Giant Reading Festival 2014 Post

I suddenly realise that I never got around to writing up Glastonbury, so I'm going to try to write a quick Reading post before I end up never doing that either. I'll do a separate post about Camp Loner probably as I don't want to be too image heavy right now. My full album from the weekend can be found HERE, although my decade old camera is definitely on its last legs by now!


This year was my fourth Reading, and as usual I camped with Camp Loner (the best people ever). I ended up getting the Thursday off work so I could get there as early as possible, and the buses in Reading were much better this year. I hardly had to walk which was a blessing as my trolley broke, and once at the gates I got straight through without having to go through the windy barriers. Result! I even managed to put my tent up without help this time! Then proceeded to get too drunk & was sick outside my tent...

Friday

By some miracle I avoided a hangover, and first act on Friday was Gerard Way. I think a lot of people were disappointed, but it was everything I expected really. Kinda like MCR but not as good, and nobody really knew any songs. Afterwards I dashed off and left my friends as I wanted to catch the end of Hacktivist where I managed to catch some of their best songs, which was lucky. Rou even joined them on stage at one point! I stuck around for the Japanese band Crossfaith who blew my face off, Blood Red Shoes who were awesome and chill, and Deaf Havana who I enjoyed a lot more this time since I know them a bit better now. Then it was time to inch forward for...


Jimmy Eat World! Unfortunately this meant missing Twin Atlantic but I have no regrets as they were brilliant as always with a great setlist, which included Authority Song which is one of the funnest to sing along to (it features in my kitchen playlist when I cook every time haha). The crowd reaction was pretty good too. I had wanted to try to get right to the front but it was too busy to risk getting stuck in the middle! Because next was...


Enter Shikari! Which sucked a lot more than I'd hoped. I'd pretty much only bought my ticket to see them. I got crushed against the barrier at the back of the inner circle, could barely breathe, almost got my arm and ribs broken...no bueno. I had to get pulled out after 2 songs and I was really upset about it! I ended up able to see pretty badly at the side where I still had to dodge circle pits, and they didn't even play Zzzonked =[ not that they didn't sound utterly brilliant, I was just a bit bummed out and was the wrong side of the stage to see Rory C's shenanigans. BLAH.

After all that pain I went to see Warpaint for a much needed chill out session, and if you haven't seen them you really should as they always kill it. And then...


MORE JIMMY EAT WORLD! I had a hunch they would play Futures in full to mark the 10 year anniversary of its release, and I was correct. The set was so nostalgic for me as it was the first album of theirs I ever bought and it takes me back to being 14. Kill is one of my favourite songs still, and hearing it live was a bit of a dream come true, sad as it is. By the end of the show I had managed to get quite near the front too! I was a bit annoyed that so many people were just standing around and not singing along or dancing...like why did you bother to cram yourself into the little Lock Up tent if you aren't even into them?

I caught the end of Paramore's set after leaving the tent (I was right to not trust the rumours about a secret set in the Lock Up) and they put on a good show and seemed to be surprisingly well-received for the amount of hate they get. It started raining a little so I headed to Metronomy for a bit to warm up before Queens of the Stone Age.


While I'm still not convinced that they are headline material, their set definitely benefitted from the insane light show. They were really very good, much better than at Download last year. I was kinda grumpy and tired and cold though, which was a shame. Straight to bed afterwards!

Saturday

A whole bunch of us went to catch Pulled Apart By Horses after a nice morning at camp. Turns out I knew them better than I had thought, and while they're a little heavy for me I ought to check them out again some time. I stuck around for a bit of Dry The River since I had missed them at Glastonbury, and then caught a bit of Royal Blood as I'd been told that they were good (which they were). I was really tired at this point, so caught All We Are for a second time at the BBC Introducing stage despite originally intending to go see Lower Than Atlantis (who I got drenched seeing last year iirc). The Hives were a bit of a disappointment after being a highlight of Download, I think they only really worked in the charged environment of a small tent and not on the Main Stage. Don Broco were a bit disappointing too but throught no fault of their own; it was just my poor mood and the fact that I could barely hear them as their sound must have been doofed up. After catching the end of Foster The People Gemma & Panda bumped into me so we all sat half asleep and half singing along to Imagine Dragons before I dashed off for...


We Are Scientists. I liked them aaaages ago after buying their first album on a whim, and had been very bummed out when a bunch of my friends saw them at Give It A Name without me when none of them even really knew who they were. They were definitely worth the wait! The crowd went wild whenever they played an oldie, and it was a full on dance party.

I'd intended to cram myself into the dance tent for the Pendulum DJ set, but it was far too loud. So I walked around the little barrier and sat watching Jake Bugg whilst being able to hear both, which was a bit trippy. I got adopted by a group of people at this point and it was nice to just have people to sit with.


