THE rain and inevitable mud arrived on day two of the Leeds Carling weekend - but so thankfully did a line-up in which the organisers had eased off the heavy stuff.

UNKLE played a mini-festival of sight and sound all of their own in the Dance Tent, blowing the generator before they could finish.

As always Pulp played a storming mix of classics, newer tunes and Jarvis's incomparable ad-libbing.

Back in the Dance Tent, never predictable Aphex Twin played some tough drum 'n' bass, complete with random version of Europe's The Final Countdown.

The Strokes called it a night with their samey electric rock. The crowd went mental, but surely the headline slot should have belonged to Pulp.

Yesterday, crazed rock showman Andrew WK was the first of many frontmen to get up close and personal with the front row of the crowd.

Livewire punk popsters A and ska powerhouses Less Than Jake worked the audience like the festival veterans they are.

Alec Empire's onslaught of industrial metal noise terror at the second stage was ideal for anyone wanting to escape the main stage cheerfulness.

Sharp-suited Swedes The Hives were great to watch, and strutting frontman Pelle had the best banter of the day. Ash's appearance had been in doubt, owing to an injured drummer. But they turned in an excellent set of classics played at full throttle.

Muse's complex prog rock fell the right side of the line between brilliant and ridiculous last night.

The ideal band to put the seal on the weekend were the Foo Fighters. The band gave an absolutely blazing performance, to bring the North's biggest music festival to a close.

Updated: 11:12 Monday, August 26, 2002