Audioweb kick off Sunday on the main stage and, apart from whining about the time they are on, deliver a fusion of rock, dance and hip hop that serves as perfect early morning festival fodder. Unfortunately, Tracy Bonham doesn't quite get this and so spends a couple of songs shouting and gurning before I run off in search of the average guitar pop of Linoleum.
However, the first real treat of the day are The Dirty Three. With just a violin, a guitar and drums they manage to produce some of the most emotive music of the whole day and the song that is dedicated to "all of our friends that are dead" is absolutely stunning, as it builds up slowly into a mess of violin and guitar that says more than most bands manage over a whole career. Stunning.
I also manage to catch some of the Posies set, which is more of the same melodic rock that they always spin out. After The Dirty Three it seems a little empty, but enjoyable nonetheless. After The Posies it is a case of trying to avoid Compulsion and Three Colours Red and so I find myself seeing Jon Spencer's sister's band Brassy. Unfortunately, Brassy are more Elastica than the Blues Explosion, but their set is fashionably short and not too offensive. After that it is over to the main stage to check whether Moby is doing his hardcore punk rock thing or his dance thing. Unfortunately, it's the former, so I run over to the NME stage to see the brilliant Girls Against Boys. With two bass players, Girls Against Boys sound is several notches deeper than your average band and with Scott Mclouds growly vocals they are one part menacing to two parts sleaze.
On next are Vent 414, so the next forty minutes or so are spent running round trying to avoid them and the increasingly dull Wedding Present on the main stage. However, I make sure I'm back at the NME stage for Tortoise, whose two albums of vocal-free prog rock noodlings have given us some of the best music I've heard in the last few years. Unfortunately, their quieter bits are drowned out by the Super Furry Animals tank nearby, but when they get going they really do make other more conventional bands sound very boring.
This then makes Lionrock, who would otherwise be a great break from the usual flurry of guitar bands, sound a little conventional and uniform. For a band who have produced such a good album in 'Instinct for Detection' and such a great single in 'Shoesaw' it is a surprise that they are so underwhelming, but it may just be too early or too quiet for them. Baby Bird, however, are not a disappointment at all. Steven Jones is at his sarky best and with songs such as 'Too Handsome To Be Homeless' the humour is always slightly ironic and the gaze always turned inwards.
I intend just to catch a little bit of Sonic Youth before making my way towards the Flaming Lips, but then have trouble tearing myself away from the howls of Thurston and Lee's guitars. However, when I do manage it, I'm treated to the Flaming Lips at their whimsically psychedelic best. Quite wonderful. So, then it's a choice between the Stone Roses or Underworld and it is not a difficult choice at all. Underworld are stunning. The crowd go absolutely mental and it soon becomes impossible to hear any of the quieter bits in the headlong rush to applaud and cheer at any chance. This is the best reaction to a band that I have seen at Reading in four years of going. They play an unbelievably good set in which recognizable tracks are mixed up and stood on their head so that the only thing that is predictable about them are the huge techno beats pounded out throughout the set. 'Born Slippy' is a revelation and the blend of 'Rez' and 'Cowgirl' they play to finish their main set is awesome. A brilliant finish to a brilliant day's music.