Stand too long in the same place and you began to sink inexorably into the quagmire. Shuffle from foot to foot and the gloop fastened to your shoes, as leaden and intractable as wet concrete.
The third Witnness rock festival was an intoxicating riot of sun, warm beer and fist-clenched guitar heroics. Yet most of the 40,000 who attended will remember it chiefly for the omnipresent mud.
As the soft Fairyhouse turf churned to a treacherous clay, which approximated the consistency of toffee pudding, the scene came to bear a dispiriting resemblance to a first World War battlefield. However, the rising bog didn't deter the majority of concert goers, who embraced the conditions with gladiatorial zest.
Despite a record attendance, the two-day Co Meath jamboree was a refreshingly sober experience. Few incidents of public drunkenness were reported and gardaí made no arrests.
Criticism was levelled at Witnness organisers on Saturday as the approach roads to Fairyhouse became clogged with traffic. Gardaí blamed confusion at the racecourse car park, a charge rejected by promoters MCD. Dublin Bus said the huge crowds made congestion inevitable.
When patrons belatedly reached the venue, they were surprised to discover the standard of on-site catering was considerably more rarefied than that familiar to Irish festival veterans.
Cheek by jowl with the mandatory spread of deep-fried, ketchup-smothered horrors, vendors touted a beguiling selection of crepes, Japanese noodles and quirky vegan treats. Boasting an intriguing hotch-potch of mainstream and underground rock acts performing simultaneously across five stages, Witnness presented fans with a thorny dilemma.
What to do when two of your favourite artists are performing at the same time?
This reporter was one of many to opt for an unsatisfactory fudge, clomping frantically between venues to sample bite-sized snippets of first-rank talents such as Mercury Rev, Air, Spiritualised and the Beta Band.
Over at the VIP lounge, in-the-flesh VIPS were in conspicuously short supply.
Heading the rather underwhelming list of celebrities were soccer international Robbie Keane and up-and-coming Cork actor Cillian Murphy
As ever, the best music was to be sampled on the margins. On Saturday, evergreen avant-garde rock group Sonic Youth contributed a virtuoso set. Incongruously, these 20 year cult figures graced the Witnness Rising tent, ostensibly reserved for novice artists.
Indigenous highlights included power pop quartet Wilt, treading the boards dressed as public school boys, bittersweet Dublin pop act Pony Club and populist folk-rock troupe The Frames.
Tipperary singer-songwriter Gemma Hayes was one of four performers forced to pull out when the deepening mud led to the temporary closure of Witnness Upstage on Saturday.
As they negotiated the ever-burgeoning marsh and nursed fantasies of hot showers and clean trousers, patrons were left to reflect that they had escaped rather lightly. At least it didn't rain.