Good Vibes. This has long been considered purely a dance festival, however this year's event saw a surprising amount of guitars slung over shoulders and allowed an increasingly wide range of fans to find their own little sounds to enjoy…

With gates due to open at midday, a large amount of people (some already extremely inebriated) arrived early to ensure they could enter early. However at the Epsom Rd entrance (one of two), the venue did it’s best to dampen spirits immediately, the heavy black gates remaining closed until finally we were allowed in, 45 minutes behind schedule. The reason for this became clear extremely quickly as fans flocked to the main stage, to be confronted by a wall of security guards. The 50 metres directly in front of the stage were out of bounds as cherry pickers slowly finished hanging the Good Vibrations façade. This was rather unfortunate for opening act Hercules In NY (below), who were resigned to playing to the security army, workmen and a forklift. Not to say it was noticeable though, as they energetically powered through their set, shouting out to fans in the distance. It was a poor start to the day and a poor display of organisation, but luckily these issues are easily forgotten after a day of great live music.

The second act on the main were Bluejuice (below), a late addition to fill the gap left by Friendly Fires cancelling their ‘live’ appearance. Starting with slow-builder "Head of the Hawk", the crowd were still held at bay as the forklift collected the last of the temporary fencing. What followed was an amazing scene as security gave the all clear, and fans rushed forward to the barrier and instantly assumed party positions. Beach balls flew and Bluejuice fed off the added intensity. The ultimate climax of course came with the late airings of "Broken Leg" and "Vitriol"; the frontmen went wild onstage while the keyboardist remained steadfastly glum sitting atop his road case. Playing every note live, these guys definitely deserve the success they are now tasting.

At the same time, Diafrix were destroying the Roots stage. Their early afternoon crowd was lapping up the combination of live guitars, breaks and spitfire rapping. The organisers did well with decorations too, with Super Mario-esque fake clouds hovering above the crowd as DJ Kuya began his intermission set.

The main arena by now was packed, and the video screens announced the imminent arrival of Art Vs Science. The buzz surrounding this band is incredible, and built solidly around a reputation of high energy festival shows. Unfortunately, for anyone who had seen AvS before, this set was more of the same. Impressive? Yes. High energy? Yes. Any suprises? Not so much. The biggest cheers were reserved for the cameraman, who gladly displayed one female fan so enraptured with the band, that she managed to lose her top.  

Kid Cudi. Unstoppable. He brought a huge party to the Roots tent, sharing drinks with ladies in the crowd and dropping Kanye’s name gratuitously. Up Up and Away were impressive, but the tent was at capacity, so whatever…

Salt N Pepa had with them a hip hop crew to make anyone proud. Dancers tag teamed on and off stage and Spinderella had the beats, but the whole show just seemed a bit forced. I’m all for crowd interaction, but stopping the set halfway to tell everyone your Facebook and Twitter account details really doesn’t help the vibe at a festival. Still, they knew how to work a crowd, "Lets Talk About Sex" and "Push It" taking the largely 80s born crowd back to their childhood memories.  

As they finished, people flocked to the nearby shade (a relief on such a hot day) or to the bars ($8 a beer…? Seriously?), but the arrival of the Gossip saw them streaming back. Beth Ditto, resplendent in a tight blue, fast food patterned dress, commanded our attention from the start and it did not waver. Singing, she was a powerhouse, and between songs laid out some of the funniest banter I’ve heard. She was shocked by the crowds’ response to "Love Long Distance" (“I didn’t think you’d know that song”) and even used the stage to personally talk to friends in the audience. The Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" was seamlessly mashed in mid song, "Standing In The Way of Control" brought near pandemonium to the mosh pit, and they even treated us to a cover of Tina Turner’s "What’s Love Got To Do With It?"

Basement Jaxx (above) were the first band to lose the onstage Good Vibes sign, opting to bring the lighting rigs down, before bringing the house down with the most INSANE festival set I’ve ever seen. The music never stopped and neither did the stage show, costumed characters singing and dancing around the stage in constant rotation. Frogmen, apes, and Slipknot outfits bought giant WTF moments, but there is nothing more to say other than Basement Jaxx completely stunned the crowd with their musical prowess and sheer showmanship, before a climactic DJ build exploded into "Where’s Your Head At?"

After all the (hot?) fuss over whether or not The Killers (below) would play [ed: the AU review apologies for any inconvenience this pun may have caused. Rob has naturally been fired.], it was relieving to see the stage transformed into an oasis of trees and flowers. For almost 90 minutes, Las Vegas’ finest delivered a set which could just as easily have been billed as ‘The Greatest Songs of the Last 6 Years’. Opening with your breakthrough hit would be a risky move for most, but such is the strength of the Killers catalogue. "Somebody Told Me" led quickly into "For Reasons Unknown", with Brandon Flowers seeming to spit out the forlorn lyrics with more feeling than usual. The rest of the set was peppered with modern classics, with one of the sweetest moments coming in the form of a stripped back version of "Smile Like You Mean It". Human proved that we are dancer(s) after all, before the showering sparks of When You Were Young closed out a triumphant end to their Day & Age tour, Brandon listing just how far around the world this tour travelled before shouting ‘We did it Melbourne!’. Let’s hope the break isn’t too long before album #4! (Sawdust doesn’t count)

The festival let itself down with the unfortunate early setup issues, but once it got going there was a party to be had, and everyone enjoyed it. Bring on ‘11