Saturday 29/08/09 Reading Festival, Day Two @ Richfield Avenue, Reading

The second day of Reading 2009 kicked off in much the same way as the first; a light breeze and blue skies presiding over the undeniable feeling of excitement at another extremely strong line-up.

Leeds’ Dinosaur Pile-Up opened the Radio 1 stage at midday and created a marvellous racket that would be more accustomed to coming out of Seattle in 1990 than Yorkshire almost 20 years later.  The three-piece launched into one distortion fuelled grunge mantra after another and made sure that Saturday  opened on a suitably raucous note. A band that play the sort of music that Reading has been famed for hosting - dirty, no frills rock n' ****ing roll.

Staying at the Radio 1 stage the band next up demonstrated the diversity of this year'’s line-up perfectly. By their early performance electronica band Delphic showed an obvious obsession with all things 1980s, and therefore synth related, during their 40 minute show. Delphic proved that they have a perceptive ear for melody with a competent, if unspectacular set, that recalled early, relevant New Order.

A dash over to the main stage saw a relatively large crowd (considering the time of day) gathering in anticipation of The Rakes'’ performance. Alan Donohue pogoed and gyrated like a Ritalin starved toddler, whilst the hardcore of fans at the front responded in kind with a similarly fanatical display of devotion. The largest cheers were reserved for material of the bands impeccable debut “Cature/Release” and having heard gems such as “'Strasbourg'” and '“22 Grand Job'” it became clear that the more recent material from the band fails to match the pure euphoria evoked by those early tails of inner city life.

One of the most eagerly anticipated performance s of the weekend came from Metric. Having seen this band at Leeds in 2006 and becoming an instant convert to the cause, I was eager to see whether my earlier enthusiasm had been based solely on teenage lust for Emily Haines or whether Metric really were a live band worthy of the highest of praise. Opening with recent single ‘Help I’'m Alive' and with Haines sporting the sort of sequinned dress that would be more at home on ‘Strictly Come Dancing,’ Metric proved that are at the top of their game. One of the performances of the weekend, they delivered a dynamic, rabble-rousing display that was greeted with adulation by the gathering masses.

Them Crooked Vultures provided the subject for one of the worst kept secrets in Reading history when they turned up on the Radio 1 Stage “'unexpectedly'”. The “rock ‘n’' roll supergroup” of Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones and some other bald bloke played an ecstatically received set of heavy riffs and guitar solos that sounded like the sort of classic rock that your Dad is always trying to make you listen to. TCV may be an intriguing prospect, but judging by this performance most of the interest generated comes from the individual personalities in the band rather than the music that they create.

Hockey demonstrated why there is such a buzz surrounding the Portland band. Proving that they are undoubtedly destined for great things Hockey, led by charismatic vocalist Benjamin Grubin treated the One Republic stage audience to a selection of material from their upcoming debut album with ‘Song Away’ a personal highlight that is set to become a dancefloor staple over the next twelve months. It’s reassuring to witness a young band such as Hockey who will go onto achieve greatness.

The juxtaposition between energetic young upstarts and the old guard was no more evident than seeing Hockey followed by Ian Brown. Still unable to hold a note and still playing ‘Fools Gold’ (other than the imperious ‘F.E.A.R’) there was really nothing to see here of interest.

A surprisingly sparsely populated Radio 1 stage saw Glasvegas produce another one of the performances of the weekend that won’t be forgotten in a hurry by anyone that attended. Frontman James Allan cut a figure not too dissimilar to Joe Strummer as the band opened with ‘Flowers and Football Tops’, the call and response vocal performance with cousin and guitarist Rab sounding even more epic in front of the Vegas-style backdrop of lights and idiosyncratic feedback. Caroline McKay’s monolithic drumming provided the perfect foundation for a committed passionate display in front of a fervent following; a weekend highpoint.

Arctic Monkeys surprised many with a set leaden with material from their latest slow burning album ‘Humbug’.  When the likes of 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ and 'The View From The Afternoon’ sparked into life the sing along that ensued was almost Biblical in proportion and no doubt will have been heard for miles around. However, playing three relatively unfamiliar ballads of ‘Humbug’ in sequence appeared to alienate the more casual fans and may be seen as a mistake. An anthemic rendition of ‘Fluorescent Adolescent' regained some of the ground lost and it turned out to be mission accomplished for Arctic Monkeys... just.

Reading Festival 2009 in photos: