Jay Kay adds much-needed groove

Much could have gone wrong at this three-day, open-air mini-festival. Ominous clouds continually threatened to turn the summer-party atmosphere into one of muddy misery; the second day of the event went head-to-head with the somewhat more widely publicised Live 8, and the main act at last night's show hadn't played in the capital for three years.

In the end, however, the organisers' luck held out, and headliners Jamiroquai were on top of their game as they made a capacity crowd scream, clap and dance on what was, by British standards at least, a warm, sunny evening.

B Live had begun on Friday with a night focused on Latin music, featuring the Spanish Harlem Orchestra.

Devoted to dance music, Saturday's all-day party included a performance from turntable virtuosos the Scratch Perverts as well as tech-house luminaries Layo & Bushwacka, and - at the top of the bill - a rare London appearance from the last of the trancey superstar DJs, Paul Oakenfold.

There was something about yesterday's leg of the event that was just so, well, Clapham.

As I watched affluent youngish professionals swaying to inoffensive performances from Amy Winehouse and the Brand New Heavies, while my feet were crushed by a ludicrously sturdy three-wheeled baby buggy, and spotted people reading newspapers in the hard-house tent, my meanspirited side was tempted to conclude that this was a festival for the kind of people who bought their CDs from petrol stations.

But as the day wore on and various intoxicating substances kicked in, the music - and the partygoers' attitudes - grew increasingly frisky.

The Bacardi B Bar tent offered a fantastic DJ set of quality vocal house music from Joey N! egro that had the tent sweaty, packed and rocking, with an impressive number of fists pumping the air.

So by the time Jay Kay leapt onstage and launched into a rendition of Space Cowboy that buzzed with funky energy, the people were ready to cut loose.

With crazy headgear and even crazier dancing skills, Kay gave the punters their money's worth, banging out hit after hit and provoking a huge reaction from the 10,000-strong crowd.

During Little L, even those standing half a mile from the stage were joining in with the song's complicated handclaps. Worked sensitively among the more famous material, tracks from Jamiroquai's new album, Dynamite, were also well received.