All female Doll Riot from San Diego are first up today with a shortened set due to technical difficulties.

They worked very hard in stifling heat to entertain the sparse crowd. These girls are young but they have real punk rock attitude as shown by their song Fuck You, played with some enthusiasm

They covered the PJ Harvey number Sheela- Na -Gig, and other songs included Murder Spree, Parathesia, B29 and Mrreowrr before sadly running out of time.

The Street Party Stage is completely rocking to the sound of Kate Clover and her band. Kate is resplendent in a red 50s pencil dress with leopard trim and is flanked by her black suited, white shirted band, a classic look.

This is no nonsense, straight ahead punk ‘n’ roll played with energy and aplomb. This music is just Fun, with a capital F. Their energy is captivating and Kate commands the stage with her immense presence, there is no doubt of who is in charge of this band!

Another strong female band ( seems to be a pattern this year), are the 3 piece Vial from Minneapolis. Their fast, catchy punk engages the audience, and they soon have a sizeable circle pit underway.

The songs were short, fast, melodic and hard hitting. The band even did a cover of Nirvana’s Territorial Pissings. To introduce the song they got the audience to chant “Piss, Piss, Piss” over and over, which they were happy to do with much gusto. We were introduced to their Furby mascot, who, according to the band, wrote their song Road Kill because it “loves driving cars and hates misogynists”.

Good set, good band.

As stage entrances go this was possibly the best of the festival, all 4 members of Die Spitz cartwheeled their way on to the stage before launching into a highly energetic set.

Bassist Kate Halter was full of swagger as she jumped around and laid down ferocious bass lines. The whole band were up for this and were much appreciated by the audience.

I did find some of their songs a little samey, but there was enough energy and attitude on show to make you think that they will go places.

Much like The Skatalites did on the first day, English Beat brought a feeling of calm, good times and enjoyment for all to their mid-afternoon slot on the main stage. Their mix of reggae and ska was sure a welcome addition to all the great music that had preceded them.

They seemed to have some sound problems during soundcheck, but they soon launched into Rough Rider, a Prince Buster cover followed by a lively Twist & Crawl. The sun was blazing down, and the crowd were enjoying the music and any shade that they could find.

Dave Wakeling has great stage presence and clearly seemed to be enjoying himself today. The set ended with two classics, a storming Ranking Full Stop and perhaps their best known hit, Mirror In The Bathroom.

Bratmobile are famed for being one of the first generation of riot grrrl bands. They have lost none of their energy and put on a fine show today.

Their short, quirky songs delighted the sizeable crowd, and you could tell that there was a lot of love for this band.

Stiff Little Fingers were absolutely magnificent today. It is a long, long time since I have seen them, but the power of their songs remains unchanged. From the opening song (and what an opener!) Suspect Device, to the closing Alternative Ulster, their set is packed with absolute classics.

These include a cover of The Specials Doesn’t Make It Alright and Bunny Wailers Roots Radicals Rockers & Reggae. We even have a new song amidst the classics , Hate Has No Home Here, that fits seamlessly into the set. Jake has a perfect rock ‘n’ roll voice and belts these songs out.

One of the best bands of the day!

Wow. Just Wow. What a performance from Scowl and singer Kat Moss in particular. Surely the most energetic performance of the festival, as she threw herself around the stage in an electrifying performance. Truly, you could not take your eyes off of her.

The music was hardcore punk played at breakneck speed and sounded great. Definitely a band to watch for in the future.

If, by this point in proceedings, you were flagging at all, then Gogol Bordello came along and re-energised the entire audience. With their infectious brand of Gypsy Punk, the band got the whole crowd moving.

The sound of violins and accordion filled the air as the band gleefully cavorted around the stage. They were so full of energy and unleashed it upon the crowd. Their enthusiasm affected the crowd, and it was perhaps the most uplifting set of the entire festival.

It certainly got people in the mood for Madness if they weren’t before!

So, to the final band of Punk Rock Bowling 24, Madness.

America had been waiting 43 years to see Madness, tonight they had to wait a little longer as the set was held up by technical difficulties that had seemed to plague day 3. Not that it could quash the enthusiasm of the crowd, hell they had waited this long, what’s another 20 minutes?

Then, all fixed the band stroll on stage, and it’s straight into One Step Beyond and the audience erupted. It may have been slightly slower than all those years ago, but it was still epic. With only an hour on stage we get all the hits you would expect, but we also got a hefty acknowledgement of their roots with three Prince Buster tunes (the aforementioned One Step Beyond, Girl Why Don’t You and Madness) and a cover of Lord Tanamo’s Taller Than You Are.

So America, after a wait of 43 years was it worth it?

A resounding YES from this audience, that’s for sure!