Saturday 11/06/11 Isle Of Wight Festival, Day Two @ Seaclose Park, Isle Of Wight

Though the music starts from midday today there's barely any reason to get excited until after two o'clock when The Vaccines take to the the Big Top stage. As half the island packs in to the tent its beginning to feel like this might well be another casualty of the poor choice in staging. The benefit of it however is that their neo-surf rock gets the best available sound – arguably deserved given that What did you expect from The Vaccines is probably the best album of the year so far. Asking their way through pretty much the whole of their debut album its exactly the type of boppy indie rock that his sun-drenched crowd appreciates.  

Cut to Hurts on the main stage and the mood is somewhat different. A cross between Spandau Ballet and the styling of The Matrix, the band bring some melodrama to the festival. Playing from their debut album, the moody electro they roll out is perhaps a little subtle in its variation. One may also say its perhaps a bit too pretentious to have a ballet dancer and fully-suited opera singer on stage especially given the heat. Regardless, the graven Wonderful Life impacts well while a heavy cover of Kylie's Confide In Me is also enjoyable. Yet it is the final upbeat dance number Better than Love that best fits the billing for this band and finally properly gets the crowd moving.

Throwing a curve ball into the mix of music, it was more curiosity that drove most towards The Cult. Indeed initially this veteran act don't get the crowd they deserve but the heavy rock pounding out of the tent soon draws attention. A mix of the young and old pack in to hear tunes that lead singer Ian Astbury jokes are all almost two decades old. Yet if you write them like this the first time there's very little need to update the material. Indeed The Cult rock harder than many acts a third their age, yet made well humoured comments about where life has placed them. Though most  people would only have known She Sells sanctuary, this gothy act is as engaging with the rest of its material and one of the surprising acts of the weekend.

Seasick Steve is about the only person who can upstage themselves and get away with not looking ridiculous. His quirky charm made the presence of rock god John Paul Jones on stage seem almost normal. Playing his usual wacky array of home-made guitars, he moves through sizable canon of work including usual favourites such as Walking man (with the obligatory pretty crowd member up on stage to serenade). With a general canine theme, from  material from new album 'Can't teach an old dog new tricks' and his trade mark 'Dog House Blues', it's clear Steve is no longer a stray to UK festival crowds but very much the  top dog.

If I could look like anyone in my sixities, it would be Iggy Pop. Sinewy thin and skin like leather, its his highly animated performance with the Stooges that helps him escape his insurance ad nightmare for credibility. It also helps if you have an album like Raw Power under your belt, of which they run through the majority of and even managing to drag an embarrassed Dave Grohl on stage to perform some dad dancing. And there are few better songs to rock out to than 'Seek and Destroy' and 'No Fun' but its always 'I wanna be your dog' that really grabs the crowd and its no different today.

Pulp's return to the touring has been savaged by some press as a cash in. Well f*ck them. For the generation who missed this band it gives them the chance to see one of Britain's best and most esoteric front men: Jarvis Cocker. His gangly movements gyrating atop speakers and chemistry teacher appearance could easily invoke comparisons to Beaker from the muppets. Yet Pulp's music is far more serious than that – a poke into the sweaty underbelly of England that lies between Blur's London and Oasis' Manchester. Every song belongs in a therapist's office yet have been crafted into musical gems, whether its the classics such as 'Common People' (joked to be the first dance at the Royal Wedding) or 'Disco 2000' to the more traumatic 'Underwear' and the understated 'Sunrise'. As such, while there may have been bigger bands on this weekend I think it'd be hard to find one who is loved more by its fans. 

I'm not sure what it is about Foo Fighters performance that doesn't sit well tonight. Perhaps its the whole gruelling island travel experience, yet Dave Grohl seems a little less engaged with the crowd than previous events. Never the less, the new Foos line-up (with the return of guitarist Pat Smear) seems well settled in and the musicianship has never seemed tighter. New numbers such as Bridge is burning and Rope seem finally to have broken the curse that was sending the Foos in the direction of middle of the road soft rock. And outside of this the classic tunes were so numerous it was hard to keep track: 'My hero', 'Learn to fly', 'Stacked actors', 'Breakout' and an initially solo 'Times like these' all make for a fantastic night, with Taylor Hawkins' singing AND drumming on 'Cold day in the sun' deserving special mention. Though enjoyable certainly for the newcomers, veteran Foos fans may well have found the night a little flat. And with Sir Tom Jones performing on the other stage, there's still ambiguity in my mind whether I caught the right act tonight.