well 13 hours, and standing still is much more strenuous that many might expect. There was much less wandering around looking at hippies and mimes this day, we had a job to do, and that was to end the day rocked out (to the max). Straight from the first band at 10:20am 'til about 6:20 was spent at the other stage then after an hour's break it was to the Pyramid stage till close. We packed in 11 bands and spent several hours complaining, me about my back and feet, my mate about his ears and need of milk.

First up on the other stage were DNA DOLL, a forgettable, inoffensive 3 piece rock band, and being that it is now several weeks after the event and with no notes I cant say much apart from they can't have been that great as I remember every other band I saw that day apart from this lot. Next up were THE 'BURN a good early band that got the crowd in the mood for the later, greater groups to come, they might not have exactly lit up the stage but they did wake up a crowd recovering from their various forms of self abuse from the night before.

The day began in earnests as the next band took to the stage, THE 22-20S, a much hyped and it turns out really rather good bluesy trio. They're not quite The White Stripes and they're not trying to be. Their sound is louder, more aggressive and rockier than that of The Stripes, and the singer's voice might not be as striking as Jake White's but damn can that guy play his geetar. If it weren't for what was to come later, this lot would have been one of the festival highlights; instead they are relegated to an "oo they were good weren't they" group. GEMMA HAYES followed on with another fantastic set from another fantastic female singer songwriter. She also get the award for bravest performer of the festival, some might think that climbing the speakers is big and clever but this girl took a shot from a rather rabid looking man from the crowd, who just happened to have bought along his rather dubious looking drink and a spare shot glass. Of particular note in her set was "Let a good thing go" a catchy and heart felt song that exemplifies her singing and song writing skills, her sound may not be unique, but she is among the best in a crowded genre.

SPARTA, made up of former At the Drive-In members and a new bassist put on a good show. Like many of the American bands present they apologised for their president and his administration and spent a lot of time telling us that most people from Texas are just as groovie as you and I. Their music managed to be both loud and melodic though not up to the standard of some that we had seen and others that came later. THE THRILLS were up next, our plan had been to go and see the Polyphonic Spree at this point but as we were at the front row and we were going to come back afterwards we decided to stay and I'm glad we did. Not because The Thrills were anything other than a slightly less annoying Toploader, but because I got to be on TV. Yes its shallow, but to my credit my mate who texted me to say he'd seen me did say that I looked rather bored and unimpressed, and I thought I was trying to look interested so as to have a better chance of getting seen. So yes… that was nice. EIGHTIES MATCHBOX B-LINE DISASTER gave out flags before their set, which was nice. Though the TV people were there once again I doubt they showed too many close-ups of the crowd as the flags pronounced "I WANT TO FUCK YOUR MOTHER". Which is nice and all, but not really a BBC kind of thing. Their performance was loud, actually it was LOUD. And frantic, no FRANTIC, that's better. Everything about this performance should really be put in capital letters. It was great, although Guy McKnight was ill, almost collapsing mid session, but somehow he carried on without showing any signs of pain in his voice which was quite a feat cos that guy cant half shout.

The last group we saw on the other stage were INTERPOL, and also the best group on that stage throughout the weekend. Quite easily the best second best dressed group of people in the entire festival, If you don't know who the first was then you obviously didn't see the front row during The Thrills set on TV. Their performance matched their dress, bold, great and slightly out of place. I doubt many people coming to Glasto had singled out Interpol as one of their must-see bands but that's their loss, "Stella…" and "Obstacle 1" were particular highlights as they are on their album. All the songs were better than their pre-recorded guises, and the open air seemed to improve their performance over the last time I saw them live.

By this time I was in no small amount of agony, but the day was not over, we had a job to complete and there were still 3 bands to go. We made our way over to SUPERGRASS. I really don't know how Supergrass get such good billing. I mean they're not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but 3rd on a very strong line up? Sure "pumping on the stereo" is good and sure, some of their older stuff is pretty catchy but really, Sleeper were better and where are they these days? (Writing reasonably good fiction as it happens) So yes I wont write anything much about Supergrass, they gave a solid performance, just like they did at reading a couple of years ago, but nothing that great.

Now it was time for the big guns, THE FLAMING LIPS put on a performance that came close to making me forget that my back and feet were going to make me pay for the next month for putting them through this. The stage was filled with all manner of Fluffy animals and occasionally inflated "eternal" suns. It's really hard to describe what it's like seeing them perform. So I wont try that much, I'm just going to urge you to go see them if you get the chance. The highlight was a barnstorming "Do you realise?" and "Yoshimi battles the Pink Robots pt.1" along with hand puppet singing and great audience participation even though from the sound of it many didn't know the words, but hey it's the thought that counts. Fake blood, giant balloons and a 100,000 person rendition of happy birthday rounded off this most memorable performance.

It was now time for the big one. The reason that the festival had sold out in less than 24 hours. RADIOHEAD. Somehow we had managed to reach about 4 rows from the front, the perfect place to view one of the greatest bands ever during one of their greatest ever performances. You probably all saw it on TV if you weren't there so I wont go into too much detail about the performance. "Fake Plastic Trees" somehow managed to shine in a performance full of classic songs. Every single person in the festival grounds seemed to be singing along, which made me feel a bit sorry for anyone else performing at that time. Even the songs from Kid A were fantastic and I am, to put it mildly, not one of that albums greatest fans. On the way out after the performance I heard one guy say it was like a religious experience, and while I cant say that I would go that far, it is certainly a moment I look forward to boring my child and grandchildren with in a few decades time.

REVIEW BY CHRISTIAN MADDEN