The Xcerts set was the perfect end to a thoroughly enjoyable first day of the Summer Westival

The West End Centre in Aldershot can lay claim to being one of the country's most relaxing venues. The spacious and well-lit foyer, the sofas, the beer garden, it is the perfect place to have a kip safe in the knowledge that a loud-speaker announcement will wake you minutes before the start of each set. But the Westy, as it affectionately known, out-did itself for its show-piece event, the Summer Westival.

Goldfish swimming under the trickling showers of the waterfall above. Picnic tables on stretches of green grass. People giving out chlamydia pants. This was utopia. You almost expected Dick Van Dyke to show up giddily jigging along with an army of penguins. The Summer Westival was billed as being 'the best weather-proof festival in the world' and it had a point. The transformation from arts centre to a park was astonishing and it laid the foundations for an exciting line up of both small and established acts.

As parents debated whether to buy a pitcher of Pimms from the 'Beer Tent', the announcement came to enter the aptly-named Pyramid Stage for the opening act. After a pleasant introduction by the Mayor of Aldershot, openers Mikobi walked under the triangular-tipped marquee to kick off proceedings. The Guildford four-piece were launching their debut album after just ten months together and have already drawn praise from the likes of Death Cab For Cutie and there was definitely an aura of the term Transatlanticism. The combination of melodic Americana vocals and gritty British guitar rock were apparent in tracks such as Sunshine, taking mellow acoustic-based harmonies with snarling snippets of electric-guitar. It certainly made for an interesting set and the changeovers between lead singer and bassist, and random intros to My Sharona kept the crowd entertained. Towards the end, the crowd filtered out for the opening act on the Acoustic Stage, but those who stayed were treated to the altogether dirtier debut single Lost It All, which sparked memories of early Foo Fighters and newer acts such as Dinosaur Pile-Up.

The Summer Westival was now in full swing, and after a quick refill from the bar, the more pumped up crowd members returned to the Pyramid Stage for the raucous Hold Your Horse Is. Walking on stage on bare-foot, wearing swim shorts and towels draped around their necks, the Fleet act embraced the summery atmosphere in what was the first of four festivals in just two days! The raw and energetic math rock of You Show Up moved from pounding verses about sanity before impatiently bursting into the chorus 'my heart versus my head, my dreams aren't real'. After 'bigging up' the mayor, the three-piece continued their brand of angular rock, drawing similarities with former local heroes such as Reuben. It was an pulsating set now synonymous with bands on the Big Scary Monsters record label.

Following a brief respite in the now packed foyer, a mass of fans headed back towards the Pyramid Stage for FOE. The probability of being crammed towards the back against a phantom mole-hill provided a perfect opportunity to bask in the tranquillity of the venue, find out what the Chlamydia pants were all about and head towards the Acoustic Stage. The zaniness continued as by the side of the door was a tent with a dummy inside, looking completely inebriated under the suspicious glare of those lying on the grass waiting for the next act, Charlotte Clark. The young singer-songwriter, accompanied by an electric-guitarist and bongo player, provided a short chilled-out set ending with a beautiful cover of Chaka Khan's Ain't Nobody.

After a Herculean effort to peel away from the bed of lawn, it was time to return to the Pyramid Stage for somebody even more bonkers than the dummy in the tent. Novelty-act Kid Carpet was on stage using a multitude of score-old toys as instruments, including a Casio keyboard and an old telephone to create an eclectic assortment of stories. Despite songs about Human Rights and banter about the effects of smoking, it was difficult to take this bumbling Mark E Smith- Joe Pasquale hybrid seriously and he knew himself that it was all tongue-in-cheek. It was a set of good old-fashioned British eccentricity and the random sound effects made it feel like a kids show from the 1980s. Therefore it was no surprise that the final song was based on an idea he had for a children's show called guessing the animal. After wailing the shameful lyrics 'stripe on my head, incredible legs' the crowd were told it was a badger, cueing mass laughter and further cringe-worthy verses about snuffling up worms and so forth. Kid Carpet will never win awards for musical genius but in terms of entertainment, he is near the top of the list.

Wandering around between acts, it was clear that there were no commercial elements that have made some gigs and festivals very stale. The stage times were given out for free and there was even a free compilation CD with a selection of the bands playing both days of the Summer Westival. It was a nice touch for a venue notorious for treating artists like family and the next band were as close as they came.

Aldershot's own Our Lost Infantry were the penultimate band on the Pyramid Stage, drawing in a crowd big enough to invade the photographers pit at the front of the stage. Combining a subtle-brand of keyboard-based pop and thoughtful lyrics (I bought you an effigy of all that was left of me) they could have won fans over even if they were from as far away as Guatemala. New single I Love You Sandra Billson was well received and The Arsonist, complete with an a cappella ending of the anthemic chorus 'stop start, stop starting fires' led to one fan asking for the song to be parroted. As you would expect from a local band there was stage banter throughout and the jovial nature of the performance was augmented by the drummer wearing a Mexican wrestler mask. The set ended with Pedestals and Stalemate, which could easily be future singles. The quartet recently returned from the BBC Introducing Stage at T In The Park and it cannot be long before they are invited to play to larger crowds in the near future.

The Our Lost Infantry set tied in nicely with Acoustic Stage headliners The Xcerts. Known as a distorted and intelligent punk band, the Scottish trio gave fans a rare insight into their calmer demeanour with a stripped down set. After being introduced by the venue's manager, the band immediately launched into a mellower version of their most-famous hit Slackerpop. For a song that starts off at 100mph, sceptics would be forgiven for thinking an acoustic version would be a let-down, but it was the complete opposite, showing all the fury of the original with a more intelligent outlook. The hits continue with Gum, a song covered in veil a darkness with a chorus of 'all my friends are falling apart'. The vast crowd were attentive throughout but when Aberdeen 1987 began, sitting fans almost unintentionally burst into a sing-a-long. The anthem from debut album In The Cold Wind We Smile is a very personal song, but the audience sang it like it was their own and even the novelty of a glockenspiel could not shroud the emotion. The boys from the Granite City have supported US mega-stars Taking Back Sunday as their star continues to rise.

The Xcerts set was the perfect end to a thoroughly enjoyable first day of the Summer Westival. The sheer effort into creating an outdoors feel in a small venue in Hampshire was to be applauded and the hospitality for bands and fans was astonishing. This was the first Summer Westival in years. Hopefully the next one will be a lot sooner!

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