Hey You Get Off My Pavement! @ Mono, Glasgow, 29 June

After the torrential rain at 2007's HYGOMP, it took optimism from both organisers and audience to ignore the weather forecast and brave the Mono courtyard once again. However, someone up there must be smiling down on this year's indie-fest, as dryness prevails and the sun even shines brightly at times.

First up comes instrumental surf-rockers Sparkling Shadazz (***), who get the audience bobbing along with their wheat beers in hand. One track in particular stands out, due in no small part to some great noises courtesy of a Jen Synthetone. Next, Johnny Lynch, aka The Pictish Trail (****) serves up a taster from his forthcoming album with a little help from King Creosote, who seems keen to remain as low-key as possible and let his Fence co-founder take the spotlight for a change. "I don't know why I'm playing this festival", Lynch jokes, "I'm not from Glasgow, I'm not skinny, and I don't have any tight jeans. Still, there's a shop up the road.." Thankfully the golden-tonsilled Fifer woos the Weegie crowd with a handful of melancholy, atmospheric and heartfelt tunes that bode very well for the recorded versions.

Former Uncle John and Whitelock vocalist Jacob Lovatt seems to have done a Mark E Smith and hired some fresh-faced youngsters to back him for his latest incarnation. Now under the name of Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers (***), he gives a typically outlandish performance, with some of his lyrics even surpassing UJ&W in their hilariously lurid offensiveness. Unfortunately, the new band lacks the power and menace of his former bandmates, most of whom are in the audience. Begging the question, why did they split in the first place?

Over on the Mono stage, indoors, HYGOMP promoter Paul Ranter brings a US indie sensibility to proceedings with his new outfit European Union (***), featuring, funnily enough, the former drummer of UJ&W. What could have been a pointless vanity project proves to be nothing of the sort. Belle & Sebastian's Stevie Jackson (**) should have taken notes. Even the undoubted good will of being a key member of one of Scotland's most-loved bands doesn't help him convince the bemused crowd that his gut-clenchingly awful Elton John impression is a good idea. Thank Goodness then for the almost-metal mayhem of Gummy Stumps (****) who provide some of the blistering menace sadly lacking from the Jacob Yates set.

With all of the above in the bag, we've still barely scratched the surface of a hefty line-up that also includes local favourites Camera Obscura, Foxface, John B. McKenna and twisted popsters Plaaydoh, as well as two new projects from the Brewis brothers of Sunderland band Field Music called School of Language and The Week That Was. However, the highlight undoubtedly proves to be the strange and wonderful Berlin electro artist Felix Kubin (****) who carries with him a wonkily out of tune vintage Korg synth that he claims is the only one of its kind in Glasgow. From the get-go, Kubin is disarmingly funny, with a slightly unique take on the English language and his tongue firmly in his cheek. He questions the assembled audience's judgement for watching him rather than seeing his national team play in the UEFA cup final, then goes on to entertain with some theatrical knob-twiddling, inspiring a contagious break-out of grins and daft dance moves. Waving around various props such as a red rose for his track There Is a Garden and a homemade lightning strike for his cover of Klaus Nomi's outrageously camp Lightning Strikes, he did his part to ensure that HYGOMP 2008 transcended its unfair reputation as a cliquey, in-crowd only event. [Milo McLaughin]