Saturday 24/05/08 Gatecrasher Summer Soundsystem @ Turweston Aerodome, Northamptonshire

Twenty years ago kids high on Chicago and Detroit house were dodging the fuzz, knocking back the happy pills and firing-up generators in open fields, beckoning-in a second summer of love and giving birth to a whole new music scene: acid house. Like punk a decade before, acid house tore away from a jaded climate, advocating a DIY ethic and changing music forever.

Two decades later and acid house has immersed itself into popular culture. From fashion and design, influencing the production and songwriting methods of 'traditional' rock bands like Kasabian and Radiohead, to even those smilies you add to text messages. Even the Government got in the act -scare-mongered by the tabloids and authorities into the Criminal Justice Bill, they pushed through a draconian Act of Parliament that effectively banned 'illegal gatherings of 12 people or more listening to repetitive beats'. Karaoke nights would never be the same again.

Thankfully not even the Tories could kill off the rave and twenty years on Gatecrasher are celebrating acid house and all its glorious offspring in "the UK's biggest ever electronic music event". Purveyors of the original scene - such as Alex Patterson from the Orb and Mark Moore from S-Xpress - rub shoulders with mega-acts like Prodigy, Chemical Brothers and Paul Oakenfold, while bastard children like Crystal Castles and Justice show just how far and exciting the ideas of that summer have evolved.

As 60,000 people make their way onto the Northamptonshire airfield to join in the celebrations, it's clear Gatecrasher should be rewarded for bringing together such a glorious, innovative line-up. The first big outdoor festival of the season, everyone seems bang up for a party. The sun is out - so far defying predictions of a Bank Holiday wash-out - and with it the linger of barbeques and the sound of thousands of cans and bottles of alcohol being popped open spreads across the campsite.

However, the early warmth is soon met by a reminder why this is such a perfect location for an aerodrome; the wind is absolutely kicking-off, so much so that putting up a tent becomes a feat of extreme engineering. Still, the atmosphere is excellent and by the time the main arena opens the roar of eager ravers screaming for the party to begin is deafening.

Effectively a dozen different club nights all kicking-off simultaneously, we head straight to the Electric Stew tent for some psychotic gothic electro from Black Ghosts, who feature ex-members of Wiseguys and Simian. Amazingly it seems that Gatecrasher's urgency to cram as much music into each day has meant that Black Ghosts have played half their set by the time the first people trickle into the tent. A pity as one half of this duo gave the world 'We Are Your Friends' and their self-styled disco-noir really should have deserved a much later slot - as the sun goes in and the nightmares come out.

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