It seemed as if the festival gods had struck a deal with the recent fickle Adelaide weather, because the sun was definitely out to play (and out to change the hue of reveller’s skin tones) for the last leg of the Parklife national tour. The crowd, who having dusted off the festival standard singlet, shorts, and thongs, took over the usually timid Botanic Park and turned it into a garden of unearthly delights.

After hearing nightmare stories about impossible entry lines, malfunctioning computers, and UK dubstep darling Katy B pulling out, I won’t lie and say I wasn’t apprehensive as Monday drew closer, but with a line-up that currently has set the bar for the onslaught of summer festivals, and, thankfully, the promoters being kind enough to make sure that there were minimal conflicts (minus Duck Sauce and Magnetic Man), the stars were aligned for a good day. And with such a wide variety of acts playing, it was greatly appreciated.

Kimbra showed why she’s one of the country’s most talked-about artists, offering the crowd a tighter-than-tight set of tracks from her debut record, Vows (as well as a few unexpected surprises). Her cover of Prince’s I Wanna B Ur Lover saw the 21-year-old working the stage harder than the original artist.

Ed Banger label staple SebastiAn was one of the day’s highlights; bringing his infectious European flavour to the stage. By the time he dropped Embody, the crowd had forgotten that it was only early into their Monday afternoon; transported by the tunes to an underground French club.

Over the Atoll stage, the recently-reunited Death From Above 1979 made their presence known. Their inclusion on the Parklife bill showed the duo’s first Australian shows in five years, but if the screams from the audience were anything to go by, they were definitely worth the wait. Tearing through their monster tracks Little Girl, Going Steady and Romantic Rights, the crowd began to segregate with the tag-alongs heading to other stages, while the die-hards went mental in the pit; the music as polarising as their monochromatic outfits.

On the back of his latest release, Playing in the Shadows, Example opened his set with album standout Skies Don’t Lie and energetically worked his way through his new wares for the eager crowd, relentlessly urging the crowd to “jump if you’ve got any energy left”. By the time crowd favourite Kickstarts’ synthy opening begins, it was as if the whole crowd had been pulled from the other stages and all converged at Sahara.

Joker & MC Nomad brought the underground Bristol sound to The Cave stage (in this writer’s opinion, the best stage of the tour), mixing their own tracks in with samples ranging from fellow Brit James Blake to the Doggfather, Snoop Dogg. In a nice show of solidarity, the Simian Mobile Disco/Beth Ditto collab Cruel Intentions gets a play…and an additional dirty drop.

Digitalism were among the crowd favourites, dropping their monster track Pogo with the crowd chanting the hook long after their set had finished. Mike Skinner, the charismatic, everyman of hip-hop (and the brains behind The Streets) proves to be one of the days biggest crowd pullers. And with his polished, and charming stage presence, it’s little wonder why. He playfully chats with the crowd, climbs up (and then jumps off) the rigging, and cheekily teases his band. Fans lap up Too Late and, Blinded By The Light. Things take a turn for the emotional with the phenomenal Dry Your Eyes as Skinner and crew close their set.

One half of dubstep and drum & bass darlings Nero set the Cave on fire, dropping hit after hit from the massive record, Welcome Reality. Vocalist Alana Watson was on hand, giving a more personal touch to the show (and giving something for the boys to look at). By the time the closing track Promises began, The Cave was that full I was seriously worrying whether I’d make it in time for the closing artists. After giving serious consideration to hockey-punching my way out of the tent, it was on to Duck Sauce and Magnetic Man.

Duck Sauce, the duo made up of A-Trak and Armand Van Helden, dropped their filtered electro-house for the more mainstream tastes, with nearly everyone in the crowd screaming for Barbra Streisand. Unfortunately, with the only major clash of the day the bass rumble coming from Magnetic Man was enough to persuade me to trade stages.

Magnetic Man, made up by Skream, Benga and Artwork, were among my most highly-anticipated acts of the tour, and did not disappoint (and were one of the only acts where I didn’t find myself thinking “This could be louder”). The highlight of the set saw P-Money joining the boys on stage for the killer I Need Air and the Katy-B collab Perfect Stranger gave the crowd a taste of what they missed out on.

So after all the foreboding news, and pull-outs, Parklife closed the tour with a successful Adelaide show. The only complaint I have is at certain stages the speakers could have done with a little more volume. But really, the line-up today made up for any shortcomings and is giving the other dance-orientated festivals something to aim for.