Saturday 26/08/06 Creamfields @ Daresbury, Halton, Cheshire

Wandering through the entrance, you get the impression that the organiser stuck a pin in a map and plonked the tents down wherever it struck. Somewhere between Widnes, Warrington and a dirt track , we all went wading across the fields towards the eerie pulse coming from the tiny tents in the distance.   With a brain-goggling lineup and threatening dark clouds above us, the next 12 hours would definitely separate the fluffy boots from the steel minded. And how cute they all are! Wearing hotpants the size of my entrance ticket, the dance puppies sketchily  scramble through security and disperse relieved into the vast and dotty expanse that it Creamfields 2006.   Just in time to watch the start of The Zutons, the crowd is still thin around the edges. It’s a good atmosphere for an early start, however. Lads dressed as bin men throw each other in a mud bath to 'You Will You Won't' The band sound extremely punchy for an early slot. But for a crowd who were restless, and probably not due to ADHD, the easy going pace did not seem to be overly tickling their interest. McCabe has decided that it’s time to turn this into a Pheonix Club shout out:   “Give us a shout for St Helens!”   Dave shut up when three people yelped back at him. Onwards with 'Valerie'- cue air waving and some comment about his ginger mate, which no doubt pissed off a small percentage of the super- groomed crowd.   Due to the last minute pull out of Gnarls Barkley, things are shoved forward and theres much confusion about what’s going on with the bands. I meet disgruntled young man who is watching a break beat guy and thought he was Mylo. It seems everyone is looking for Mylo and he’s nowhere to be seen. Back to main stage for Goldfrapp.   She’s looking divine is Allison. It’s as clean and synthetic as a town apartment, but it is an impressive carnivalesque show for a festival stage , with a bizarre array of backing dancers in PVC, silver horse heads and sari clad seductresses. Throughout their repertoire of the ‘Supernature’ album, it's clear that Goldfrapp have maintained their crystalline aura and appeal to the urban loafer. For the crowd here, it hits the spot for visual purposes, though the dancing is flat as brewers droop.