It has been a year since my first visit to FoxFest. Not a word of a lie, but I've been looking forward to the next one since then. And last weekend, it finally arrived, after many months of anticipation and gossip about the lineup. To the astute readers of my blog (I know - it does actually surprise me that there are any), you may well have noticed that since then, my updates have dried up. It's not that I've stopped going to gigs. Far from it. But maybe, just maybe, all gigs since then have failed to measure up. And as you can see from my epic review from last year there's a lot to measure up to. But, again, after this year's FoxFest, I find myself wanting to write about it once more, and share with those who couldn't be there just what it's like and perhaps point people to some great talent out there.

But let me start with a correction from last year, and a word of thanks. Last year FoxFest was new to me - and I didn't mention in my review the hard work and love that Carl Twobob, and the entire crew puts into making FoxFest what it is.

Anyway - onto this year, and what a weekend it turned out to be again. Sadly, I missed a few bands at the start of both days, and on Saturday it was Nick Capocci, The Cherry Reds and Captain Backfire. I arrived just as Death of the Elephant, a loud, punk infused 3 piece came on. It was a good start for me. I needed waking up, and there's no doubt about it, these guys woke me up. Dee told us that "electric guitars suck" before launching into another punk infused, Nirvana influenced song. Anything but acoustic, and a flying start to my foxfest.

Next up was Ceri James, a singer songwriter of great versatility and depth. I wrote in the live blog at the time that I thought his music was dreamy, which it was as I started typing my thoughts. By the time I'd finished it, his next song was far from that. And listening to some of his music as I write this, all I can say is that his writing is well worth checking out sometime. I know I will again.

I confess I missed most of A Night at Sea's set as I went off to guide my friend through the tree lined boulevards of Lewisham into the beer garden at Fox, but what I heard was pretty good. It's just one of those things at a festival that you always have to accept - missing some fine acts. I hope to see more of them in the near future.

After a quick beer with my mate, we headed back in to hear Happy Mammoth. On their myspace page they say they sound like "Three acoustic guitars, three voices, and a small stolen glockenspiel". I can't add more to that, but let me say that this couldn't have been a better place to start for my friend. This set was perfect, quiet and blissful. A total world away from Miss Scarlett, who were up next. This is one of those bands who blow you away the first time you see them. I wrote at the time that bands don't get this good by accident. And what I meant that this band were seriously good, seriously tight and seriously good fun. A real favourite for those that caught the set. You can download their EP for free here and I recommend that you do.

Obviously, the excitement had been too much for me as I needed another beer after Miss Scarlett's set and sadly I missed most Shaun Grimsley's set on the acoustic stage. He's a Fox regular, and I'm sure I'll see him again there at some point, although I did manage to miss him at FoxFest last year. Next up were Hindley on the plugged stage. They list their influences as Sonic Youth and Joy Division on their myspace page, and you can definitely hear the connection. Noisy and brilliantly moody, they look good and sound good. Especially Nixie on the bass, one of the coolest bass players at foxfest. Oh why be shy? She's one of the coolest bass players ever. But it's been a while since I've heard such fine shoe gazey wall of noise. I can't wait to see them again.

I needed a rest at this point. One of my favourite bands was due on in a bit, and I missed out on Ben Cakebread at the acoustic stage, which was a shame. But I needed to steel myself for the arrival of up-c down-c left-c right-c abc + start. I like them. I like them a lot. It was a whole year since I saw them at FoxFest and it was a year too long. I stood right at the front, and I confess I have no idea how they went down with anyone else as I frankly didn't care what anyone else thought. I was going to try and describe the set, but the band have helpfully left some videos on their website. Have a look, and go see them. I really really need to see them again soon.

Next up on the acoustic stage was Russell Joslin, a man of obvious talent. Often there are people you see around who look as they sound. And Russell certainly looks the part. I remember after I saw him last year that his performance didn't grab me, but I was then taken with his recorded music. It's not that he can't perform, and to suggest so would be to do him a deep injustice. But I think his music deserves a great deal more concentration than I was able to give it again this year which is a pity. I would heartily recommend giving his music a listen and I hope to catch him headlining his own show at some point as I feel for the second year in a row, I've not made the effort to connect with his music. Don't make the same mistake.

I disappeared into the garden as the next band Nila & the Rajas were setting up. But it wasn't long before there was a strange rumour doing the rounds amongst the people reclining in the delightfully comfortable sofas behind the pub. There was much to see as well as hear. OK. I had to admit from where I was sat in one of the aforementioned sofas, it didn't sound great to me (but in fairness not much does), but I duly came in and immediately was struck by what the buzz was about. This was a band that wanted to be noticed, both visually and musically. And there was much admiration for Nila's hotpants. But, that wasn't all - the whole band was something exciting to look at. Can't say that the music was my kind of thing, but this was art-pop worth checking out nonetheless.

Raw Poo. Raw Poo. Raw Poo. I love the name. They're a punk band much loved at the fox, and this was something a little different. Raw Poo Unplugged. I enjoyed this quite a lot. I've never seen an acoustic act so joyously anarchic, yet somehow cosy and jovial. But here's a thought. Can a band singing a song called "noshing me off" be labelled cosy and jovial? I'll leave that to you to decide...

There was a bit of a buzz building for the next act, Black Daniel. Where do you start with this band? My fellow live blogger Dan suggested that this might not be a real band at all, but possibly a highly elaborate art project, "real but not". It's a band that you really struggle to put your finger on. Fantastically chaotic. Loud. Musical. Funny. Although the visual impact of the band is important, it's not essential. Listening to their music on your headphones at home is just as much an enjoyable experience. Go see them. Jump up and down and enjoy them as much as we did. I can assure you you won't be disappointed.

I loved David Goo and the Variety Band last year, but this year it was David Goo without the Variety Band. You might know his work from a rightmove.co.uk advert, but if you don't check it out on his website. So how was he on his own? I can't deny I was disappointed not to see him with the band, but this was still heaps of fun.

Next up on the plugged stage was King of Conspiracy. There was a time when French rock music was routinely mocked. In one fell swoop, this band simply demonstrate that this should now stop. This is a band like you've never seen before. Ooozing an assurance and credibility that they can justify and sustain throughout their set, they blew the Fox apart. Franck on the drums was immensely impressive, but this was not a band about indvidual performances. From beginning to end this band was electrifying. No wonder they're held in such high regard by the folks at Kooba Radio. For me this band stood head and shoulders above all others as the stand out act of the day. Just go see them.

Dr Vampire had a problem. How do you follow King of Conspiracy? They did just fine. In fact better than fine. A total change of direction musically, but this was still some great stuff. A great quiff, and some fine rockabilly sounds was probably not what I was expecting, but this is what FoxFest is all about. That's why we go and love it so much.

Then, before we all knew it, it was the end of the night and last to perform were Let Our Enemies Beware. They're not subtle, but I don't mean that in a bad way. I enjoyed the noise a lot. Although I'm becoming a bit of a folky in my old age, it's great to hear a band create a sound like this. Amongst their influences, they list The Deftones, and I think that's a good thing. They're a band to watch. BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe certainly is. A fine band to round of a fantastic day...

So, it was off home to try and get some sleep. For there was another day to come. More bands. More people. More beers. More smiles.

How I love Foxfest.