Gig played on 23/06/06

It would be a disservice to The Flaming Lips - actually, to pop itself - to not open this review with an image of a bearded hippie God being passed around a crowd of thousands in a giant bubble, while 14 martians, 14 Santas, four super-sized astronauts, one "Wonder Woman" and one "Superman" jiggle around the stage behind him.

But first things first. Gnarls Barkley take to the stage in "Clockwork Orange" boiler suits, and in Cee Lo they have a singer whose exuberance is difficult to resist. The same can't be said of their rather bitty, inconsistent set, however, with even the plod plod waltz of "Crazy" oddly blunt today, despite a gorgeous midsummer sun which should be perfect. "Smiley Faces" works better, perhaps because familiarity hasn't yet bred contempt.

And then there's Pharrell Williams, who is usually frustrating as a solo artist or as part of N*E*R*D, perhaps because he seems unable to apply his formidable minimalist instincts to himself. Williams brings a huge band onstage with him, but have 12 people ever spent so long fruitlessly looking for a melody? The first fifteen minutes are blighted by jaded jamming, interminable noodling, drum rolls and several shouts to "make some motherf*cking noise" with barely a tune in earshot. Pharrell does finally make time for a gorgeous, strutting "Frontin'" and a snarling "Rock Star", but it fails to rescue a dull set.

Then, of course, there's Massive Attack, tonight's headliners and simply one of the most important bands of the last two decades. Several forests have already been destroyed praising them, quite rightly, but tonight they are pompous, po-faced and heartbreakingly disappointing. It's not all a music thing. Oddly, when they tackle their gloomier material they shine (a broodingly atmospheric "Risingson", an exquisite "Angel") but when they tackle their pop jewels - ("Unfinished Symphony", "Teardrop") - the mix is so godawful it becomes all sonic and no song.

Possibly not their fault, though guest vocalist Liz Fraser is particularly weak. What is their fault is Robert Del Naja's condescending political hectoring which only alienates the audience further. That said, even he, or even the three unnecessary minutes of fretboard frottage at the end, could ever destroy something as beautiful as "Safe From Harm". Still - where are the martians?

They're here, back where we started, dancing around The Flaming Lips, who have just had the sheer audacious genius to cover "Bohemian Rhapsody". In theory you should never tackle a song as iconic as this - particularly if your voice is as shot as Wayne Coyne's - yet sheer effervescence and joy carry it off to a beaming, dancing crowd.

Not that they need rely on cover versions, not with songs as plugged into the joy of pop as "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" or a transcendent "Do You Realize??", which sees confetti, balloons and streamers pour into the outstretched arms of the audience as the sun sets. It takes a bold band to risk overshadowing songs as delicate and beautiful as "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots" with a show as gaudy and spectacular as this. But then it takes a great band to write the kind of songs that can survive such a treatment, and these songs do. This is one of the finest festival performances of this or any other year, and more than enough to make up for any disappointments, before or after.

by Jaime Gill