“THIS is music” a northern soul beacon stokes for adulation beneath the milky-yellow Barcelona moonlight.

You’ve got to hand it to euro festivals – they know how to put on a good eco-friendly show, (and a dry one at that.) Hoards of perspiring gig goers clad in fluorescent blue headbands scramble to fill up their recyclable plastic Summercase cups with beer as one reveller lies face down on the tarmac. He should get his arse into gear if he’s going to make 2008’s most euphoric comeback of all. For some, Barcelona’s Friday night at Parc del Forum is all about one band: The Verve.

Just gone midnight, a black shaded silhouette swaggers to meet his fate after suffering a barrage of mixed reactions at this year’s T in the Park (and a cancelled European date just two nights before.) So, what better way to answer your critics then to grind straight down into the deepest darkest pits of ‘This Is Music’ and crank it out at twice the speed of sound (dedicating it to headlining band Primal Scream’s Mani, saluting the Manchester siren call of Stone Roses) to the delight of the crowd.

"John Lydon belting out ‘Pretty Vacant’ like a Butlins redcoat"

Where is A Northern Soul? Nowhere to be seen, but this doesn’t detract from the sheer electric earth-force of Richard Ashcroft who squeezes every drop out of (arguably more mainstream ‘Urban Hymns’ hits) including ‘Space and Time’, ‘Sonnet’, a heartbreaking rendition of ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ and the euphorically received clincher ‘Bittersweet Symphony’. We barely have time to mourn the absence of ‘A Northern Soul’ stringed odessey ‘History’ before Primal Scream pick up the baton and crank it out to tinnitus-inducing levels of bass reverb, taking the scantily clad masses into the early morning.

Facing the sheer raw fighting spirit of both resurrected bands on Friday, Summercase’s second night was always going to struggle to match its efforts, punch for punch. When Kings Of Leon take to the stage, this much seems evident as the southern rednecks seem to have left their swagger with their rider backstage. Their lack-lustre approach to songs isn’t helped by the down-tempo approach to (favourite up-tempo tracks such as ‘Molly’s Chamber’, ‘Four Kicks’ and ‘The Bucket’) which do the songs no favours at all. If anything, their lethargic ambling weigh down the rock ‘n’ roll feist that so defines the band. Not that this seems to bother the band at all, who claim they are having a far better time tonight then they did in Madrid the previous evening. Tracks from recent album ‘Because Of The Times’ are immediately met with approval from the undulating crowd as the Kings make up for lost time with their darkly penned statement of intent ‘Charmer’.

Thank god for that, as Sex Pistols take over the main stage soon after. You can’t tag a price on punk, and somehow the sight of an aging John Lydon belting out ‘Pretty Vacant’ like a Butlins redcoat to hoards of middle-class European festival kids leaves a bad taste in the mouth (and we’re sure it’s not just the overpriced beer.) Lets just hope Summercase leave the punk-karaoke at home next year and concentrate on what it does best: putting together a raucous showcase of the year’s biggest hitting bands. And not a single muddy welly in sight…