I've never been a huge fan of Artic Monkeys, but trust me when I say they were amazing live. I knew pretty much all of the songs somehow and can definitely see how they were headliners.

Sunday
Somehow Sunday ended up being the most fun day of all. I missed a few bands in the morning as camp was just too fun, and then we all had a laugh at Main Stage most of the day. I'm glad I saw Young Guns after missing them at Download through similar camp-related shenanigans, and we all had a hoot at Papa Roach because how can you not? Sleeping With Sirens sounded good for what they were, but I can't stand the singer's whiny little girl voice. A Day To Remember and You Me At Six were good, and I was too lazy to go to other stages and stuck around for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis instead. Everyone was expecting it to be crap, but it was a crazy amount of drunken fun! I don't think anyone didn't enjoy it, even if it wasn't really many people's usual thing.


Then it was finally Möngöl Hörde time! The most fun set of the whole weekend as I could dance about and wave my glow stick around without getting crushed to death, and they're one of the best live bands I've ever seen anyway. I hope they do more shows in future, even if not for a while.


Then I had time to catch the most of Blink 182. I'd heard from a lot of people that they were rubbish live, but those people were big fat liars. They were playing one of my favourite songs (Down) when I got there, and once again I was surpised to find that I knew pretty much every song. I must have listened to them a lot when I was younger and just forgotten about it! It was a great way to end the weekend. I had to get a huge portion of chips and mushy peas afterwards to refuel!

On Monday the rain came. We all got soaked. But at least it held off until then! And I got a lift back so I didn't have to fight with the crowds at the train station in the rain. Win win!

Now the long wait until next year.

Möngöl Hörde

On Sunday evening I went to see Möngöl Hörde at The Fleece. We got a McDonalds on the way, so I guess I'm not dieting anymore!


The first act was Oxygen Thief again, and they're always really good live. I need to listen to the CDs a whole bunch more before inevitably going to see them again.


We went outside for some air and bumped into Frank Turner! I'm so stoked about meeting him finally. He's super tall, and we have matching dimples!


I wasn't so keen on Palehorse as they were veeeeery shouty, but one of the vocalists was wearing an awesome cat vest.


This sign is like 12 feet in the air?


This was also a good opportunity to take dumb selfies.


And of course a bathroom outfit shot. Wore my Möngöl Hörde shirt (it's a size L as it was all they had left on the site way back when I bought it), wet look cheerleader skirt from Black Milk, and Buffalo boots. Along with Frank Turner and Xtra Mile wristbands, of course! And anti-blister socks coz I'm an old lady.


I also got a photo with Barry from Oxygen Thief when Rob was buying their new album. So awkward but I have to document this awesomeness somehow.


Möngöl Hörde!


I enjoyed myself a lot more this time around as I knew the songs a lot better.


Epic crowd surf. Frank even managed some kind of handstand again one of the venue's poles whilst crowd surfing.


Stillborn Unicorn is still my favourite song from the album. Can't wait to hear it live again at Reading!

Hope they'll release more music and tour more, but that's looking pretty unlikely. It just makes me extra thankful for having tickets to this show.

Möngöl Hörde

After much waiting, and an almost complete loss of interest on my part, the Möngöl Hörde album was finally released today after being announced last week!


I actually received my copy on Saturday as I preordered it from Banquet Records, but I didn't get to listen to it at all until today anyway.

Honestly I was a little disappointed at first. The CD case is really fragile and was broken when I received it, and there is no booklet. I had also loved the song Casual Threats From Weekend Hardmen from the demo from last year, and the album version lacks a little pizzazz, in the same way that Biffy Clyro's Sounds Like Balloons was a disappointment on first album listen, but it'll probably be a grower.

As usual the lyrics made me laugh out loud in places, and I recognised most of the tracks from seeing them in Summer and watching the first gig set once way back. Stillborn Unicorn is the standout track to me, but then you can tell I like unicorns from the note that came with my copy!

Overall it's not a bad album at all, although it failed to fill the Million Dead-shaped hole in my soul. But then I would never have expected to!

Needless to say, I have also preordered vinyl and bought tickets for both the Bristol show AND Reading Festival...I hope I finally get to meet Frank Turner, although I'd definitely make an ass of myself!

Reading Festival, 2012 - Part Two

In the run-up to Reading Festival rumours had been flying around concerning Green Day. We pretty much knew that they would be playing on the Saturday but we didn't know when until, while sat being bored at camp, we heard 'Welcome To Paradise' blare out from the NME tent. POOP! We had to leg it there, missing several songs (although most of them seem to have been new ones I didn't know).


As you can see, we still got pretty close! Although our view was blocked by one of the tent supports so we could only see a sliver of stage. But still. It's GREEN DAY. And lots of people weren't even allowed into the area surrounding the tent, so we were pretty lucky!


