Here's one I thought of earlier, that might help a few people out: the festival season runs from the end of May to the middle of September, and you can often see bigger bands playing lower down on the bill as their current album isn't having the same impact as they would maybe like, or perhaps it is ready to go but is awaiting an autumn release. These acts are often pushed out by the current media darlings who have great singles, sometimes great debut albums. But there are those whose sets can drift over people who are yet to get a copy of the record, and have only heard their biggest hit on the radio. Therefore I'm proposing an April transfer window where the bigger bands offer some of the tracks that they don't want to use, or don't have time for, and the newer acts can take them on loan for the summer to strengthen their already promising squad. For example if at Reading this year, a Maiden fan had enjoyed hearing the band play only tracks from the first four albums, but was missing 'Can I Play With Madness', they might have had the chance to hear somebody early on the Lock Up stage play that on Saturday afternoon, or those spotted leaving the Futureheads set once 'Hounds of Love' and 'Decent Days and Nights' had been played might have stayed if one of the Charlatans tracks that was left out of their fifty minute Main Stage set had been borrowed. Therefore the older acts can solve the dilemma of what to play, the new bands get a decent cover to add to their set list and fans get to laugh at those that don't quite pull it off: everyone's a winner!

Reading 2005 had one of the best trios of headliners I can recall in the time I've been going. The Pixies have been doing the festival circuit again for the past year and not only are the fans from the first time round getting another chance to see them, but they're picking up new followers every time they perform. Good though I'm sure they were, those who saw them play the Main Stage on Friday night will have missed two of the highlights of the weekend. Kasabian are about to go to America before recording their new album and were extremely fired up for the occasion of headlining the Radio 1 tent. The audience reaction was amazing and there were people still standing singing football crowd style ten minutes after they left the stage. Meanwhile Lemon Jelly headlined the Dance Stage and were doing the best to blow the walls out, 'Nice Weather For Ducks' must be a contender for the best crowd reaction for one song award.

Other note worthy acts include GLC who brought their Goldie Lookin' Party to Reading for a similarly early start to that which they were given at V the previous weekend. The Coral showed any Zutons fans in the crowd who was really boss and Queens of the Stone Age played a typically huge set before the Killers. The real stars of Friday were Elbow who worked their audience better than anyone else. This included creating an inverse Mexican wave with people crouching rather than waving, which is apparently to go in their next video.

The Dance stage runs on Friday and Sunday with the Lock Up stage, formerly Concrete Jungle in its place on Saturday. One of the most interesting bands on this particular stage were the Dwarves whose guitarist played the whole set knackers naked. Million Dead and Bad Religion are also worthy of a special mention.

The Indie kids could head for the Radio 1 stage for the likes of Nine Black Alps, Hot Hot Heat and the particularly impressive Arcade Fire. The tent was packed for these guys and they played a blinder. This maybe was what prompted the bloke next to me to try and piss in a paper cup, but if it was because he didn't want to leave then that's praise indeed. Either way he got his angles all wrong and got my arm and all up the back of a girl's leg, what a legend!

As for the Main Stage, one of the promoted acts from last year was Roots Manuva. Sadly his set didn't gain quite the same response as on the Dance Stage in 2004 but then Hip-Hop rarely works on that outdoor stage. Early nineties rockers Dinosaur Jr had a hard core of followers but didn't seem to get too many people going, but the Charlatans restored the excitement level before Razorlight and Kings of Leon warmed things up for the Foo Fighters.

Not that they needed anyone to do any crowd warming. 'In Your Honor', 'All I want' and 'Times Like These' were just the start of what proved to be an excellent way to round off day two. Those who didn't fancy the Foo Fighters could have seen The Tears in the Radio 1 tent headlining above Pete Doherty's Babyshambles. Not only did he actually turn up but seems to have played a belter.

Depending on your music taste, Sunday is always pretty straightforward. The Main Stage always has the look of Download about it with this year amongst others NOFX, Turbonegro, Funeral for a Friend and Marilyn Manson doing the honours. The Radio 1 stage was made up of pretty much most of the big artists from their evening shows. Sons and Daughters had those with energy left jumping in the early afternoon, to somebody watching from a distance it might had looked as if Hal were greeted with indifference but the offer of some relaxed music to have a lie down to seemed too good to refuse for many, but Maximo Park soon sorted that out. Probably the most humble of bands that have really broken through in the last year, they seemed genuinely made up just being there. Then there was British Sea Power whose loyal fans brought along bits of trees to match the stage setting, creating one of the stranger sights of this years festival.

One of the things you learn from going to festivals is the rule that you shouldn't expect to see everyone you like. Reading organizers really pushed this to the limit with the Sunday headliners. One of the hottest dance acts of the moment Mylo rounded off that stage, meanwhile ahead of the release of new material one of the best indie bands of the past twenty five years, Echo and the Bunnymen brought the Carling Stage to a close. The big battle was between Bloc Party or Iron Maiden and class though Bloc Party are it was a no brainer, especially given that Maiden were playing tracks only from their first four albums, so it was an opportunity to see songs played that rarely see the light of day quarter of a century after they were written. It was part metal gig and part Maiden history lesson and fact fans, the irony is that this was the very site where Bruce Dickinson was recruited for the band back in the early eighties. With new material on the way they're right back at the top and who'd bet against another massive festival headline slot in the next couple of years. As for Reading, bring on August 2006 I'm waiting already!