This is more what we expect from Texas.. bright sunshine, a chance to wear our dodgy indie t-shirts and a whole slew of bands to see on a multitude of stages...

The afternoon is largely spent hanging round at the Fader party - a combination of free beer and soft couches make it conduicive to even the most gentle of band watchers... Things start up with a set by Staines reality-rockers Hard Fi. Thing is, we thought that Hard Fi were shit before we headed out to Austin, but DiS must doff its cap towards the four piece; whilst they're not exactly the most progressive, exciting band we've seen, they do make a decent racket, with a slew of catchy hooks and a Britisher-than-thou schtick. It sticks out like a sore thumb in the stetson-clad town, but perhaps that's no bad thing; and maybe why they've got a better chance of doing well than say, Nine Black Alps... Chatting point of the set though is that they're shorn of their usual bassist, who's been left behind in blighty due to a previous run in with the law. Instead, we get a former Jamiroquai bassist offering the low frequencies (though not the ex-bassist who's now married to an All Saint). Plus, they lose marks for their use of DAT tapes. Make all your own sound, chaps. Still, they'll do well at the V Festivals of this world.

Graham Coxon is an infinitely better prospect. Playing a full electric show later in the day, this afternoon he treats the crowd to a distinctly lo-fi acoustic set filled with all the hallmarks of a Coxon show: innate shyness brought on through the traditional on-stage nerves, shambolic but wonderful short songs and a nice line in little-boy-lost between-song banter. He's not really made for this sort of thing, our Graham, but watched by the likes of Bloc Party and Ash in the glorious sunshine, it really doesn't seem to matter...

At 5:01 precisely, Ash meander onstage grinning and offering St Patrick's Day shout-outs to the crowd. The following half hour sees a thundering greatest hits set of the likes of 'Girl From Mars', 'Burn Baby Burn', 'Orpheus' and 'Shining Light'. For good measure, a song is dedicated to Kele and Russell Bloc Party (a cheeky, knowing nod to the fact that Russell was in an Ash tribute band age 14) and they throw in a set-closing cover of 'The Boy's Are Back In Town' to celebrate their national day. We love Ash. What's there not to love?

Time then, to quickly dash over to the Radio 1 show at La Zona Rosa, which is an aircraft hanger of a venue. The reason to be there early is to catch extreme-excitement-inducing blunt rockers Be Your Own Pet, who're first on supporting a largely British bill. Every industry man in Austin this week is here in this venue right now, and if you fancied dropping a bomb on the place, you, dear bomber, could assume the head of any major record company you cared to choose from. It's a little bit silly. BYOP are certainly a good band. Indeed, they may even be a excellent one, but thrashing around on a very large stage in front of a thousand arms-crossed punters, does not make a life-defining show. What is certain is that frontwoman (or girl - none of the band are 18 yet) Jemima Abegg is a blonde whirling dervish in the mould of Karen O, and that bassist Nathan Vasquez has a bitchin' 'fro. Any more than that, we'll hold off on. The critical jury's still out.

Hobbling onto the stage resting on the burly shoulder of compere Zane Lowe,' singer Ricky Wilson has done some impressive damage to himself; tearing a tendon in a show on the West Coast a couple of days before, and now seen wandering round down-town Austin aided by a fetching crutch. Impressively, it doesn't stop him throwing himself about the stage on a single leg, as the band - looking suitably nervous yet excited - power through a set laiden with current and future hits. Unsurprisingly, 'I Predict A Riot' and 'Oh My God' go down particuarly well, but 'Modern Way' sounds like a classic indie ballad in waiting, and the power fuzz of 'Saturday Night' is equally infectious. It seems strange looking through this end of the microscope, but it seems that the Kaisers might just do that 'breaking America' thing. Blimey.

Hammering it down 6th Street in order to avoid the queues at the Blender Bar, we get that an hour and a half before Bloc Party are due on. This gives us the chance to witness the blue-pop explosion of The Blueskins. Largely forgotten is this country following the release of their 'Word Of Mouth' record last year, here they are gracing the Domino/Vice joint party and making a good fist of the very very bass and drum-heavy sound. Not sure if they're going to win any new devotees, but they do themselves justice.

Bloc Party are making a 'special guest' appearance at the Blender as part of their new US home, Vice Record's half of the showcase. It's not exactly a suprise, especially, as the words 'special guests' have been blazoned over the posters for the event for a while... and it doesn't take a genius to work it out.. but anyway... with 'Silent Alarm' not quite out yet, the band tailor their short set towards the US-familiar material, and hence we get 'The Marshalls Are Dead', 'Banquet' and 'She's Hearing Voices' from their dimmak Records-released EP, as well as the UK singles 'Helicopter' and 'Little Thoughts'. Material from their debut LP is held to 'This Modern Love' and 'Positive Tension'. It's a wise decision, as much of the crowd is limited in knowledge to their US EP. What the set is though, as well as an old-skool affair, is brutal. Taught and pounding, there's a near-fury to the band's performance, and it's a portent to the weekend ahead. Sure the band enjoy playing gigs, but with 5 performances in three days plus a miriad of interviews and meet n'greets ahead, it's also very much work, and what better way to approach work than with a whole-hearted fervour bordering on manic energy? Heading out of this sweaty explosion of a performance, we hightail it 5 blocks down to Red River Street to catch LCD Soundsystem at the Elysium venue.

..and oh my God they better be worth it. After queuing for an hour and a quarter, and missing Hot Chip in support, our dogs are barking, as they say. We almost turn away, we almost walk off in disgust, but just as we're about to give up... we finally hit the front of the queue. And within seconds of walking in, you realise why LCD are such a hot ticket tonight. Immediately upon entrance, we're hit by a full, full on version of 'Daft Punk Is Playing In My House' and the crowd are literally jumping. James Murphy may be a beer-bellied aging grump, but he still manages to be an excellent frontman, peppering the gaps between songs with smarter than your average banter and wry interaction with the crowd. Fuck, this man actually uses the word 'obsequious' on stage. And who else do you get that from? With Paul Epworth behind the sounddesk, it's also an incredible, outlandish, down and dirty effects-ridden sound for the event as well. We are being totally and utterly spoilt. And we get all the 'hits' with 'Losing My Edge' and 'Yeah' rounding off a night that includes a fucking amazing cover of Neilson's 'Jump Into The Fire'. The crowd reaction is equally phenomonal with the atmosphere being as akin to a real life house party as you're going to get... band of the night. In fact, gig of the week.

Now, however, it's 2.30am. Time to head back to our lo-rent motel for some late-night TV and a Krispy Kreme donut run. Come on.