Offset offers a varied selection of performances, and vintage styles

The traditional London weather was overcast and unfortunately stayed that way all day as I made my way into Offset Festival with the cool Brick Lane kids and vintage fashionistas.

It felt quite odd because although we were in a 'world within a world' situation of a festival, the location of Hainault Forest meant that our fenced in area was surrounded by families and general London folk going about their business.

On entering the arena, I immediately realised that there was a more sombre feel to the day ahead, as campers nursed hangovers with bacon butties, and day-goers hadn't arrived yet.

Just as I thought not much was happening, my friend and I stumbled into a pit of people thrashing about and going slightly mental in front of the main stage. We could hear music but there was nothing onstage. By following the crowds' attention I soon realised that the performers were in the middle of the audience.

I was taking part in the Monotonix experience – a screeching, Israeli, thrash metal band. They were only wearing underpants and had messy beards and wild hair.

For most of the performance I couldn't see the other two band members as they were engulfed by the mass of over-excited fans. However the lead singer was held high by the crowd for most of the gig.

I couldn't really understand what he was singing/screaming but the mass of people surrounding him were flailing their arms and shouting as if they were being sung to by some God-like figure... quite simply I've never seen anything like it... at one point he grabbed a drum and sat on a stool held up by fans as he banged.

Because of my short stature I was only able to identify the other two scantily clad band members when Ami Shalev came to the front of the stage and clambered over the barrier to perform standing on amps and speakers.

He then made the crowd sit down as he went on a mad, slightly intelligible rant, which started off with him throwing insults at Paul Weller – I can only imagine this was prompted by Weller's Mercury Prize nomination but who knows? He finished the Paul Weller attack, exclaiming 'I prefer Mr Noel Gallagher' before embarking on a speech about the 'lovely' Queen in this country.

It was all very confusing but the more hardcore members of the crowd were absolutely wrapped up in his enthusiasm, even though security was pressuring him to finish his set.

I had a look around The Vintage Fair, which I have seen at a festival before but not nearly as colossal as it is now, and I think my friend and I could have easily stayed in there for hours, as the amount of unique clothing and accessories was absolutely endless.

We came out a many few pounds later and grabbed a bite to eat. Although the festival did not have much in the way of non-music based entertainment the choice of refreshments was great with everything you could possibly want and more.

John & Jehn quietly begun performing on the main stage – they blended in so much that I didn't even realise the music had changed from recorded music to a live band. As they continued their set became bouncier but unfortunately there was nothing about them that stood out.

It was quite generic 'band' music where people were playing instruments to an OK standard and the feeling amongst the tiny crowd was very much of a 'graveyard shift'.

Pulled Apart By Horses were next and the lead singer introduced themselves as "a bunch of cunts from Leeds", prompting another band member to quip "speak for yourself!"

The foursome took to the stage with the gusto and energy that you expect from good performers and although their music was not to my taste, they had an evident force of fans flailing their arms over the barrier to get closer to the boys.

They threw themselves into performing, jumping down from the stage and craning over fans, and one of the guitarists climbed on top of speakers at the side of the stage at one point.

The lead singer commanded the audience to create a hurricane in the middle of the crowd and obediently the over-excited male fans moshed about in a circle rapidly.

In the White Heat Tent La Shark were up next - they're a quirky 5 piece with a lead singer who had red paint rubbed on his face, wore a silk dressing gown, and spent most of the gig teetering on the railing separating him and the audience.

He jumped down into the audience to perform too, much to their delight; and he was backed by a musically talented band. I honestly could not describe the genre of music they play – it was more like a performance piece, especially when an eccentric lady joined them to sing with a sultry voice on some songs. I really enjoyed it though as did the crowd as their music was really playful and theatrical and their joint eccentricity shone out.

Esben and the Witch were the last act I saw before retreating home; they played in a small tent with the lead female having angelic, wispy vocals backed by the loudest drumming I have heard in a long time. The music was quite enchanting albeit a bit slow at times but it was a nice contrast to the heavy metal that I had been hearing across the festival site.

I wasn't the only one who had ringing ears from the over gusto drumming though when we left the tent.

As I left, there was a lot of buzz around Caribou's impending performance but unfortunately I couldn't stay.

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