FRIDAY kicked the whole thing off with a bang. It was pissing with rain, and I mean hammering it down, mud up to ya knees but hey that's part of the fun is it not? Armed with our wellies, and rain macs we trudged through the swamps to get to the main stage ready for Architects to start proceedings. I won't talk about every great band in detail because we'd be here all day, but I do wanna mention Architects. They had the pretty tough task of being the very first band to grace the mainstage and open up the festival, and to make matters worse every one was cold and soaking wet. Nevertheless they absolutely smashed it to pieces on their main stage debut. They got the crowd warmed up just right and the tone for the weekend was well and truly set. Good job boys!
As the rain got heavier, so did the performances... One of my favourite acts of the day was Bring Me The Horizon - Okay, so they're not everyone's cup of tea, but an aboslute highlight of my weekend was seeing my friend Nat, who admitted to being 'quite scared' of them, headbanging and singing her little heart out in the mosh pit, epic. Oli Sykes had the crowd in the palm of his skinny, tattooed hand and I'm predicting enourmous things for them in the future - I wouldn't even be surprised if they headline the festival in a couple of years time (you heard it here first! ;) Deftones were incredible, of course - Chino is a legend. Got a bit teary-eyed when Jared Leto announced this was to be 30 Seconds To Mars last visit to the UK for 'quite some time' - a.k.a they're retiring! :( I can't complain, I've seen them live 3 times now and they get better every time. Jared sung an acoustic version of 'The Kill' which was spine-tingling, tear-jerking and effortlessly beautiful.
But for me, the overwhelming highlight of the day (and pretty much, the whole weekend) was My Chemical Romance. They were mesmerizing - I got completely lost in their music as per. I've always adored them, and secretly I knew they would give a frighteningly good show but deep down I was afraid. There were so many negative comments being thrown around about them all day, and in the lead up to the festival but I was so proud of the boys for proving them ALL wrong. Oh and by the way if you haven't heard yet - Brian May came out for the encore. Yeah, Brian May, Brian Motherfuckin' May... BRIAN MAY. Walking back to our camp after their performances hearing people say 'I can't believe how good my chem were' kept that big ole grin on my face all night. My Chem rule.
SATURDAY was a bit of a funny one if I'm honest. Musically it didn't float my boat all that much - there was some sorta indie vibe going on which is cool if that's your thing, but I don't know if any of you have noticed but it certainly ain't mine. As predicted, however, Two Door Cinema Club were amazing. Just when I was roaming around thinking I could do with a bit of sunshine to break through the rain - they walked out onto the mainstage, ginger hair, skinny jeans, wide smiles and all armed with some funky summer tunes... and the sun did come out for a little while. Shortly after that I only went and met Rob Rolfe - who happens to be the drummer from the one and only Enter Shikari. He's lovely - proper nice fella and taller and even more handsome in real life. Love it, I'll get the pic up when it's developed! (highlight of my year I think?) So I was buzzing off that all day, and the indie music didn't seem so boring after that (and a few more pints of snakebite)
And here comes the biggie - brace yourselves. So there I am on Friday morning flippin through the programme when I noticed a big picture of Rival Schools and I sat there and thought to myself, 'thanks for that Reading - talk about a tease!' and I flipped on by. I never thought for one second they would be playing the festival because, COME ON, I'd studied that line up over and over again... I went right back to the photo just to be sure and low and behold, they were playing. They were headlining the Festival Republic Stage on Saturday. How in the name of all that is holy did I fail to notice that. HOW? Well, I never. Now, I know that 'favourite' is a word that I use a lot - every other band I mention is my favourite, but we all know that Nirvana are my true, true faves... well Rival Schools step right up. This band were the first ever punk supergroup and they filled a Nirvana shaped whole like no other. I've adored them for years and years and never dreamed I could see them live. From that very moment (around 10 am on Friday) I couldn't stop thinking about it. My friends had never heard of them, and weren't that bothered about seeing them, but that wasn't about to stop me. When the time finally arrived, 9.20 on saturday evening, I trudged through the main stage crowds and made my way into the tent - squeezing through the groups of friends and hand-holding couples to get myself as close to the front as possible. I made it to the barrier - result! I stood there, admittedly very very drunk, treading that fine line between bursting into tears or having the time of my life - I was so nervous, literally butterflies doing summersaults in my cider filled tummy that I gripped the barrier so hard to stop myself from passing out (I need help?). Once they finally stepped out onto the stage, understated and humble, the butterflies went away and I didn't stop jumping and singing for an hour and 20 minutes. They just let their gorgeous music do the talking, no stage dives, no rockstar speeches, no backflips - just tight, polished and effortless riffs and choruses. What a band.
