It was one of the great Irish festival moments. The nanosecond the Polyphonic Spree launched into ‘It’s The Sun’, the storm clouds that had hovered over Fairyhouse for the previous 24 hours lifted and it was out with the Factor 40.

It’s a Sunday lunchtime that leader of the 24-man band Tim DeLaughter (pronounced Delouter) remembers fondly.

“You know what, as soon as we finished playing the clouds came back again,” the 37-year-old Texan laughs. “It happened a couple of times in England as well, so obviously we have a direct line to the weather gods.”

Weaned on a healthy diet of Fifth Dimension, The Association, Wings and The Beach Boys, DeLaughter put together the first slimline version of his “choral symphonic pop band” in 2000 after a member of the alt-rock group he’d been in, Tripping Daisy, died of a drug overdose.

“On the last two Tripping Daisy records – there were four in total – you can hear where the Polyphonic Spree was coming from,” he resumes. “I’ve been working towards this sound for almost 15 years now.”

With their Persil white robes and Daniel O’Donnell meets-The Manson Family demeanour, one wonders what sort of reaction Polyphonic Spree get from the local good ole boys.

“We’ve got good ole boys that love us, good ole boys that don’t understand us and good ole boys who ask us where our hoods are. It gets portrayed as being very right wing but, I tell you what, we’ve got some real psychedelic individuals out here in Texas.”

Who’ve taken to arriving to shows in their robes.

“It’s very flattering,” DeLaughter deadpans, “but I’d prefer if they bought the official ones we’re selling for £25. I don’t know what that is in euros, but I’m sure it’s still very reasonable.”
The good news for fans is that Polyphonic Spree will be arriving at Punchestown fully festival fit.

“We’ve just come off a festival here called the Bonaroo. It’s put on by the Grateful Dead and it features all sorts of people including this really crazy band called The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players.”

The words “pot”, “calling”, “kettle” and “black” spring to mind.

“No, these guys are really out there,” he explains. “What they do is go to garage and estate sales, buy people’s old slides and write songs about them. There’s dad – who looks like Rick Moranis – on guitar and vocals, his nine-year-old daughter on drums and his wife who runs the slide projector.”

So that’s who’ll be stealing the Witnness show in 2004!