Obviously they were really good, as always. I last saw them back in 2005 and I was not disappointed!

The only problem with seeing Green Day so early in the day is that it's far too much to live up to. Back at Main Stage I caught the end of Los Campesinos! and Blood Red Shoes. I had planned on seeing Pure Love over at NME but I've seen them before so I thought I'd be adventurous!

I did however head over to NME alone to see Twin Atlantic as I'd read in Kerrang! that they're like old-school Biffy Clyro and I stupidly thought I'd love them. LOLNOPE. Would have been okay but some bits they were too much of a rip-off only their riffs were weak and the singer's voice was crappy compared to Simon Neil's. Most people's voices are crappy compared to Simon Neil's. I'll have to give them a fairer chance at a later date, but now the comparison is in my mind I don't think they'll ever win me over.

Rejoined my little group of loners at Main Stage for the utter shite that is OFWGKTA, followed by The Shins. Lost my group during Enter Shikari, who aren't really my thing but I purposely avoided them last year so I thought I'd give them a go.

Went for a wander to find water, circling the NME tent during Billy Talent who sounded pretty awesome and then heading back to Main Stage to catch a bit of The Vaccines who were much less awesome. Should have stayed at NME.

But I'd wanted a decent spot for the next act, Florence and the Machine. Though their pretty back-boards were all I could see really as it was pretty packed.


They were really good, but I didn't enjoy it too much as it rained a lot and I was absolutely freezing! Though nowhere near as cold as I was last year, so just about bearable. Main complaint is that they didn't play Drumming Song which is easily their best song Dx

I stayed where I was for Kasabian, who blew me away. I'd seen them do a short set at Live Earth a few years back and while I vaguely liked their singles I'm not really a fan. But the crowd were amazing and it was a really great show. Probably my surprise highlight of the weekend! I even managed to dry out a little from jumping about. Glad I chose to see them instead of chancing At The Drive-In.


Sunday morning loners! Looking a little worse for wear after all the rain on Saturday. And yeah I guess they'd been drinking for 3 days straight by this point! I decided to join in that morning as it was sunny and nice a few cans of cider seemed to be in order.

Had to go to the arena by myself as couldn't convince anyone else to come with me. As such I missed the first few songs of Of Monsters And Men's set on the NME stage, which is a shame as they're a really good band and even better live.


At least I didn't miss the song 'Little Talks' as it's the only one I know well!

Afterwards I bought a pint of cider as I didn't feel too tipsy after the two cans I'd had and I wanted to have a good amount of alcohol in me for Möngöl Hörde's set just in case it was rough! Caught a bit of Flatliners when I got to the Lock-Up. And then...


Möngöl Hörde! I'd been looking forward to seeing them the most.


And they didn't disappoint. Even though I only went in knowing 4 songs. It seemed pretty tame from where I was, but apparently there was a circle pit and stuff that I totally missed as I didn't want to risk my glasses and I'm a short-ass.


It's a shame this was their last show this year. I'll definitely have to go see them when they tour though. And any sensible person would do the shame *shakes fist threateningly* eheheheh.

With that excitement over I trudged to Main Stage and saw the end of Eagles of Death Metal's set, Gaslight Anthem (who are really good), All Time Low (whose music is good but they're a bunch of immature dickbags). And then Bullet For My Valentine who granted me with my favourite photo of the whole weekend.


SO MUCH WELSH.

Then were the Kaiser Chiefs, and Or somehow found me so I had company for a bit! But I went on a water run after their set and got stuck away from the stage for The Black Keys (I still don't get how they subheadlined as I'd never heard of them and still don't really have a clue who they are). But it cleared up after they left so I got a good spot for...


FOO FIGHTERS! Who of course put on a really good show, and I didn't even get fed up until right at the end of the 2.5 hour set.


However I was stuck behind the four biggest douchebags I've ever known who were drunk and irritating and smoking weed and threw a cup of cider over my bag and threw several cups of piss on the people in front and started a circle pit for just them that meant I had to be saved by another member of camp who luckily happened to be there -_-


Aaaand the fireworks signal the end of an awesome weekend!

I had planned on staying up that night, but after a few minutes I was told I needed to get laid so I promptly fucked off back to my tent and decided that I hate people.

Monday went pretty smoothly, although I wasn't really ready to go home as I wanted more music! Was nowhere near as tired or sore as last year. Ended up catching the train with Ross because Finn left before I even got up despite saying he'd travel back with me =/

Got back home at around midday, looking rough but in one piece! And boy was I ready for a cup of tea, shower, and some food.


And here's some instagram shots of my wristbands and programme.




And I guess that's it for another year! Although I'll only be going again if the line-up is good, unless people convince to go to Download instead (though I doubt they'll succeed as I don't really like metal and there are unlikely to be bands I like there and I have a feeling the crowds would be rougher).