The Top 3 acts thread is good fun, but it's so tough because I saw so much good stuff this past weekend. So, I created my own ranking, which I admit takes a lot longer to read and write, but if anyone is keen, would love to read your own versions.
Note: This is all totally subjective based on so many different factors (state of mind, history with the act, people you were with, crowd position, crowd around you, surprise factor, etc etc).
Acts who were:
Fantastic/Gave You Chills:
the Hives - so much showmanship, great up-tempo songs, great suits, really brought me out of my Friday-morning funk.
Showhawk Duo (on Bandstand) - great energy from them and the crowd, sun slowly cooling off, first show all weekend, was amazing.
Skindred - fantastic set from a band that should be far more popular than they are.
Hot Chip - finally saw these festival favourites and they didn't disappoint. Just a fantastic live band.
Guns n Roses - from where I was in the pit, Axl's voice was better than expected, Slash's guitar changes, the big songs, I jumped around like a total loon.
Dimension - hadn't expected to see him but his set was brilliant, including playing songs I didn't know were his which had been on my exercise playlists for the last year or so, which added to my excitement.
DJ Yoda - an absolute legend, playing hit after hit after hit, all mixed together seamlessly. When he threw in Witness the Fitness I think I nearly took off, prob one of the best 90mins I've ever had at the festival.
Joesef - silky smooth voice, great band, great songs, sun going down, was just absolutely wonderful to see.
Elton John - don't really need to say anything, do I?
CMAT - great songs, she put on a huge show writing all around the stage, got the whole tent grooving to her glam country-pop. She drew in an impressive crowd that early on Woodsies.
Nova Twins - how much sound can a two piece make? Great punk rock rap songs too.
The Hu - these guys were fun from start to finish. Great hard rock tunes with their distinct throat singing and traditional instruments. Amazing.
Really Great, but...:
Folamour but I had to watch outside Levels and it was quite early on in the day.
Fred Again.. but it was so stop start and during the quiet parts, there were so many chatty pricks and Instagrammers filming EVERY. LITTLE. THING. EVERY. f**kING. SECOND.
Sudan Archives - really great, but there was a mic malfunction, then some of the sound came out distorted during the set later on, which is a shame because she gave it everything. It was also ridiculously hot and even tho she kept asking, "Who's f**ked up?", the crowd barely murmured an answer back.
Crazy P Soundsystem - really great, but I was so damn tired at the time.
Rick Astley - really great fun and he worked the crowd, threw in some covers etc, but realistically 90% of ppl (including myself) were only there for one song, from a 15 year old meme.
Par for the Course: Star Feminine Band. Dreadzone.
Disappointing: Earl Sweatshirt - just didn't seem to care about being there (maybe it's just his whole laidback persona), but he kept telling people to calm down and complaining about the heat, and he was just going through the motions. So, I left to get ready for GnR.