day four

Sunday began earlier than we'd managed all weekend with Editors on Escenario fiberfib.com stage. The small tent was packed to the rafters with fans and everyone clapped along and sang as the band played hits like 'All Sparks', 'Blood' and 'Munich' as well as 3 new non-album tracks that seemed to have a more mellow feel to them. As the crowd got involved singer Tom Smith told the audience that they were "the best crowd ever" and those watching gave themselves another round of applause just to prove it. A wicked atmosphere filled this tent throughout the set, making it a highlight for many who were there early enough to catch it.

Madness on the Escenario Verde were another major highlight of my weekend. Not a band I would usually count myself a major fan of, they played enough hits to rouse even the least enthused music fan, kicking off with '1 Step Beyond' before 'House of Fun, Baggy Trousers, Our House' and 'It Must Be Love' featured. They also dabbled with a couple of covers, throwing in Max Romeo & The Upsetters' I chase the Devil (sampled in The Prodigy's Out of Space) and The Supremes' Keep Me Hanging On. Great fun, this set put us all in an excellent mood as we headed over to Vodafone fib Club to catch the start of We Are Scientists, who played a blinding set to another packed out crowd that featured chart successes like 'It's A Hit' and 'Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt'.

Back over at our favourite Escenario Electronico, we caught my set of the weekend from Ninja Tune's Coldcut. With 5 laptops and 8 decks between them as well as MCs and VJs, this was not a set to be missed. Kicking off with old favourite Dark Lady by DJ Food, the boys belted through an absolute stormer of a set taking in hiphop, electronica, drum n bass, breaks and even "I Wanna Be Like You" from The Jungle Book. This was music just the way I like it: eclectic, fun and played on a massive sound system. The atmosphere was electric, the tent looked amazing as usual and there was loads of space to dance. Great fun.

Having been a fan of their first two albums back in the 90s, I really wanted to see Placebo to see if their live shows had improved any from the woeful messes I witnessed circa 1997. While the band's sound seemed to have improved no end, their current song writing is still pretty poor and I sat through 'Infrared', 'Meds' and 'Because I Want You' before I decided I'd had enough, thank you very much, and headed back over to the Escenario Electronico to finish my festival with Herbert.

Matthew Herbert is well known for his strange experimental electro meanderings, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this set. In the past he has written a Big Band album which featured Jamie Liddell, written and produced solo material for former Moloko singer Roisin Murphy, made an album that used household noises as music and another that sampled the noise of kitchen utensils and food cooking, so it was with some surprise that I found this sweet soulful jazz funk set on the Escenario Electronico. Although the crowd was relatively small, all those there beamed throughout the set and danced to the beautiful music Herbert and his 7-piece band were making. By this point we were tired and it was time to leave the festival and go home to bed.

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