sundae on THE common 2008

CHARLOTTE HATHERLEY has struggled to find her niche since leaving Ash, but her mixture of Belinda Carlisle and Chrissie Hynde has always sat well with me. Sadly, the rest of the crowd seem to have other ideas, leaving poor Charlotte to shuffle through her set and politely disappear backstage. THE DELAYS are the day’s surprise package, finally lifting the middle-class bums off of their picnic blankets with their ultra-catchy indie-pop, before GUILLEMOTS cause everyone to sit straight back down again with their slightly more subdued (though equally impressive) artful musings. Headliners THE CHARLATANS live up to expectations and deliver a mighty selection of songs from their ten album career. Frontman Tim Burgess contorts and giggles his way around the stage, occasionally stopping to scythe his way through the air like a Jedi slicing an imaginary cake which only he could see. Apparently too much ice cream will do that to you… SUNDAY It’s very rare that an early band pull in such a crowd, but PARKA perform with such infectious energy that even Jerry (as in Ben n’ Jerry), who by this point is standing next to me, is leaping around with all the youthful energy of a man a fraction of his age. Last minute stand-ins FIGHT LIKE APES follow with a sound vaguely reminiscent of a hangover: you know that you probably had some fun at some point, but you’d still do anything to get rid of it. The only major highlight of their entire set comes when a mini rumble breaks out between two of the band’s members. Fortunately, order is restored with the arrival of the impressive SLOW CLUB and GET CAPE WEAR CAPE FLY, who take charge of their respective mid-afternoon slots by delivering simple, understated and sensational folk-infused music. The evening sets in and Evan Dando seems as surprised as anyone else that he’s here. He may no longer be the poster boy for the slacker generation, but THE LEMONHEADS hit the stage, crank the amps and effortlessly transport the crowd to the early 90s with a run through of seminal album ‘It’s a Shame About Ray’. ASH close the festival with a successful, though largely uninspiring set. They’re professional to the last, but there’s a lingering feeling that they’ve never quite filled the Charlotte-shaped hole which emerged around 18 months ago. The absence of a second guitar and vocal harmonies are very noticeable, leaving many of their tracks lacking the kick of the recorded versions. PHOTO: GUILLEMOTS BY RORY CARROLL