CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS FROM SOUNDS IN THE GROUNDS HERE.

Bounding up and down stairs was a worthwhile pain-in-the-arse to get between the sheer amounts of good music on show at Sounds In The Grounds. It was too much to try and take in every act, but it all started with Triple J’s unearthed high winners [is]. They tried their very best to make a mark on the throng of students milling around to hear single Cult Romance, before finding something else to do for the rest of the set.

Children Collide were the next to catch the crowd’s interest with their upbeat punk/indie tunes competing for an audience with The Lost Valentinos downstairs. The Lost Valentinos, however, were difficult to watch. Everybody could see them and in parts they sounded great, but those were the parts where they weren’t lost in a cacophony of sound that pierced ear-drums. There was no distinction in the sound downstairs – it was just way too loud and you couldn’t distinguish the bass from the singer and so on. It’s a terrible shame for the bands fighting to get the crowd involved.

Van She took on Bluejuice as the battle for attention continued. With the frustrating sound downstairs, it only took 15 minutes send many running upstairs to see the rest of Bluejuice. What Bluejuice lack in hits they make up for in sheer enjoyment, using every last bit of the stage as a platform to launch into the crowd or get the room jumping. It was enjoyable and you could actually hear them. Vitriol was the obvious highlight and as everyone was showered in the sweat of strangers, there was one final decision to be made: British India or Midnight Juggernauts?

Why would you put the two best bands of the night on 20 minutes apart on different stages? I guess it could’ve been because both bands wanted to be the headliner, but the decision simply didn’t work. What I saw of British India was brilliant, showcasing why they are such an engaging band on stage. The highlights were Run the Red Light, Tie Up My Hands and their debut single Outside 109, which I hadn’t heard since the Gaelic Club in 2005.

Lucky enough to see the most of Midnight Juggernauts due to a late running stage, I was dropped into the middle of a set full of all the hits from Dystopia to personal highlight Road To Recovery. The fact I was stuck behind an Amazon lady who enjoyed jumping on my toes all night with her high heels and intimidating me with her seven-foot stature didn’t ruin what was a polished set from a band fresh from the European circuit. The set ended with an encore that was a smidge boring – but it was worth a disappointing finale for a headline set that had the crowd going nuts.

If the sound downstairs was improved and the scheduling better, it could have been a perfect night. I left Manning Bar with toes bleeding from Amazon lady, bumps on my head from the stray elbows of British India fans, a busted knee from dancing my nads off to Midnight Juggernauts and the sweat of thousands of students on me – but I couldn’t have asked for much more.