The annual battle between rock fans and indie kids, legends and contenders, at this year's sun-drenched Reading festival simmers quietly from the start. My Chemical Romance are reduced to schlock rock pantomime by the thunderous singing at the NME/ Radio 1 stage, but one-time indie golden boys the Cooper Temple Clause, now shorn of their trademark haircuts, are sapped of strength, their prog rock dated and lumpen. Juliette Lewis' barely-there Spandex and Goldilocks curls guarantee the Licks get noticed. The romance of Maximo Park's vigorous pop wins more hearts.
The main stage is home to more warm and fuzzy moments. Old adversaries Frank Black and Kim Deal of the Pixies indulge in cosy chat, warm embraces and nihilistic classics, and Iggy Pop seems keen to make amends too. "We are the Stooges," he says, blood trickling from his chest after stage-scraping antics, closing the gap between his iconic present and his punk kid past as succinctly as the band's tight performance eclipses the intervening years. No Fun and I Wanna Be Your Dog are highlights, with Pop still as sinewy and uncompromising as the Stooges' music always was.
The festival is Dave Grohl's spiritual home. It's 13 years since he last climbed behind a drum kit here, and when he does so, it's during a blistering Foo Fighters set that keeps memories of his old band at bay. Arctic Monkey's legend may be born at Reading, such is the desperation among those not able to squeeze into the Carling Stage to hear their Libertines-esque sound. The soaring sound of new band Boy Kill Boy marks them out as the festival's brightest young hopes.
But everyone wants to see Iron Maiden. Fresh from the Osbournegate controversy - with Sharon Osbourne accused of sabotaging the band's set during an Ozzfest show in America - there are as many "Fuck Sharon" banners as there are Maiden-scrawled British flags.
Bruce Dickinson is keener to talk about the past than comment on the current furore, recalling how he was first asked to join the band "100 yards" behind the huge stage set adorned by ramps and massive images of the band's mascot Eddie. "This is the song that got me into Iron Maiden," he says of Remember Tomorrow. "If you haven't heard the band, it might get you into it too." As they cherry-pick songs from their first four albums, Iron Maiden's power and pyrotechnics overcome the rock/indie divide. Fired by Dickinson's furious roar, the majesty of Murders in the Rue Morgue and Run to the Hills eclipse the 23 years since the band last stormed Reading.
