V Festival seems to be one of hidden gems

After revitalising morning bacon butties, as is almost required at these events, I walked back into the fray with a similar happy outlook on what was to come. Sunday's line-up was already more promising upon first glance and I was given another hopeful opener; this time in the form of Skunk Anansie. Pumping onto the stage with big guitars, tight and energetic drums and a vocalist with more charisma in her little finger than Caleb from the Kings deludes himself into believing he has in his penis. Pirouetting around filled with energy Skunk Anansie were able to shake almost everyone's hangover and pull people from their self-loathing morning apathy right back into stride. Yet again, I was blessed a fantastic start to the day.

Rather than have my nice expectations ruined by a band as horrible as The Courteeners I was lucky to move on to Plan B. Here is an artist who is guaranteed real success as long as he just continues in the vein he's carving out himself. He is a true showman, he absolutely destroys Kings of Leon's set and floats through fantastically put together pieces of pop music with love for his work and even more love for his audience. An absolute pleasure to behold, God bless Plan B, and here's to hoping he becomes Britain's new saviour so we can all forget about the past five years conclusively.

So, to say the least today was going far smoother. All it needed now was a little brass perforation. Well, wasn't I just lucky that Madness were over at the V stage then? If there was ever a perfect festival band, these are it. With their huge catalogue of absolute classics we all know the words to it's hard to go wrong; and with Suggs running about stage with his enthusiasm and endearing mid-song tirades everyone around me were in complete awe. This didn't stop muscles pulling skeletons however and the crowd becomes a super-organism, controlled by the hive mind of Madness. Sunday was already completely triumphing over the previous day's disappointment.

Next up were the immortal Eels, a band I've been itching to see since the release of Electro-Shock Blues. The crowd was shockingly thin on the ground, but considering they're a band (or more accurately collective) that has fallen into relative obscurity with the younger generations I guess it's something I should have expected. Having said that, the intimacy was possibly what made this a special moment for me. They played a distortion laden rock show, reinterpreting many of his songs into this environment. I have to say it was rather jarring to hear his acoustic feel-good anthem 'I Like Birds' at a heavily increased tempo but the five men in beards sailed through their set filled with cool, feeling and guile. After 12 years of waiting, I did not leave disappointed. I simply feel sorry for everyone who wasted their time on Paolo Nutini

Back over to catch the end of The Kooks (see Courteeners and White Lies for a concise description of their set) I felt elated, and maintained that festival buzz that I didn't think would ever show. The real reason I'd moved over to that area was the immortal Faithless. Anyone who fails to take something positive away from a Faithless concert is genuinely mentally ill. How Maxi Jazz and Sister Bliss keep a feeling of pure, unadulterated atmosphere boggles the mind. Like Madness, you can't go wrong by booking them on your line-up. Their bass shook the ground, their undying synth refrains shook my anatomy. By this point I had no real control of my body and I was definitely prepared for a closing set by the Prodigy.

The Prodigy are similar to Faithless. They're a meme almost unavoidable in modern Britain, so it's hard to ever get tired of being in an ever moving crowd all screaming "Psychosomatic! Addict insane!" They're simply a fantastic group, an even better headliner and an adrenaline shot desperately needed before the three and a half hour drive home to my hovel. By the end of Sunday I felt fulfilled, happy and sticky after numerous pints of beer rained down on me from the angsty crowd.

The air of aggression was always present, and somewhat disconcerting. The looming lager lout aspect of the festival was a constant jab in the ribs, luckily there were enough things to rub it better again and as a result I left the park with mixed feelings. There were a multitude of fantastic performances, just offset by a surprising number of boring, pointless bands. What annoyed me most was how it was the latter that on the whole received the most attention, but if you can look past this V Festival seems to be one of hidden gems, it's just up to you to decide if they're worth unearthing.

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