My Reading Festival
Just got back from Reading today. Had an awesome time and saw a lot of bands, most were really good, a few weren't though. Ranked from best to worst. |
| 1 | Rage Against The Machine
Pure. Fucking. Chaos. I could write for hours about how amazing this was but I'll suffice to say that this was the most intense gig I've ever been a part of. The surge for the front was unholy and bodies were passing out overhead due to injuries. Rage played flawlessly and sounded incredibly powerful. The setlist was perfect and you just couldn't ask for more. I could go on... |
| 2 | Alkaline Trio
Okay, maybe a little bit of bias here 'cos i love them but they were still on top form on Saturday night. They played rarely aired songs like 'I Lied My Face Off' and 'Blue Carolina' as well as (nearly) all the fan-favourites. They were very energetic and remained as tight as always. Last time I saw them they were disappointing to say the least, but at Reading they were fantastic |
| 3 | Metallica
Brilliant setlist i.e. nothing after 'The Black Album' save for a new song - 'Cyanide' - which sounded very promising. They were flawless throughout and sounded much more powerful than on record. |
| 4 | Cancer Bats
This was the Lock Up stage at its most chaotic. Everyone went crazy for the Bats - who played a blinder, by the way. Far heavier than on record, they sounded incredibly urgent and ferocious. |
| 5 | Pendulum
This was just obnoxious fun. The tent was packed - and I [I]mean[/I] packed and everyone went crazy. |
| 6 | The Subways
These guys (and girl) were always going to go down well as they're Reading Festival favourites as they've now played 5 years in a row. Setlist was great, only slightly favouring the new album, and they got some great pit action as well. |
| 7 | Frank Turner
Stunning set from Franky. It was just sing-a-long after sing-a-long after...you get the idea. Flawless set highlighted by the whole tent singing "we're definitely going to hell'' during set-closer 'The Ballad Of Me And My Friends'. |
| 8 | Flogging Molly
I crowd-surfed during 'Drunken Lullabies' and stared in amazement at the 1000's of people going crazy for Flogging Molly. As I surfed out someone punched me in the bollocks. Aside from the fact that I left cradling my nuts, I can't really fault their set as they certainly knew how to get the crowd going. |
| 9 | King Blues
This band are basically designed for festivals. Their music sits perfectly between chilled-out-hangover-cure and "let's get movin' Readin'!" ska punk. A hell of a lot of fun. |
| 10 | Alexisonfire
As a band they were pretty solid and Dallas' melodic vocals were incredible. It's just a shame George's screams were poor. Oh well. |
| 11 | Biffy Clyro
I was lucky enough to see them twice on Friday as I caught them opening a stage designed for 50 people. They played an acoustic set live on BBC Radio 1 in which they covered 'Killing In The Name'. However, they refused to sing "Fuck You..." so we shouted it for them - on national radio...over and over. Main stage set was pretty solid except they only played '57' from their fist three albums. |
| 12 | The Gaslight Anthem
Poor setlist i.e. no 'We're Getting A Divorce...', no 'We Came To Dance', no 'Senor And The Queen' but they were still thouroughably enjoyable. Musically they were very tight and got the crowd going. Brian, the frontman, was a funny guy too so that helped get them over to those who hadn't heard of them before. |
| 13 | Queens Of The Stone Age
Had a great setlist, though at times they were a little too self-indulgent while extending the songs so at times they were boring. However, they certainly know how to rock and sounded brilliant when they refrained from extending the song too much. |
| 14 | The Blackout
Opened the mainstage on Saturday and had fantastic sound quality. Perhaps a little too generic, but they were still a fun start to the day. |
| 15 | H2O
Lots of energy, lots of enthusiasm. Sounded pretty damn good. They had a pretty large turnout but not too many got involved in the pits. |
| 16 | Blackhole
Frank from Gallows' little brother's band. They sounded like Gallows with a bit of Southern metal thrown in for good measure. Crowd didn't really respond to them other than applause but they were still a good band to watch. |
| 17 | Dropkick Murphys
I found the Murphys to be very inconsistent. Songs like 'Captain Kelly's Kitchen' and 'The State Of Massachusetts' were very energetic and sounded awesome, yet the band fell awkwardly flat on songs like 'Fields Of Athenry' and 'Bastards On Parade'. Basically at times they were excellent, an at times they were awkward and, some may say, boring. |
| 18 | The Automatic
Poor sound quality plagued their set and their new material sounded weak. 'Mosnter' was still pretty fun though. |
| 19 | Plain White T's
So incredibly lightweight and just plain boring really. The highlight of their set was the crowd mockingly starting a circle pit to 'Hey There, Delilah' - also known as "that song". |
| 20 | The Fratellis
This is the kind of music that your 11 year old sister probably listens to. They were a boring band to stand through as well. However, i was impressed, and indeed, surprised, by the drum solo in the middle of the set. |
| 21 | Tenacious D
Your ReasonDon't hate me for not liking them! This was just like a bad pantomime. I found it painfully unfunny and would have much preferred a, dare I say it, 'proper' band. They seemed to play very few actual songs and they were just trying too hard to be funny. |
| 22 | Bring Me The Horizon
Last minute replacement for Slipknot. Terrible on record and they sounded even worse live. Their only saving grace was Oli 'watersports' Sykes making light of their situation - being bottled. |
| 23 | Taking Back Sunday
Not entirely their fault, but they were horrendous. The sound quality was abysmal and as soon as they realised this they pretty much accepted defeat. they realised this about a bar into their set by the way. |
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