Sunday 12/08/07 Summer Sundae @ De Montfort Hall and Gardens, Leicester

Following the lively, pretentiously-dubbed The Strange Death of Liberal England on the Rising Stage, Cherry Ghost graced Summer Sundae's Main Stage with just slightly over-average indie on the Sunday afternoon, playing tracks from their debut album Thirst for Romance and awaking the crowd before them from their hung-over haze.

On for a bit of waist-shaking ska and "blue beat", the festival goers joined the feel-good El Pussycat, an old-school six-piece outfit, in the Musicians Stage tent. Koop jazzed up the main stage in the mid-afternoon, with their swing-electro style and striking vocals, before making way for The Pigeon Detectives, who certainly livened things up with their sharing of placards bearing statements such as Get Your Owl Out (?!). Nonetheless, despite their cool name they came across as a more disappointing and less enigmatic version of The Libertines.

Unpredictable as ever, Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals played his solo set behind a huge cardboard cut-out television set, jiggling the knobs on his keyboard while filling the De Montfort Hall with his deep Welsh tones and documenting a (possibly) fictional flight resembling something like Peter Cook reading the evening news. His entertaining lyrics, toy keyboard and psychedelic sounds were variously accompanied by a shouty lady singer whose voice died down into gorgeous fine-tuned harmonies and a man with a mysterious half-invisible double bass.

The night delivered all that was anticipated and more, with Echo and the Bunnymen singing the eternally beautiful ‘Killing Moon’ and other classic songs. Their low-key charisma was not greatly diminished from that they held during their glory days, despite the cringiness of the groovy dark shades which looked slightly out of place on the faces of ageing men.

While the growling intrigue of Seasick Steve on the Rising Stage was temporarily interrupted as he indulged in a ruckus with a discontented member of his audience, Spiritualized gracefully stole the day away on the main stage. Forgetting momentarily to search for the night's promised meteors, the audience were swept into the emotionally charged, magical web weaved by J Spaceman and his crew, involuntarily moved to tearfulness by tracks such as 'Broken Heart' and lulled into an over-riding sensation of contentment and awe.