I have to say, after watching them all by myself in that tent, squeezed between sweaty, punky strangers singing every word to every song that this was not only one of the best moments of my festival but of my life. Their new album is as good as their first - they were as perfect as I imagined them to be. I had tears in my eyes the whole time, and goosebumps covered the entire surface of my skin. It truly was one of those moments where everything and everyone around you just disappeared and it was me and the music - the most beautiful, hypnotic music around. Rival Schools you were everything I hope you would be and more, you rocked the roof off that tent, and gained yourself a hell load more fans that night! Epic doesn't even begin to describe it - thank you. Oh, and yes if you're wondering, they are of course my favourite band, ever.
Unpopular opinion time: The Strokes weren't great. They were average at best, which sucks because although I've never been a great listener I was anticipating much more from them because I can recognise talent when I see it even when it's outside of my preferred music genres. But they were, dare I say it, boring.
SUNDAY was it. The last day of music - and the day we'd all been waiting for. The sun had decided to put in an appearance on sunday, at long last, and there was a strange atmosphere in the air. You could tell people were tired - mentally and physically, but still determined to rock the fuck out. At 11 am on Friday and Saturday everyone was getting stuck into the mosh pits and the cider, but on sunday it was cups of tea and bodies sprawled on the ground. It was like one big giant countdown to Muse. Everyone was waiting for those mainstage monsters to bring us all back to life, but we had to wait a little while yet. There were a few decent bands kicking about on Sunday, We Are The Ocean, Taking Back Sunday and Panic! At The Disco to name but a few - but none more so than, especially for me, Enter Shikari. They caused some serious havoc in the pit - I've got the bruises to prove it, and melted some faces with their new remixes. Rou and the boys know how to put on a good show, and they never fail to disappoint. I will never ever tire of seeing them live, and I'm already counting the days til their next show (54!). Well in boys! Unlike Rival Schools who come out and just deliver tune after tune, Shikari are all about the theatrics, they backflip off eachother, throw their instruments all over the shop, dive into the crowd, hang upside down from the frameworks and climb all over everything - if you ever needed a band to wake you the fuck up, these are your guys. Chris Batten also proved, once again, what a bloody good voice he's got and they certainly worked the pit well. Also, would like to throw out a big thank you to the bloke who let me on his shoulders for 'Sorry, you're not a winner!' (yes, my blog is absolutely named after that song)
Okay, so after Enter Shikari I won't deny the tiredness, hangover, lack of sleep, general aching body and not having had a shower for 3 days was taking it's toll. I was starting to flag, big time. Alcohol was making me more sleepy and everywhere I turned there was another mellow, beautiful but mellow, band strumming about. I needed something and I needed something fast... So who came running? Who the hell came running but Kurt. Kurt Cobain. Yep, you heard.
Nirvana's 1992 headline performance at Reading has gone down in history (not just by Nirvana fans) as the greatest gig of all time. I've got it on dvd so I've seen it a hundred times but when I heard they were playing it on the big screen in the alternative stage/tent I just had to go check it out. There I was sandwiched in between a few hundred other Nirvana fans in the pitch black staring up at Kurt, Krist and Dave and I felt as if I was there. I felt as if I was actually there back in 1992 watching that monumental gig - Goosebumps everywhere and floods of tears (and that was just the 6foot3, hairy, monsterous bloke next to me!) It was the most touching moment ever. I genuinely now feel as though I can claim to have seen Nirvana live, because I soaked up the atmosphere and was just transported back 20 years to that very moment. I was holding it together and just singing along to those beautiful lyrics, but the very moment that 'all apologies' left his lips, some giant teardrops left my eyes. Man, it was tough to stick it out after that. Remember when I said I don't listen to Nirvana all that much because emotionally it tears me to pieces, well forget that now. This past week I've not stopped listening to them. Obsessively cramming in as much Cobain time as I can get - falling asleep with 'Bleach' on repeat, walking the dog listening to 'Nevermind' and driving everywhere with 'In Utero' on full blast. Just when I thought I couldn't love them anymore... I guess it's just made me feel more connected. (I know I'm horribly cheesy but that's me baby.)
So after that emotional rollercoaster I only had an hour left until Muse hit the stage. Of course, I knew that performance was going to be bittersweet - it was the one I had been waiting for since I booked the tickets but it was also the end of my Reading Festival experience.
I'm still a bit lost for words surrounding the whole thing. They were phenomenal. I've heard so much about how perfect they are live, but I was completely taken a back at quite how good they are. Matt Bellamy is a beautiful singer, granted, but his almost operatic voice makes the whole thing seem like a show - like a grand show, a story... when in reality it is simply 3 seriously talented blokes from Teignmouth playing some beautiful music. I cannot emphasise enough how perfect they are, and if you ever get the opportunity to see them live, grab it with both hands and do not let go. They are the best. The very best, and nothing and no one comes close to competing.
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