music and ice cream make a perfect mix at Sundae On The Common

Ben and Jerry's, the Ice Cream giants, bring their Sundae festival to Clapham Common every year in late July and bring along with them a stellar line-up and bags of free ice cream. Sounds great doesn't it? Well, it is, and it was! The sun was out and people with smiles on their faces arrived for what was to be a day of showcasing rising talent as well as resurrecting slightly more experienced and well known greats. However, on arrival, it was time for an ice cream.

The site is made up of many wondrous things – geared mainly to a family audience. There is a makeshift farm, providing opportunities to meet ducks and get photo's taken with a cow as well as an air guitar and toe wrestling stage – typical festival stuff really, along with a large helter skelter for kids to little and bigger kids to scare themselves on. In the background, there was a stage, and on that stage is where I wandered to catch firstly, Tommy Reilly.

The winner of this year's Orange Unsigned Act (think X Factor, but with talent and typically less chart success), seems to have grown into quite a competent performer. He has recently performed at T in the Park and therefore he seems much more at ease on stage that I suspected he would. His songs are fluent and lyrics excellent. His voice can slightly grate on you after a while, but it’s a strong performance and its easy to see why he won over so many people in the competition he won…most of them seemed to be at the front of the stage! So a good start to the festival. Something that couldn't be more in contrast to the next act, Marina and the Diamonds.

There seems to be a lot of hype surrounding Marina and the Diamonds. Frequently she has been seen gracing the pages of NME as 'the next big thing'... Andrew WK anyone?) However, it seems like she may not be afterall. Their sound is okay. You can see what they are trying to achieve - Think Yeah Yeah Yeahs crossed with Tori Amos minus the great songs and masses of charisma... and you've got Marina and the Diamonds. Whereas Karen O and Tori Amos both ooze kooky, Marina just seems to be trying too a bit too hard! This seems a bit scathing for a girl that is trying to make their way in the early stages of her career but it is just the truth. Don't believe the hype!

Kenny Anderson or King Creosote (as he goes under) was next on the stage and as the sun beat down on all at Clapham Common, he lit the place up with perfect folk sounding delicateness that took the audience on a charming journey. It was a much needed wind down after the hectic Marina…and complemented the festival beautifully. Playing the first song alone, he then had a full band join him on stage and brought in a mix of faster paced songs along with slower numbers that left the crowd guessing where he was going to next. Wherever it was, it was generally very nice indeed.

I am Kloot were up next. From Manchester and very much in the same mould as Doves and Elbow, they have been said to provide more clout that the two. However, commercially, they have never had the same amount of success as their Manchester peers. Today, you can see why. Although singer John Bramwell has a fantastic and very distinctive voice, the songs are drab and just a bit samey. The set starts nicely and the crowd are drawn to the stage, but their interest seems to wane the longer the set goes on for. Decent enough, but nothing to write home about.

Teenage Fanclub set about their set in lethargic fashion. After the success of their 1995 classic LP, Grand Prix, Oasis were to label the band the 2nd best band in the world (surely not after Oasis!!?), but there was little evidence of any real drive or determination here. The band plodded away and clearly have some great songs in their back catalogue They sound strong live but you have to question the urgency of the band. It was just all a bit lacklustre. It was time for the headliners to bring a bit of life to the party and pick the crowd up...

Super Furry Animals entered the stage that was now packed mostly with fans of the band (it would seem). Gruff Rhys looking super cool in red shades, and willing the crowd on with large cards to "Applause" and shout "Whoa", at any plausible moment. 'Juxtapose With U' came flying out of the band like they'd never played it before, but they clearly had due to the crowd shouting the words back to them. It was fantastic. Always a great live band with plenty of character, Super Furries were not to disappoint this time around either. 'Golden Retriever', 'Hello Sunshine' and 'Rings Around The World' blew out of the speakers and left everyone craving for more. In terms of crowd interaction, well there wasn't much. He thanked Teenage Fanclub and then just got on with the job at hand.

A great ending to a very enjoyable day and all that was left was to lose that extra weight I'd put on after about 14 ice creams.

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