Indiependence Deer Farm, Mitchelstown, Co Cork

Omar Rodríguez-López has made an art out of not doing the same thing twice.

In the wake of The Mars Volta and At The Drive-In, his latest vehicle Bosnian Rainbows could be his most potent band yet.

Appearing on the Sargent House label stage in the Big Top, their sound is orchestral, gothic-tinged and features basslines that could drill holes through enamel. Their singer is Teri Gender Bender, the velvet hand in the bands’ steel glove, the sort of frontwoman who makes Kate Bush seem like an ingénue. Their set, based on their self-titled debut album, left the audience dazed and frothing for more.

Some of the weekend’s most memorable moments occurred in the Big Top. Le Galaxie cemented their reputation as the festival party band to end them all. Sporting a gold lamé vest, frontman Le Michael Galaxie was a blur of energy. Their synth-driven sound is a gloriously slinky blend of sleek ’80s pop and Kraftwerk groove, and they climaxed with the euphoric salvo of ‘Midnight Midnight’ and ‘Love System’.

A combination of champion beatboxer and technology wizard, Beardyman practically brought the tent down with his blend of rave, hip-hop and drum’n’bass.

The main stage saw many acts deliver serviceable performances. The Fratellis’ terrace anthem Chelsea Dagger roused Friday night’s crowd, but it sounded sluggish.

Hip-hop icons De La Soul resorted to street smarts to compensate for technical difficulties, but despite such gems as ‘Me Myself & I’, theirs was a somewhat stuttering performance. After playing to an alleged 20 people here last year. Kodaline were received triumphantly by their greatly extended fanbase, while Bell X 1 visited a lot of the more downbeat material from their latest album before sending the crowd home with the upbeat ‘Rocky Took A Lover’.