Friday morning in Glastonbury is so perfect, energy levels are high, the main stages have opened and the crowd are really, really, ready for it. Catfish and the Bottlemen were first up on a long (and completely impossible to complete) list of gigs to experience over the weekend. No sooner had the band set foot on the Other stage but it started to rain, not drizzle, not shower, but pour, pour and pour. However, they advised us they were very happy to be there despite a bout of food poisoning (we knew they’d cancelled at least two gigs in the previous 7 days). For such a young band the set they perform would make you think they had been playing to Glasto for years. With a lot of bands it is pleasingly difficult for them to hide their sheer joy at being on stage in Glastonbury. This was the case with Catfish and the Bottlemen. Van McCan made a slightly rookie mistake by smashing his guitar (okay, pretty rock ‘n’ roll) but when its replacement hadn’t been tuned, it ended up stalling their performance for 10 minutes…slightly cringe-inducing.

The weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd. Jungle took to the stage thereafter accompanied by a young female break dancer who was potentially the coolest person at Glastonbury the whole weekend! Did not crack a smile once. Another good set, Jungle are a very smooth band, with a substantial number of members these days. Founding member Josh Lloyd Watson, was another artist with a perma-grim, the ‘I can’t believe I’m playing Glasto’ look which actually adds to the performance.

Pussy Parlour provided a roof over our heads under which to dry off. Nova Heart were on stage, quiet an energetic anger-pop band, who grabbed our attention by the scruff of the neck. This is one of the joys of Glastonbury just stumbling across really good bands you’ve never heard of before. They should dedicate a day alone to unsigned or lesser known acts in some future Glastonbury that’s ten days long.

Mark Ronson was the first act I saw of the weekend to inspire the ‘so what’ factor for me but happily not for the whole performance. There’s something not quite right about an artist when they are elevated way up off the stage in a little box with a set of decks or more likely a computer. I like a good DJ set but bounced between bands it feels like there’s something missing. Other acts across the weekend pulled it off more convincingly though such as Todd Terje.

We heralded many famous friends of Mark Ronson’s, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, Daniel Merriweather and Kyle Falconer from the View, for a start. We were further entertained by BMX displays and jump-rope dancers, but the big guns didn’t come out until the end of the first full set Ronson has played in over three years. A heavily made up, dreadlocked, Boy George emerged to perform with Andrew White, a personal favourite of mine, ‘Somebody to Love Me’, from Ronson’s Record Collection album of 2010. A sublime moment followed when…wait for it…Boy George performed Culture Club’s ‘Do you really want to hurt me’. It was wonderfully surreal.

A very nice tribute to Amy Winehouse had the crowd wholeheartedly singing along with her original vocals on Valerie. To cap things off we experienced a live performance of the biggest record of the year, potentially decade, not with the original vocal from Bruno Mars but, a not too shabby replacement line-up of Mary J. Blige, George Clinton and Grandmaster Flash. That is how you drop friend references! It was a great crescendo to the performance, which I hadn’t expected at the start.

But day one wasn’t over there. It never really is until some strange time around Monday afternoon really I imagine. Hot Chip took to West Holts, which I think, is my favourite stage. It feels different to the other stages; it’s more enclosed and creates a more personal vibe to the performances there. Whilst I didn’t catch the whole set, what I did was impressive. This band has really grown since I saw them a few years ago and now command serious attention. Highlights of the set for me were the two final tracks. Dan Snaith of Caribou joined the band for an unforgettable, delightful, what seemed like never-ending, cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’. The last track, LCD Soundsystem’s ‘All My Friends’, sent us off into the night, very content indeed.