Saturday 05/07/03 The Vessels, Aqualung, Skin, Madness @ Guilfest, Guilford

Hooray for the Vessels! As the first band on the main stage, only a smattering of early risers and keen fans were present to be wooed with the Vessels' divine collection of perfect songs from their exceptional debut album. Visibly terrified (possibly by the packs of Madness fans that'd begun to arrive), the youthful Vessels began their triumphant set slightly wobbly and looking in need of a calming whisky. They soon eased into it with the infectious 'Hey Hey Hey' and '31st Floor', both gleeful chanters to accompany the midday sun. By the time the radio favourite 'Hang Onto Your Love' marked the end of the set, the crowd had increased twentyfold, frowns had turned to grins and the seated had willed their legs forward to get a clearer peek at these soon-to-be superstars (they've even been played in the "caff" on Eastenders).

While other bands that may be lumped in the same ballpark as Aqualung (Turin Brakes, Coldplay, Ed Harcourt), they could never induce such stifling, utter boredom as can Matt Hales. While he executed his set (literally), songs that alternated exactly the same chord sequence with two different tempos - slow plinky plonk or upbeat plinky plonk - the crowd emitted 2,674 yawns, I counted 11 cigarette butts in my immediate square metre, and people that ventured toward the stage, stayed for one song, yawned and then left amounted to approximately 332. It may be a slight exaggeration, but with Matt Hales warbling seemingly the same song over and over, it's enough to make anyone fall down comatose. So, Aqualung - thoroughly unrecommended.

What a delight, however, to have Skin back in business. A devilish little imp in pink, her new tracks battered through the more maudlin capers of the bands that afternoon and injected a healthy portion of proper rock into the day. Skin propelled herself into the crowd within a few minutes, proclaimed "I could shag you all" about the front row, and treated everyone to a dubbed down version of 'Hedonism', reminding all that she's a talent to be treasured.

It was always going to be Madness' night, as their followers alone filled practically the entire festival site. Throughout the day, clans of Fez-wearing, middle-aged fans looked bewildered by the other performers, but patiently waited for the nutty boys to arrive. From the first familiar saxophone squeak of 'One Step Beyond', a few thousand ecstatic revellers began furious haphazard stomping every which way, the entire audience bellowed out the familiar lyrics in glorious unison, while the band themselves did their best to go even more mental. Still in much the same state an hour later, all the classics duly aired, the frivolity finished with a barnstorming version of 'Night Boat to Cairo'.