It was the hottest day of the year so far. Well, it certainly felt like it as I crossed into the wilds of south east London for the second time in a weekend. The sun was out, the pretty girls were out and I was heading back to the pub. I'd felt strangely drawn to return, and, unusually for me, it wasn't for the beer. No, I'd returned to the fox for another day of fun and new music at Foxfest 2009. I hadn't intended coming to both days, but I'd had such a good time the previous day that I'd already decided I was coming back even before I'd left the night before.

I arrived earlier than I had the previous day, as I didn't want to miss as much as I had the previous day, but, even though the start had been delayed by about an hour, I still managed to miss Jamie Commons. But I did manage to catch most of Dune Lake's set. As before, I'm writing this from a combination of the notes I made and listening to the various myspace pages. I simply wrote "Amazing voice, versatile band" for Dune Lake. And now as I listen to their music on their myspace page, I am reminded of their set. They play a suprisingly wide range of styles - some bluesy, some rock and roll and others such as the ethereal "Twilight", are so utterly gorgeous, you stand and listen hoping that they will stay on the stage for just that bit longer. Again, for a second time, I had the good fortune to arrive to a fantastic set. Perfect. The crowd thought so too.

Next up on the acoustic stage was Kate Weston, who delighted us all with a wonderful performance of classical guitar playing. I'll have to admit that my knowledge of styles of guitar playing is limited, so I really can't describe it too well, but for those of us who listened, it was an absolute pleasure. Despite some obvious nerves, she played beautifully, and thankfully, Johnny quietened the back of the room down while she played, as the noise was starting to overwhelm her music. That would have been a real shame, as this was a first for me; to hear such delicately crafted music performed so well in a pub was a real treat. Another great performance.

One of the reasons I enjoyed the previous day so much was the range of different musical styles, and already I'd heard a few, so it was no real surprise that the dynamic changed once more for the next act on the other stage, the wonderfully poptastic Yokoko. I'd had a conversation earlier where I expressed my disdain for pop acts. But I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this band. It must have been about four o'clock when they came on stage, if not earlier. I'm not used to dancing in pubs at this time, but I found myself dancing about to Yokoko's music as if it were compulsary. As I bopped up and down, I was reminded of St. Etienne's finer moments. It's a rare skill writing and performing this kind of music and they have it in spades. As they finished their last number, it was impossible to notice the grins on everyone's faces. Brilliant brilliant fun.

So, back to the other end of the pub for the next set by Vienna. I enjoyed this a lot. Each song she played, every word she sang, I found myself brought closer to the edge of my seat. She has an amazing tautness in her voice, that really conveys every emotion in her songs to a point that somehow you begin to feel her music rather than just listen to it. For the second half of her set she was joined by her sister, Lydia, on the cello. And what a masterstroke that was. All that was brilliant before was simply made better. I caught up with her later, and told her how much I enjoyed her music. After thanking me, she seemed much more interested in how I thought her sister did. She was so proud of her, and rightly so, and incredibly modest about her own performance. A truly memorable moment from two incredibly talented sisters.

Clay Pigeon were up next. And another storming performance. They play a fairly unique style. Unique for today at least, as they bring together some interesting styles, ska, hip hop, punk and reggae, which at times reminded me of the Red Wedge era, which is no bad thing. But what a way they played it. With passion, excitement and above all plenty of noise, this was like listening to Mike Patten duetting with Billy Bragg. On acid. No, really. Have a listen for yourself.

Next up on the acoustic stage was Dexy. On a weekend of superlatives, I feel almost guilty so say that this was probably my least favourite performance of the day. That's not to say there was no merit to his performance, but for some reason or another, it didn't hold me as much as I'd hoped. It probably didn't help that he was sandwiched between two great bands - the aforementioned Clay Pigeon and the rather excellent Witches. I loved them so much I bought the t-shirt. And I never buy band t-shirts. I think they saw me coming. I'd just seen them on stage. I staggered out into the garden, looking for their CD. Breathless and excited I pointed to it proffering a sweaty tenner. "You get a t-shirt with the album for an extra couple of quid", I was told. Bargain.

I wore that t-shirt the next day at work. I wore that t-shirt as I listened to their album while I worked. At times, a little like Arcade Fire, but at times nothing like them, they have an imperious presence on stage that simply blew me away. I will definitely catch them again. They'd better have a different t-shirt on sale by then.

Now, I don't like saxaphones as a rule. So my heart sank a bit as the next act was introduced on the acoustic stage. Adam and the Jazz Daddy. Nice. I'd seen Adam the previous night playing drums with Breton. He'd been rather excellent then, but it was today's performance that showed off his brilliance on the drums. But this wasn't just about the drums. This was about some spectacularly smart jazz. I have no idea what the Jazz Daddy's real name is, and it really doesn't matter. His sax playing spoke for itself and I ate my own words about saxophonists. This was sensational stuff. A whole new experience for me, as I don't usually go in for jazz. Unbelievable. This festival gets better and better...

