V Festival 2008, Chelmsford
Saturday

First up on this brand new V, it's Road to V winners Matt Trakker on the 4Music stage. We think the singer, who insists he is not Matt Trakker, said their full name was Matt Trakker and the Thunderhawks, but we refuse to believe they would do that to themselves. Their opening number has a slightly Emo feel to it, maybe like an Emo version of Bloc Party. The second song features A HARMONICA. They've gone all folky. Their next sounds like Yeah Yeah Yeah's 'Maps', then not-Matt Trakker announces that this is only their third ever gig! He has a decent rapport with the crowd (getting them to shout 'sausage!' in response to his 'battered!' rather than a profanity is an achievement) and it looks like Road to V has yet again uncovered a burgeoning talent.

Off to the V Stage then, to see The Futureheads do their own brand of heavily-accented post-punk 'Ah Oh Oh's' and 'Ay-Ya's' etc, and very good at it they are too. We wonder what they'd be like doing Barbershop. Singer Barry Hyde announces that 'this is your chance to say goodbye to the Futureheads' which shocks everyone, but he only means that they're finishing their set. Phew!

Shed Seven - still going. Why? No time to ponder this as we need to get to the JJB Arena to see current UK and Ireland chart-toppers The Script. We get there just in time for their hit 'Together We Cry' and the debut single is met with cacophonic applause - the loudest of the festival so far. It turns out the Dublin boys are very, very popular and deservedly so. They are cut from the same cloth as Maroon 5 and One Republic (good thing/bad thing, tomayto/tomato) but they're much better at it than those two.

Back to the 4Music stage to see what all the fuss is about surrounding Brooklynites The Hold Steady. They're old! The keyboard player runs about. The opener seems like the longest song ever until we realise it's finished and we're listening to the next one. We wonder about inflatable hats and why people buy them. A girl near us vomits.

Time to 'make some noooooiiiiize' in the JJB for Estelle, who was there to celebrate her album going gold apparently. It's no mystery as to why; she's brilliant. Bit of a filthy mouth though! F this and F that. Each track is prologued with a rant about boys - one minute they're bastards, the next they're great ('at sex' apparently). Make you're mind up! It's definitely party time in the big top - that big-band sound fused with reggae and hip hop builds momentum throughout the set and the finale of 'American Boy' is, as expected, greeted with a happy frenzy.

Still no rain! Up yours, weather forecast!

Over to Duffy on the 4Music stage. By God she can warble! However, she readily admits she can't dance. With those legs you don't need to - merely walking is just as captivating and she's actually not that bad a dancer anyway. The hits are delivered flawlessly and we're treated to a new one in 'Breaking My Own Heart', which is a free download apparently. It's very long so she has a little sit down during it. Funny how someone can have such gravitas without moving very much, but she does. 'Warwick Avenue' and 'Mercy' cap it off. Very good.

She's followed on the same stage by The Hoosiers. Ha ha ha, look at the funny band.

Maybe they wish they were called The Kooks, but they're not, the band on the V Stage are. The crowd get a little boisterous in and around 'Ooh La', which was our personal favourite until their third number which we didn't catch the name of (we clearly haven't paid enough attention to the second album). It starts off super-bluesy and then makes a baffling but perfect change to reggae. Brilliant! We're liking this set more than we thought we would. Then, amazingly, they're joined on stage by Ray Davies of The Kinks! The cover of The Falls' 'Victoria' is a rare treat. Alas, Luke goes and spoils the fun by trying to get everyone to sit down when they don't want to, and makes it worse when he threatens to discontinue if they don't. Hmm. They do continue with 'Naïve', a very pleasant acoustic 'See the Sun' and 'You Don't Love Me' for pudding.

We've been puzzled all day as to why there are four massive (and we mean super massive) satellite dishes on big towers flanking the main stage. All becomes clear shortly before Muse appear, when the satellite dishes start shooting frightening beams of light into the sky and at the crowd. Very 'War of the Worlds'.
A little snippet of Led Zep's 'Heartbreaker' precedes 'Supermassive Black Hole', that now features an extended rock solo from Bellamy, and some projections involving robots. Blimey, who let Muse have the pin number to the record company's bank account?
What follows is all a bit of a blur (and that's not just because we've discovered the free bar in Virgin's Louder Lounge). But there are definitely flames and smoke and sparks and lots of balloons. And all the hits.
Following 'Knights of Cydonia' we just stand there a bit stunned. It was very big and fairly clever. But who knows where Muse can go next? Flying a spaceship into the sun can be the only option.

Now read about Sunday...