Saturday 21/07/07 Day One @ Lovebox Weekender, Victoria Park, London

For years Lovebox has been one of Gigwise’s favourite summer events. The London location, the frivolity, the ease of getting home (for us lucky Londoners) and the homemade attitude of the event. However it looks like things are starting to change. Unfortunately there's a bit of trouble getting in on time, leaving the usually chilled music journalists are crabby before they even find out about the rain. Fortunately the lushly orchestrated Patrick Wolf is deliciously fluorescent with red hair and a blue chest, squalling out ‘Magic Position’ to a delighted jumping audience. Why he was on so early in the day is anyone’s guess, and the line-up for the weekend is certainly not the best it’s ever been.

Smaller tents yield some gems however. Hush the Many are lucid and lush. The heartfelt guitar work is accompanied by a cello player who is cradling a work of architecture rather than an instrument. Stand out track ‘The Knife’ has a Wild Wood-esque intro that shows the passion of silly domestic arguments which escalate. The slow melancholy explodes as we are assured that the lead vocalist has the knife. We’re not going to argue with that.

Most of the older generation seem delighted by Soul II Soul’s presence, but the lack of attention to their music is highlighted intensely by the fact that every song fades out with little aplomb. Brilliant tracks like ‘Back to Life’ lose their sting thanks to a mediocre presentation. However this is nothing compared to the disappointment of the band with probably the world’s greatest back catalogue; Blondie. With everything from 'Atomic' to 'Hangin on the Telephone', Debbie Harry only proves one thing - that her voice is nearly kaput. She seems tired and out of it. Tracks that had the potential to set Victoria Park alive are let down by a dodgy sound system governed presumably by local residents. Gigwise relocates in disgust.

However, the reason Lovebox is so great is the atmosphere. While more and more Hoxton trendies have invaded in their Topshop dresses, there are still nuggets of fun to be found in the field. The eccentric Horse Meat has a queue so long that Gigwise thought it was the cash machine queue. And deservedly so when you get given a stick-on moustache on entry to the drag queen filled New York garage club. It doesn’t get more fun than that. Better stay here.