After being completely fucked up by the events of the day before, we somehow managed to struggle out to Belongi Fields again the next day around Midday with some super sweet timing from the Art Factory Shuttle (not to mention the fantastic breakfast we had beforehand).

The Deer Republic: Please see comments for the Glass Tower on Day 1. Cept with less energy and less crowd support. Everyone was still in bed, I assume.

Moment of the Set: When it ended (I'M BEING UNNECCESSARILY HARSH I KNOW)
Rating: 5/10

Dananananakroyd: Jesus christ these scots know how to wake an audience up. Two drummers. Two screaming lead singers. They were alot more intense than what I expected listening to their album. But they got my blood pumping. They were extremely energetic and definitely had a sense of fun. Ease up the screaming though.

Moment of the Set: THE WALL OF CUDDLES (as opposed to DEATH)
Rating: 6.5/10

The Middle East: Blown away. Absolutely beautiful, beautiful stunning music. I was astounded. The last song they played transported me to another world. It was truly a pleasure to behold. Disappointed we didn't leave earlier to see more of them, on reflection. Going to go obtain more of their music RIGHT NOW!

Moment of the Set: The last song Blood. Amazing. Beautiful. Timeless.
Rating: 8/10

White Lies: One of the reasons I was at Splendour. I highly HIGHLY rated their debut album and was hoping they'd back it up with a good live performance, reminiscent of the Editors in 2007. I was absolutely stoked with the set they played, it was fantastic from start to finish. We peeled away briefly at one stage to catch Lovesick by the Friendly Fires but made it back just in time for the perfect finish...

Moment of the Set: DEATH. I knew it would be amazing. And it was. This fear's got a hold on me.
Rating: 9/10

Friendly Fires: Once again, what looked like a damn fine party in the Mix-Up Tent was partially spoiled by our later arrival and inability to get a good spot. A shame they clashed with the White Lies as I was looking forward to seeing them just as much. In the end I got to hear every song I wanted to: Lovesick, Paris, White Diamonds, Skeleton Boy etc. However, because of our position I didn't get the chance to boogie as much as I know these songs richly deserved.

Moment of the Set: Probably rushing over to hear my favourite song Lovesick, just in time!!
Rating: 8/10

Doves: I've loved these guys ever since I heard Caught By The River, one of my all time favourite songs. Whilst their albums do tend to have a fair amount of "flat filler" which can lead people to thinking there's a sameness about their songs, I was looking forward to seeing them live. Their material is well suited to this kind of time-poor environment as it allows alot of that filler to be filtered out. As such, they delivered a tight and inspiring set, leaving nobody disappointed (except maybe me because they didn't perform Caught by the River :()

Moment of the Set: A deadheat between The Cedar Room and There Goes The Fear, for me.
Rating: 8.5/10

MGMT: First things first, I know my compatriots are gonna slam these lads but I need to say a few things. 1. They are FUN. 2. They have three absolutely CRACKING songs. That being said, they have no idea how to structure a set and really need to work on their live delivery. Truth be told, they should be SO MUCH BETTER. Oracular Spectacular was such a prodigous debut I really expected these guys to explode live. But they mostly seem flat. Without their three hit singles this set would've been an absolute snooze. Youth and Weekend Wars were passable too.

Moment of the Set: Kids & Time to Pretend. Nuff said.
Rating: 7/10 (Remove Electric Feel, Kids and Time to Pretend and it would just about drop to zero)

Flaming Lips: Mega props to these guys for choosing Radiohead for their ambient music as they set up, it TOTALLY got me into the mood for them. Coupled with Wayne Coyne's intermittent streamer gun attacks, I was salivating for this performance. Then came the opening, which firmly established that these guys were going to be a psychadelic party from start to finish. I MEAN THE BAND MEMBERS EMERGED FROM A GIGANTIC WOMB FOR GOD'S SAKE. AND THEN WAYNE CROWD SURFED THE AUDIENCE ENCASED IN A GIGANTIC BUBBLE. Dancing turtles on one side of the stage. Foxy rabbits on the other side of the stage. Balloons of all shapes and sizes everywhere. A fucking gorilla-man which carried Wayne around while he sang for a while. And continuous cannons of confetti. Not to mention, the absolute stunning musical arrangements put-forth. The perfect end to the festival, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

Moment of the Set: do you realise? the last lyrics of the festival for us. perfect.
Rating: 10/10

Non-musical Moment of The Day: Realising the Black Eyed Peas are the most deplorable/amazing lyricists of our generation (MAZEL TOV). Or meeting RODNNNNEYYYY AGAIN after the Flaming Lips. he still had the glow stick he was smoking from last night. 'cept now he was eating it. and still tripping acid.

Food of the Day: Traditional end-of-festival dagwood dog. CLASSIC

Drink of the Day: Bottles of Wine @ The Morrocan Wine Tent. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

PHOTOS BY LARRY HEATH