Whirl-Y-Gig made a scaled down return to the Reading WOMAD festival after a years absence from the scene (due to a few financial wranglings from two years previous). And just as Whirl-Y-Gig started at WOMAD in '94, it was staged inside the Rivermead leisure complex rather than the Big Top used to stage the subsequent Whirlys in '95 & '96.

Whilst the decor was familiar, the venue boasted a new state of the art Sardis Surround Sound system, which aimed to provide a three dimensional hologram of sound. As with all things new there were a few initial teething problems - more of this in a moment. A big change to the format was the use of DJ's rather than live bands. Key members of Whirly bands gave their best shot on the decks, providing a mix of tunes from either their own material or related artists. However, there wasn't the use of the second large hall as a chill-out room this time round, so if you needed to escape for five minutes its was either outside or the over-lit bar area.

So, after 30 minutes of being pushed and shoved through the badly organized cue to get into the Whirly, Friday night kicked off. First up were Badmarsh and Earthtribe, both of whom tend towards heavy Asian beats and vibes. But, you'd have been lucky to decipher that from the mess blasting out of the badly distorting sound system. Thirty minutes of mild bemusement passed, standing at the back watching a puzzled crowd trying to work out whether it was meant to sound like that or whether they were suffering from premature audio hallucinations. Monkey Pilot scuttled around looking rather anxious, which was a good sign that all was not well. So an hour and a half later (the bulk of which was spent cueing at the bar whilst avoiding the three dimensional distorted hologram of sound) the Transglobal Underground Sound System hit the decks. As if by magic all signs of anything slightly distorted vanished and the banging sound of TGU filled the hall. A set of mostly new material from their latest album, Rejoice Rejoice, was greeted with warm arms by the crowd - things were picking up at last. And cue Monkey Pilot. With only a three-quarter of an hour slot on the opening night, the Whirl-Y-Gig resident DJ played a fine selection of tunes. Which lead to the final set of the night from Astralasia's very own front man, Swordfish. A corking mix of tunes raised the roof, including some of Astralasia's recent material and a few oldies thrown in for good measure. One such track was Govinda's Dream by the Suns of Arqa - but where were the Whirly faves Hashishin and Sul-E- Stomp???.

A slow-to-start opening night that eventually kicked off left a wide eyed crowd crying out for more as 2pm rolled up and the lights cruelly transformed the magical Whirl-Y-Gig into a sports hall from hell - not very nice of the WOMAD security, but I guess they aren't renowned for their kindness.

Fears of a repeat of the mud-bath called Glastonbury were baked away as the weather warmed up on Saturday. During the afternoon Whirl-Y-Gig featured on the small Dome stage, which was hidden behind the fabulous Siam tent. Although described as "fabulously decorated" in the official program, I think someone forgot to bring the decor - or was too stoned to put it up. But sparse as it was the dome provided shelter from the suns rays for those whom managed to crowd inside. Four bands played on the Dome stage, separated by chilled-out vibes from Monkey Pilot. Xangbetos were first up, combining West African horns and South African vocal harmonies with a bit of the US Deep South. Formed by Bollywood band producer and Barry Adamson collaborator Joe Sax, the group also includes Transglobal Underground s rhythm machine Hamilee and Zulu singer/choregorapher Thobikile. Ex-Transglobal Underground jazz wordsmith Neill Sparks and rock singer Mick Bevan completed the line-up. Whilst very good, they would probably have been more at home on the main stage.

Later in the afternoon a band that have played a couple of times at Whirl-Y-Gig in the past graced the dome stage - enter Glow. Uplifting chilled rhythms, beats and glorious Portuguese/English vocals from lead singer Maria Joćo Branco combined into euphoric Trans-European grooves. They were definitely the highlight of the Saturday afternoon; hence its criminal to think that so many people missed them because they were hidden away in the Dome stage. Following Glow were Mydriasis and Global. I can't comment on these bands because I spent those few hours catching up on the night before - but I'm sure they were excellent non-the-less.

So, 9.45pm rolls around for the second time and the cue to end all cues collapses as dwindling patience turns to anarchy. A mass surge at the security gates leading into Whir-Y-Gig resulted in a claustrophobics worst nightmare - hundreds off clubbers wanting to squeeze through the same 3 foot wide gap all at the same time....it just won't happen kids! Toe trodden and squashed, we eventually gained entrance inside. What followed I really couldn't tell you - I vaguely remember being taken on a four hour magical journey by Monkey Pilot, whose choice of tracks covered both old and new. A superb night of non-stop Whirl-Y-Gig was enjoyed by one and all, culminating in a twenty-minute chilled- out parachute at the end of the night. It was amusing to watch those who've obviously never been to Whirl-Y-Gig before, whom initially tried to hold up the parachute from underneath rather than sit down! And that was Saturday night. It was all over far too quick - but was definitely the best night of the festival.

Sunday started bright and sunny, but later in the day heavy rain attempted to dampen spirits. But two hours later the sun was back and the festival burst back into life, almost as if a drop of rain had never fallen. Back at the Whirl-Y-Gig a rather tired and weary crowd queued quietly. A couple of guys with a didge and a keyboard (was it a keyboard or a DAT player - my memory fails me) kept the queue amused whilst they waited. Incidentally, the duo were pretty good, who ever they were. Whatever, whoever, the queue shuffled through the gates almost in single file, in complete contrast to the previous nights antics. Whirly favourites Joi opened the night on the decks in the form of the Joi Sound System. Asian and Bhangra vibes swept the crowd, who were obviously struggling to keep up with the beats. A few recognizable tracks were played, notably the B-side tracks from the Everybody Say Yeah 12". Following Joi was Gary from Azukx, who picked the crowd up with classics like Lift, 1,2,4-Stomp and Mad Cow, amidst a few other tracks from their 2nd album (that had yet to be released at the time of the festival). Monkey pilot had his final 45 minute set which kept the crowd on their toes, before Simon Emmerson (of the Afro Celt Sound System) tied the night up with a superb set featuring classics like Baaba Maals Sidiki. And as the clock stuck one the music and the magic came to a close.