Gothic O'Children bring a, ahem, dark cloud to proceedings. Their moody noodlings are entertaining enough but soon become rather samey. So So Modern save the day with an excellent set of bouncy electro. Gone are the usual "wacky" costumes they usually display, but none of the content falls flat, and the New Zealand four-piece pull in the days strongest performance.

Ex-Mclusky and Jarcrew boys Future Of The Left 's ferocious Shellac-inspired rock falls flat on the main stage because of poor sound quality. The band don't appear to be particularly having a blast either (frontman Falco asks the crowd "Are you having a mediocre time?"). Their new tracks sound as if they continue where debut Curses left off but this set was a big disappointment.

Not much better are the heavily delayed Ispo Facto, who come across as nothing more as a shambolic hipster mess. Even less inspiring are the really-why-are-they-still-bothering My Vitriol who not only appear to have little new material but also still look as bored to be onstage as they did seven years ago. Seriously guys, the moody thing doesn't work - we've grown up now. We don't care anymore.

Blood Red Shoes get possibly the weekend's biggest crowd, and they're pleasant enough, but we wander over to the Girlcore tent once more where the party is again in full swing. Sets from Warboy and Zombie Disco Squad have the droves avoiding the rain on their feet.

The heavily-delayed Gang of Four close the festival and manage to do so on a high. Opening with At Home He's A Tourist and proceeding to play the nearest thing to a greatest hits set, they banish the memories of the lacklustre Wire set the night before and give the festival a memorable climax. The smashing of a microwave and a genuinely amazing Damaged Goods just about saves the day from being a massive washout.

Offset has great potential, the venue is convenient and easy to get to and whilst the facilities were somewhat lacking in places, there were never queues for anything for longer than a couple of minutes and bars and other amenities were well staffed. More quality control with the band selections could have turned what was merely an average event into a great one. Next year, perhaps.

Offset Festival 2008: Day 1