READING, FRIDAY, EVENING SESSION STAGE, 5.45-6.30PM

When astrologers talk airily of planets aligning, when scientists discuss matter reaching critical mass, what they are really talking about is the precise moment when the first words to 'Get Free', the very best song by the very best new rock band this year, rip from the throats of a heaving tent full of Vinemaniacs, and the world is suddenly a different place. A few molecules have shimmied to the left. The shit is now real.

Months and months of promise and hyperbole and foaming messageboard action have been distilled into incontrovertible fact: The Vines are go. Unconscious people are actually being carried into the tent by their friends. That's how electric The Vines are. 

At Glastonbury, they triumphed despite the fact that not all that many people had heard all that many of their songs. It's hard to sing along to music you've only just heard about. Now, two months later, the album's out. And the curious have become the faithful. The air is thick with greedy Vinelove. The band's label boss tenderly embraces the band's manager by the side of the stage, and punches the air. The Vines really are go.

And, for a band who seem to be constantly on the verge of a breakdown, they're in total control of their lift-off. Guitarist Ryan - the one who combs his hair - didn't really go AWOL after all: he's here, coaxing warm summer sun from his acoustic guitar on the effortlessly classic pot ballad 'Mary Jane'. Bassist Patrick remains the fulcrum of the band, a cardinal point in a mess of guitars on pop-gone-sour hits like 'Highly Evolved'. He's got a Morrissey T-shirt on, the soft boy.

For an alleged total fucking fruitcake, Craig Nicholls appears remarkably self-possessed. 'Outtathaway', today's declaration of intent, sees him do nothing more dangerous than mess his hair in that little kid way he has. He gangles, he screams. He clutches the mic stand in defiance, like a prisoner clutches his bars; he whips his guitar around a bit, teeters a little and warbles way off-melody on 'Autumn Shade'. So: no Amen-style atrocity exhibition, then. Good. If today's glorious spiritual homecoming demonstrates anything, it's that The Vines mean business. For a band who are meant to be a shambles, barely holding it together under the pressures of fame, junk food and our expectations, they bristle with confidence. It's a rare and unambiguously talented band that can pull off the primal scream of 'In The Jungle', and a cover of the most emotionally literate song in pop, OutKast's 'Ms Jackson', a tune The Vines make their own as Craig bawls, "I am for real".

It's a plea that resonates with the Vines massive. They started as a rumour last year: a great band from Australia that sounded like Nirvana playing The Beatles? A band that could redefine rock'n'roll again, so soon after its last, gorgeous overhaul by The Strokes? A band with a sugar-crazed frontman who could sing falsetto and make it sound like the coolest prospect since amplification? Madness.

And yet, here we all are: watching Craig trash the drumkit with his guitar at the end of 'Fuck The World', watching the mercurial theories become hard fact. Kitty Empire

FESTIVAL NEWS EXTRA!

NME interviewed a very stoned Craig Nicholls, just minutes after he came offstage.

What did you think of your show?

"It was cool, good fun. We had a good crowd there, very positive vibes."

Everyone was singing the songs... 

"Yeah, it was great. It helped us out a bit. The more sound the better."

How are you coping with your insane schedule? 

"It's hard work but there's times when we get to play and put our songs out there to people. We're just really passionate about it. I guess that gets us through it. We really appreciate the attention we've been getting over here."

Have you been hanging out with any other bands? 

"Yeah, we met Ash a while back, we were doing a festival in Washington. They're cool, we just saw them the other night when we did Top Of The Pops together. They're really nice people and a great band. They gave us a new CD greatest hits which is a really impressive CD. We've met The Electric Soft Parade and they're cool. I met Nick and Albert from The Strokes. They're really nice guys, they came to one of our shows in New York. It's great, everyone's just into playing music. Everyone can appreciate all the different bands out there, which is cool."

Have you had any hamburgers today? 

"No I haven't, ha ha."

Are you off burgers then? 

"I've been eating sushi and weird stuff like that. We've been going out to restaurants in LA - that's what we do there, get sushi. In London we tend to have chilli and Italian food or something."

Which bands are you going to see this weekend? 

"I missed The White Stripes, unfortunately, and The Dandy Warhols. But I'm going to see The Strokes. I might see the end of Jane's Addiction. I really want to see Muse but we're leaving, which is a shame."

PHOTOGRAPHY: JO MCCAUGHEY