READING FESTIVAL 2000

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JJ72, too, have some dark stuff to get through: theirs is the haunted gloom of churchyards, transported uncannily intact into festival hell. Mark Greaney's personal demons are in good voice today, growling, swooping and winning over a rammed tent. They're at their best, however, when scraping the skies rather than plumbing emotional depths. And so 'Oxygen' - where the otherworldliness of say, Sigur Ros, meets the swagger of Suede - transports a refugee camp of sodden hearts into a congregation of new faithful.

Following the Get Up Kids is never an easy task, with their energetic brand of emo-core new-wave punk. But for JJ72 the task was even harder. They were lumbered with a set at 1.25 on a Saturday afternoon in the Radio 1 tent - the night after the Reading arena was loaded for sets from Oasis and Muse.

But surprise, surprise. Not only was there a fair crowd for JJ72, but the tent was literally packed, with fans overflowing outside. Considering the tent has a much larger capacity than venues such as Rock City or the Astoria, this is no easy task.

And the band didn't disappoint. Despite cries for "ball" in between songs (an inflatable beach ball found its way onstage post Get Up Kids) bemusing the three-piece, Mark, Hillary and Fergal played an outstanding set.

The beat box began. Kicking off with the energetic and almost Manics-esque Long Way South (the only track that could be a Manics track from the album despite what other journalists say), JJ72 certainly won the crowd over. High notes proved no trouble for vocalist Mark Greaney, who just seems to sing higher and higher at every gig. Snow sounded raw and powerful, with yet more raging vocals from the Dublin frontman. The crowd knew the words and sang along, much to the band's amazement. Even Hillary "Ice Queen" Woods let a little smile out.

Surrender was understandably less familiar for most of the crowd, because until Monday it hadn't been released. Even so, it went down extremely well with a crowd that was becoming more and more vocal.

ark was then left by himself for the gorgeously simple b-side to Oxygen, Desertion. With probably the highest notes in any JJ72 track, Desertion would be a great hurdle to most vocalists, but not for this one. Almost every word sung was pitch perfect, and once again this lesser known track was received much more than warmly.

Could this crowd get any rowdier? In a word, yes. October Swimmer has always been a favourite of the hardcore following, and those fortunate enough to have heard the track sang along with great enthusiasm. Those who hadn't heard it were astounded by its subtle rage, and once again the track was applauded with tremendous vigour. The crowd were enjoying themselves, and the band looked like they were too.

Algeria is one of the highlights of the album, and was one of the highlights of this set. It's recorded power transferred magnificently to the live performance, with an energetic audience even starting to mosh. Wow.

Then came the big one. Although probably not as good a track as October Swimmer, Oxygen is probably the main reason for so many people being in that packed tent. After generious airplay and a chart position of 23, the audience knew this song well. As usual, strings gave way for powerful and angsty guitar riffs and solos that just inspired.

The real hardcore fans then knew they were in for a treat. Traditionally, JJ72 finish with Bumble Bee, also the final track on the album. The live performance was just as incredible and emotional as the recording. Slow to start, the track quickly builds in depth to a raging beast, but then stops. Only to turn into a raging beast again, that just blows you away.

It wasn't long before we knew the reason why Mark had swapped his expensive looking turquoise guitar for what looked like a cheap, black Fender Squier Strat. It didn't smash, but it certainly bent and dented the floor. Unfortunately it bounched of the stage but didn't reach the crowd, where no doubt it would have been broken into a million pieces and kept as souvenirs of an incredible set.

If you haven't seen JJ72 live yet, see them now. This performance was incredible an no doubt will be repeated at every venue in october, in support of the re-release of October Swimmer.