Friday at Liverpool Sound City is a full on non-stop battering ram of a rush between bands

Friday starts in much brighter fashion. An interview with AlunaGeorge in their hotel and a brief catch up with Richard Haswell, one of the brains behind Summer Sundae and now working at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. He's effervescent and buzzing about the City to which he has now moved and from what I've seen already I can't argue with his positivity. I leave Richard and head off to meet a couple of friends, Mark and Dan at the Shipping Forecast – yet another trendy, decent bar in these parts and another bar serving Estrella at a reasonable price. I guess with so many bars around this area of Liverpool, there's a reluctance to hike prices too high. A chance chat with Simon from Australian band, Deep Sea Arcade, and I promise to go and see them play at an Aussie BBQ tomorrow lunchtime. This is what Liverpool Sound City seems full off – opportunities to network, opportunities for promoters, labels and places to sell their wares to others. With names like 'Korea Rocks Day Party', 'Music From The East Of England','Argentina Sounds....Gooooood', you probably get the drift. I missed all of the above but apparently the bands from Korea went down a storm!

The Epstein Theatre was next on my list. This is a beautiful recently refurbished music hall. Back in the day, it was the Neptune Theatre until it fell into disrepair reopening looking splendid in 2012. I was here to hear Andrew Loog Oldham in the closing keynote interview with Dave Haslam. Loog Oldham told the tales you'd expect to hear about the Rolling Stones, about his days working with Brian Epstein and Mary Quant but the interesting thing going on in this hour was the the increasing tetchiness being displayed by both Haslam and Loog Oldham. Loog Oldham was seemingly enjoying winding Haslam up by disagreeing with any point he wanted to make and Haslam was finding it hard not to show his disgust. Loog Oldham still managed to deliver some quality quotes about life – "there's nothing wrong with jumping in a swimming pool not knowing whether there's water in it" was one of my favourites. There was something delightful, compelling and refreshing in watching a man who still believes that music can and did the change the history of the world. This was a great hour made stronger by it not being pals on stage together.

Maybe it was the free delegates bar post this event but much of the rest of Friday evening vanished in a blur – and yet I remember seeing so many bands in this time. I sped from venue to venue excited that I was going to catch the next big thing who might change the world delighted when I thought I had. I saw Glass Animals in the East Village Arts Club Loft after an aborted attempt to watch The Excitements in the garden of Heebie Jeebies. Glass Animals were quite interesting, all angular pop with big bass, synthy sounds. I'd watch them again.

The Excitements showed no danger of being on when the programme suggested they should have been though maybe I was reading it incorrectly. I nipped back to the East Village Arts Club Theatre to see if I could catch Nina Nesbitt but the time she was on seemed to have changed – she was going to be on later – damn programme changes. The Kazimier gardens was my next stop to see a band from Finland called French Films. They impressed me very much with their indie, surf pop sound and it was clear to see why they won an European Border Breakers Award in 2013 at Eurosonic.

Back at the Garage, Lulu James showed off like a Geordie Grace Jones but was none too shabby for it. In the Kazimier, it was packed out for Best Friends and the notes on my phone wonder if I'm watching a buzz band here. Wolf People seemed to impress many with their brand of slightly proggy folk rock but it left me feeling like I had a cold. In the Art Academy, another pop-up warehouse venue similar in style to the garage but ever so slightly smaller, I see Charlie Boyer and The Voyeurs do an excellent East end of London impression of the Velvet Underground. Savages cut a fabulous tribal dance through the atmosphere with singer Jehn apparently being possessed with the ghost of Ian Curtis.

It's left for Everything Everything to mop up the dregs of those still standing with an effortlessly tight and ridiculously sharp set of late night headline quality. In between all of this, I've been nipping across to the Garage to see Unknown Mortal Orchestra, King Krule, and a little bit of Darwin Deez. My eyes close. I somehow wake up on a sofa in Ali's house. This Friday has been a full on non-stop battering ram of a rush between bands. I vow to myself that the Saturday, the final day of the festival will be a more relaxed affair.

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