Afternoon of the amateurs

Today was supposed to be the rainiest, grimiest day of all, at least weather-wise. But it turns out the showers are light and so are the crowds, which means a dream opportunity for those bands a little less accomplished than those at the festival proper. Today being a "non-performance" day, most of the proper stages haven't started yet either and so most music is to be found in bars - like the the Late and Live lounge, where a sizeable crowd are enjoying a band by the name of The John E Vistic Experience. The leader singer- Mr Vistic, I assume?- has a definite air of the Doherty about him. The music is bass orientated ska and Mr Vistic does a mean turn on the harmonica, but a brief appearance by the sun gets bigger cheers. Over in the Queen's Head tent, a band called Singstar are singing to a packed crowd. Again the music isn't memorable but a combination of rain and a scarcity of live music has provided them with a packed audience. Tomorrow though, it's all over.