist Patrick Walden disappeared, leaving Doherty and co to carry on as a three piece.
The former Libertine was working to hold the crowd's dwindling interest but even a run through of ‘Time For Heroes’ wasn’t enough to pull things together. His new songs were shambolic and, alerted to potential disaster, it was left to Kate Moss to try and rescue her boyfriend once again. The supermodel’s brief dart onto the stage to sing drew the loudest applause of the night and, after catching a glimpse of her, the audience began to leave. Tonight Doherty wasn’t getting the devotion he’s become accustomed to, even at one stage begging, “Ah please don’t leave, this’ll be a good one.”
Like Moss, Ian Brown was doing some rescuing of his own. Bringing a number of Stone Roses classics in to his set has given his solo career a second wind, and tonight Roses devotees weren’t disappointed with ‘Made Of Stone’, ‘Waterfall’ and ‘Sally Cinnamon’ all getting an airing. So baggy he had to continually pull his trousers up, Brown too likes to have his ego massaged and twice he deservedly lapped up applause for stalling his set, first to stop a fight in the crowd and then to berate security for heavy handing some punters. Only when he dug up tracks from his terrible first album did he look like losing their otherwise unwavering devotion.
Away from the main stage, The Redneck Manifesto rocked the acoustic tent while Declan O’Rourke drew on Dire Straits covers to draw out his set. There were a couple of other great Irish acts on show. Porn Trauma, Mainline and Humanzi all contributed handsomely to the evening's entertainment. Even British act The Music sounded good tonight.
Some events just have a magic to them, and the Trinity Ball has it in spades. It’s a pity, though, that some of that magic didn’t rub off on Doherty and co.