Y Not Festival - Sunday

Making sense of what happened at a festival can often be confusing and challenging; so it is with great apologies that we present to you the rather late roundup of the third day of Y Not festival accompanied by its very own SoundInPhotos Gallery.

As the rain subsides once more on Sunday but the clouds overhead remain ominous, our first stop is to the main stage as we feel that we’ve neglected it this weekend. As we arrive to a flock of animated seagulls taking over the screens, Dingus Khan are treating those brave enough to go out so early on a Sunday to a feast of a set. There’s subliminal messages, synchronised dancing and a mighty lead vocal performance all in one short set.

From here we make our last visit to BBC Introducing for Saint Raymond. He’s massively inoffensive but aside from a few whimsical songs its hard to see mass-appeal within the music and the same can be said for the wonderfully named yet tragically boring Pineapple Thief inside the third stage (although if Radiohead’s The Bends is your favourite record, you’ll thoroughly enjoy them).

From here it’s back to back joy though as MaybeSheWill pull off possibly the strongest instrumental set we see all weekend (sorry 65Days, MaybeSheWill edged you on intimacy and crowd-likeability) before Wet Nuns bring a huge crowd in from the rain into their dark and powerful breed of rock’n’roll.  This Autumn may finally be the Nuns’ time to shine.

Inversely in power but not so much in enjoyment, up and coming starlet Lewis Watson treats a rather busy second stage to half an hour of music taken from each of his four EPs. His latest single Calling is a standout for the festival and possibly our summer as his enthusiastic fans sing every word back at him.

Then comes something we were not expecting. If you’re aware of The Computers you’ll know that not only have they produced two rather contrasting yet wonderful records and toured with both The Subways and Pulled Apart By Horses, but also they’ve mastered the art of performing live; mostly from sweaty shows by the South Coast and Kingston. Their time at Y Not however, proves to be the set of the weekend with only one act left to see. Their blend of sharp suits and raucous behaviour turns out to be the perfect formula and there’s not a muddy, tired face that leaves the Giant Squid Tent happier and sweatier for it.

Which leads to the biggest surprise of the festival. Once chart and Reading and Leeds toppers The Darkness, actually still have it! Yes, the glam-rock dream has faded and yes,  the budget’s slipped and yes, it does get annoying not knowing over half the songs of a headline performance, but with showmanship like Justin Hawkins and his band create, who even cares? Chants to their simple logo, crowd surfing and mass sing-alongs bring Y Not to a strange and wonderful ending before we try and fail to watch Jurassic Park in the cinema tent.

Braden Fletcher