Name: Queens of the Stone Age

Where and when: Main stage, 9pm, Reading

Dress code: We can't pretend not to be worried by Josh Homme's shaved-head and smart-shirt combo. But hey, it's the end of a tour.

Who's watching: Pretty much a perfect sample of modern rock's populace. Sure, QOTSA have always been the indie kids' fit-all band to adore when they feel like rocking. A cynic might reckon that reason the crowd was so huge was that some people were pitching up a good spot for Rage Against the Machine. But we wouldn't dare.

In a nutshell:Their album Era Vulgaris established QOTSA back where they always belonged – as brute-rock's defenders of camp and proficient metal-that-ain't-really-metal. This was the close of the campaign for Josh Homme and co. And, despite the worryingly low volume, they kicked it. The heavy wind sweeping away the sound from the stage still can't neuter the rock, soul and sex that QOTSA conjure up. It just meant that you couldn't hear them. And yes, fashion has been cruel to Earth's greatest rock band, but today is again proof that what you listen to counts more.

High point: Misfit Love. Fairweather fans might bemoan the absence of a chorus, but where we're going, we don't need toplines… Plus, we challenge any band on Earth to come up with a more exhilarating opening volley than No One Knows and Feel Good Hit of the Summer.

Low point: The volume! Blame Festival Republic for the system. Or blame RATM for the possibly keeping support act's volume so low as not to be upstaged. Or blame God for the wind. But this was fatally quiet.

On a scale of 1-11, how hard do they rock?: 11 in spirit, but 7 if you factor in the weather.