Saturday 18/07/09 Melt! Festival, Day Two @ Stadt aus Eisen, Ferropolis, Germany

Deadmau5 not being able to play because of the rain the previous night combined with waking up in a puddle put somewhat of a downer on breakfast. Miles away from Soccer AM and a brew, Gigwise had to settle for a Bratwurst and a cigarette. Charging 50c for the toilet and 1€50 for a shower meant Melt! is a front runner in hospitality stakes as the toilets flushed and the showers stayed clean all weekend.

For those that can hack the pace the music doesn’t stop on the Sleepless Floor, despite the rain. Consisting of an outside DJ booth in front of a barrel load of sand, it resembled a mini Bora Bora and was a great place to lose a hangover and get started all over again.

At half 10 James Holden came onto the Big Wheel Stage and absolutely blew the place away. Two hours of twisted progressive house, every tune was multi-layered with six or seven sounds going on at once. Based halfway up one of the 30foot 2000ton machines the setting was awesome on the hill as he led the crowd on a journey. Building up to his own remix of ‘Andre Kraml’s Safari’ – six minutes of stomping tribal beats – the visuals become a huge cascade of water on the side of the crane and it felt like it was raining again. Winding down to finish on the Gossip, his only poor tune in 120minutes, yet the crowd still lapped it up. Outstanding.

Rumours Muff Potter had been watching from the bar proved unfounded as they began their own set in the Coca-Cola Tent. Billed as a cross between Harry and Lindsay Dawn-McKenzie, there wasn’t a wand in sight as 50 topless Germans moshed to the most basic of thrashing metal guitars. Luckily Bloc Party brought things back up to standard. On the Main Stage at half one they were class for an hour and a half as they stormed through ‘Hunting For Witches’ and ‘Waiting For The 7.18’. The sound on the main stage wasn’t great but with Kele’s vocals up really high every word was crystal clear.

In a slow first hour, ‘Two More Years’ and ‘Uniform’ sounded epic and as the guitars swirled, Matt Tong picked up the pace on drums, his hands moving faster than Kerry Katona at a Chinese buffet. ‘I am a martyr, I just need a motive / I am a martyr, I just need a cause / I’m a believer, I just need a moment / I’m a believer, I just need a cause.’ Their electric new single ‘One More Chance’ followed before ‘Mercury’ had the crowd in Katona-mode. “Round of applause for Russell please, he writes all our songs,” begs Kele. “Money in the bank.” Money in the bank indeed.

Melt! Festival 2009 in photos: