Sunday 16/09/07 Day Three @ End Of The Road festival, Salisbury

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It’s only on waking up this morning that I realise I missed Monkey Swallows the Universe last night. The sound of Slowcar wafting over the tents from the Bimble Inn calms me down just enough to go and nick some free ice cream and a copy of Mojo before heading off to see Pete and the Pirates.

It’s ridiculous how cross people in bands get about their names. If you choose to call yourselves Sandra and the Paedophiles then you should expect some questions raised (viz, Architecture in Helsinki) but Pete and the Pirates singer Tommy Sanders seems to regard crowd reactions to the band’s name as some kind of albatross to be borne with as much martyrdom as possible.

“Who are they?” he said sniffily to a heckler asking whether they’d met with Local stage performers Peggy Sue and the Pirates. Which made us care just that little bit less about ever seeing Sanders’ band again.

Over on the Garden stage, Euros Childs might as well have carried a bucket of charm and thrown it over the audience such was the array of beaming smiles looking back at him. And this despite some piddling showers as well – well done Euros. A cover of The Sweet’s ‘Chop Chop’ precedes a rousing ‘My Country Girl,’ before the band test the very limits of the crowd’s goodwill with the 15 minute title track from new album ‘The Miracle Inn.’ “They’re pauses, it’s not finished,” he warns brightly, “so don’t clap. Or do.” Then, a moment later, “Bollocks,” on fucking up the opening to a new section. It’s just so lovely that I nearly forgave him for not playing either ‘Henry Y Matilda’ or ‘Outside My Window.’

Back in the Bimble Inn, the world’s tweest tepee (“run by sunshine…and lovely people!”) the magnificent Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit proceed to lay claim to Emmy The Great’s stranglehold on London folk. Switching between instruments throughout isn’t unusual, but when it comes attached to the sort of quietly confident likes of ‘Cold Bread’ and ‘Ode To A Mare Trod Ditch’ – both tracks your kids will steal off you in years to come – it’s just magical. An encore of the gravely charming ‘Tickle Me Pink’ just seals the deal further.

Tripping down the grass past earnest GAP year drummers and enthusiastic Kubb players (Viking skittles to the uninitiated), ex-Arab Strap guitarist Malcolm Middleton has been releasing solo albums for long enough now that that prefix shouldn’t really be necessary. The problem is, of course, that his voice is just so relentlessly miserable that it’s cheeringly like the Glaswegian duo never split. On acoustic form today, with a double bassist and a violin player-stroke-backing singer, Middleton previews new track ‘Week Off’ from next year’s as yet untitled acoustic album. It’s cheerful for Middleton, but then he squashes it with the remorselessly sullen ‘Break My Heart’ and everything goes back to as it should be.

Garden stage headliners Lambchop aren’t an expected choice for the final night of a festival, traditionally the spot housed by yowling rock bands with massive light shows. But, as Yo La Tengo essentially fulfilled that duty on Friday night, the pipe and slippers cosiness of the States' premier Americana outfit just about gets away with it.

Frontman Kurt Wagner relaxed in a chair, a bottle of red wine on his amp, smiling benevolently at the shivering audience like a cartoon of a stereotypical grandpaw. Long versions of ‘Autumn's Vicar’ the title track from 2002's ‘Is A Woman,’ and ‘Prepared (2)’ from last year's ‘Damaged’ album act as catnip to the fans around me, but unless you’re a hardcore Lambchop fan this level of decorum is somewhat underwhelming for a Sunday night.

It’s up to "surprise" guest  Howe Gelb to cheer things up, as guitarist William Tyler unveils a present he’s bought for tour drummer Peter: a copy of Bez’s autobiography that he’s bought from the EOTR secondhand book stall. As Gelb’s rich, gravelly tones recount a night out with Bez and friends, it’s this level of absurdity that puts the cherry on top of a pretty awesome weekend.