"S***, we're on!,” whispered two of Wire's invited collaborators, waiting in the darkened wings of the Sallis Benney Theatre.

There were, for those caring to count, at least 18 guitarists on stage at one point during the revered 1970s rock experimentalist's set on the first night proper of the festival they're curating.

The conceptual ambition of having so many strings in their symphony only made Colin Newman and his bandmates all the more riveting.

Howling doom-mongers The Wytches kicked out more noise with fewer culprits at The Haunt.

The Brighton trio preferred a constant diet of cymbal-crashing grunge, only pausing to shriek at each other in-between swaying like macabre ghosts under an artificial pale green moonlight, their faces partially obscured by manes of long black hair.

Theo Verney had more than a tumble of locks to worry about: an array of misfortunes had beset his build-up to a show heavily infused with psychedelia.

He admitted he had seen most of his equipment fail and at least one of his two bandmates were suffering painful physical ailments.

No-one at the above-capacity Albert would have noticed, largely because Verney had heavyweight tunes - from EP Heavy Sunn - and jovial charm in his favour.