Which brings me to the next act. A beat box. We were told in his introduction that he would be competing in the world beatbox championship. I wasn't impressed. And that he'd be at glastonbury. I wasn't impressed by this news either. If Jazz isn't my thing, I can tell you that I don't do beatbox dudes. So, unusually for me, I couldn't be bothered getting up and walking to the stage as Reeps One started. I'm not even going to bother trying to describe the performance. But this was awesome. Unbelievably awesome. The crowd went nuts. And rightly so. Utterly brilliant.

I sadly missed the next act, The New Happiness as I, along with a number of other foxfesters did that day, went out in search of dirty chicken dinners. We shall speak no more of this as it was indeed dirty. With questionable chicken content. I missed quite a bit of Stuart O'Connor's too sadly. But what I heard I really enjoyed. There was an amazing variety in the songs, and it was great to see the double bass on stage. And then at the end he was joined by the Jazz Daddy. I was a bit of a new fan of him now, so this rounded of the set nicely. I wish I'd caught the whole set.

The day before I'd seen Matt Daley do some pretty cool things with the loop pedal. The Android Angel did things with loops I'd never heard before. The Android Angel is Paul Colto. He's only been doing this for about 6 months, according to his website, which is pretty amazing. A very unique performance, he brings a tremendous sense of fun to the stage that is really engaging. His final number ended with some crowd participation. He went around the audience handing out various pieces of percussion. I was desparately disappointed I didn't get anything to play myself! A really run ending to a great set.

Next up were a band called the Scaredy Cats a Ska Funk band. They weren't bad, and those in the crowd certainly had a good time dancing to their tunes. One of the guys in the band was wearing an England football shirt. This got me to thinking; what is it about Ska that really hits the right notes with the English? Not sure I had the answer to that one. Perhaps someone can enlighten me some day...

It hadn't been long since we'd been collectively blown away by Reeps One, so there was an audible murmur of anticipation from the crowd as he returned to the stage with Squab. Formed from two members of Clay Pigeon, this is a new project. Two guitarists and a beatbox. It's not something you often see or hear. And it's not something I would have raced along to see had it been described to me in that way. But this was really good. By this time, I think it's fair to say that Reeps One had established himself as a firm crowd favourite. And rightly so. I will definitely be trying to find him at Glastonbury. Foxfest had delivered again. This really was an embarassment of musical richness. And all for 6 quid!!

Johnny gave a great introduction to the next act Up-C Down-C. He told us that when he'd seen them for the first time, they had blown him clean out of his converse (at least he kept to the musical theme for an introduction, as I recall Clare seeming to be a fan of someone's sexy arse earlier in the day). This sounded interesting, so I moved up towards the front of the stage. I think I had a pretty good idea what was coming next as I looked at the vast array of effects pedals, and the Orange amp. I looked around and realised everyone else wasn't quite so close as I was. Maybe they knew something I didn't. As the band kicked off, it was patently obvious that they did indeed know something I didn't. This was loud. Very very loud. But awesomely good. They're a four piece instrumental rock band from Gillingham, in the mould of Mogwai, who I've seen before but I didn't have the opportunity to get as close to them as I was to Up-C Down-C. I'm not sure if this was an entirely good idea however, as I don't think my ears actually recovered until Tuesday. I nearly fell over laughing when a chap stuck his head right in front of one of the amps trying to take a photo. He spun away reeling in pain. But this wasn't a painful performance. They've written some amazingly powerful and moving songs. I loved every second. And the two quid for the CD was a bargain.

We were coming up to the finale of the night, but first up was Heath over on the acoustic stage. Like Their Hearts Were Full of Spring last night, this was a performance that was fun, endearing, and so so good. He's a real crowd favourite here and you can see why. Fantastic stage presence with a great sense of humour, he brought the crowd to fever pitch. I double took when I saw the crowd surfing. Yes, crowd surfing. In the fox. Totally unbelievable. As was the cover of Bohemian Rhapsody. He's a bit of a foxfest regular so I'm lead to believe. And that's understandable, I can't wait to see him again next year myself! This really should have been the final act of the night, as it ended with all the laughter and smiles that made this weekend so endearing. But there was one more band to come.

King of Conspiracy gave the final performance of the night. But somehow, it just didn't feel right after Heath. Don't get me wrong, I love a loud tight band, and this was a great performance for sure. But I couldn't help feeling that Heath should have ended it, not them. I looked around me, and I think a number of other people felt the same. There were less people, and we were all a little muted. That was a bit of a pity, as I think I'd still like to give them another listen.

So there it was. My first foxfest. All over until next year. You will not believe how much I have bored people telling them how good the whole event was. But it really was that good. Believe me. Go next year if you can. You will not regret it for a moment.