The delicate art of the 'comeback' in rock relies on strength of character, persistence and a good dollop of luck. In a festival setting, 'approach with caution' is probably the advice as three of Friday's star attractions will testify - the success, the failure and the 'only time will tell'.
Weezer opted for the self-imposed exile a few years back while Rivers Cuomo (surely the most un-Reading frontman bar Jarvis Cocker) went in search of his sanity. Basking in the late afternoon sunshine and the adulation of two faultless albums in 18 months, Weezer are once again on vintage form.
"Ninety four was a good year," quips Rivers and he's not wrong. 'Undone - The Sweater Song', 'Say It Ain't So' and 'Buddy Holly' prove his point, but this is more than a lazy nostalgia trip. Rivers sets high standards so 'El Scorcho', 'Hash Pipe' and 'Dope Nose' remind us that 1996, 2001 and 2002 weren't bad years either. He also musters up enough strength to smile and raise a boxer's victory salute. Now you don't see that everyday. Weezer set the bar for the weekend that few will beat.
And that includes Jane's Addiction whose chances of pulling off the comeback of the weekend are instantly quashed the moment the heavens erupt prompting a mass exodus for shelter. The brave few who stay are left to marvel at the expected flamboyance - Perry Farrell camping it up in a white suit and feather hat and the heavily tattooed torso of Dave Navarro looking every inch the rock star - rather than music.
Amide the downpour, it rapidly becomes clear that the glamorous myth that has surrounded the band for almost a decade is about to be cruelly exposed as a fraud. A barely coherent Farrell seems a million miles away from Navarro and consequently detached from the audience during a hit-less set that soundtracks a mystical Californian world of mind-warping drug-addled fantasy, not a rainy evening in Berkshire dodging umbrellas.
Save for some tongue-lolling guitar wizardry from Navarro, Jane's Addiction turn out to be as addictive as festival food. Long live the myth.
The fact that Feeder are booked to play in the Evening Session tent saves them from the rain and that can only be a good thing. At this tricky time - their first major show since the suicide of drummer Jon Lee - they need protecting and they need to be close to their fans.
Tonight is the start of their long rehabilitation and unsurprisingly support for Grant and Taka is not hard to find. While it's probably too early to comment on success or failure, all the signs - a twenty deep throng left stranded outside the tent, the sheer number of Feeder t-shirts sprinkled around the site and the incessant 'Feeder, Feeder' chants - point to a positive outcome.
'Come Back Around' is the pick of the new tracks that give way to a succinct set of greatest hits - 'Buck Rodgers', 'Just A Day' and 'High'. Feeder may have tragically lost a third of the band but their sound and style is evolving and improving. Tonight's reaction completely justified the difficult decision to play on.
