TRIUMPHANT. There is just no other word for the way My Chemical Romance closed out Reading Festival's first night last night.

Five years ago they were infamously bottled by the stage and there was a uncomfortable reception to their name during the set by The Blackout.

But Gerard Way and chums had no need to fear.

They blew away the crowd, particularly when they pulled out the surprise appearance of Queen guitarist Brian May.

He came out for the encore, a cover of We Will Rock You, but it was no short cameo.

He then joined Ray Toro in a note for note duo of the power chords for My Chem's Welcome To The Black Parade, which blew away all that had come before.

I have to admit I was not fully sold on them headlining the first night. They had, after all, failed to sell out Cardiff's International Arena in January and there was, of course, the 2006 bottling.

But they were on fine form. Tight, energetic and incomparable.

They owned that stage and, in doing so, they set the seal on the problem I had been pondering since mid-afternoon.

New Found Glory were on the main stage yet they seem overwhelmed by it.

They are a decent band but they just couldn't command it.

The Offspring, on later, are not entirely dissimar to NFG yet they knew how to perform. There was little passion to their performance, but The Offspring belonged there.

NFG would have been better served on the NME/Radio 1 tent, where they have appeared before.

Sticking one's head into that tent (partly to avoid the horror downpours which turned the site into a near quagmire), The Naked & Famous were simply awesome.

They played the O2 Oxford Academy recently and were decidely disappointing. Their sound is one where the vocals are woven into the instrumental sound and, in Oxford, the levels were off and so the singing was lost.

At Reading it was all in sync and the Kiwis proved they are the real deal.

Other honourable mentions come for The Blackout and Rise Against on the main stage and White Denim on the Festival Republic stage.

Reading Festival continues today and tomorrow.