In the UK the last week of August is always one tinged with sadness, Summer is coming to an end, the days are noticeably shorter, and the end of the holidays is fast approaching. The only solace is the promise of one final public holiday to serve as a final goodbye before the inevitable 9 months of grey skies, rain and disappointment. Many of us choose every year to make the pilgrimage to Reading or Leeds for five days of dirty festival fun. Reading and Leeds have branched out in the last 10 years from it’s roots as a straight up Punk/Rock festival to a more broad audience with stages dedicated to Urban and Dance music, as well as the usual Indie and Metal stages. These days there’s no one that would look truly out of place at Reading. The audience is slightly younger, perhaps not as young as the Isle Of Wight however, and the atmosphere isn’t as harmonious as some of the more age friendly festivals, but what you do get is true passion and a convergence of tens of thousands of like minded music fans. With such a diverse lineup containing acts from all four corners of the musical landscape, i’ve decided to narrow it down to some that have every chance of stealing the weekend.
Friday
The start of a festival is really important, first impression are everything after all and it can set a tone that will carry across the whole weekend. If you want you’re festival to start at 1000kmph I seriously suggest seeing Hacktivist open the main stage. I’ve written about them before and they are without a doubt one of the best new bands on the scene today, their own brand of Djent/Grime crossover is so uncompromising it will taste like a crate of Red Bull at 11AM. Their show is tight as any band around today and their sound is as mighty as it is different. Also worth sticking around for is there cover of Nigga’s In Paris which last year caused absolute pandemonium wall to wall. If you like Metal, Grime, or Hip Hop they will be the perfect start to your weekend. Straight after Hacktivist comes Crossfaith AKA everyones favourite Japanese Electro Metal fusion madheads. OK admittedly they aren’t known as that at all, but they do pack the best live show of the last 5 years. For a band in it’s relative infancy they really know how to whip a crowd up into an absolute frenzy. Anyone around for their Sunday afternoon set last year will tell you the place took off. Its Metal, it’s heavy and it has a very electronic edge. Similar to Hacktivist it’s a sound you may not have heard before and thats what makes it so fresh and exciting. There will be Circle Pits, Walls of Deaths and Crowdsurfing so make sure you get up early and catch the spectacle.
The last band from the Main Stage i’m rooting for on Friday will be Enter Shikari, the Hatfield Quintet are Reading and Leeds most trusted and reliable booking. Having played every year since 2010 in one form or another, they know how to put on a show. The music speaks for itself and at times can be divisive, but the message is one of unity and this is evident throughout the set. Every year Shikari make an effort to break their own record for most amount of crowd surfers during a song, and regardless of whether they succeed, it is one of the most awe inspiring sights you will see at a festival. Set closer ZZZonked is nothing short of bonkers, whipping the crowd into a frenzy only comparable to seeing a Dog in the playground. As far as stage presence goes, they might be the best you’ll see all weekend. If Shikari are the antithesis of Polished and professional, The Fat White Family are the polar opposite, recently banned from playing Somerset House with Franz Ferdinand for ‘Not fitting the ethos’ they have been labelled the most dangerous band touring today. Expect gut wrenching sludgy riffs and a similar stage show. Getting naked is the name of the game and stopping there would be palatable for most, but the smearing of shit might get a bit much for some, and then theres masturbating on stage. They will seem to some as a love letter to G.G Allin the much troubled Punk maestro, but look beyond the shock value and there is genuine songwriting talent, albeit somewhat obscured by the flying pigs heads.
Lastly on the Alternative Stage is Bill Bailey alright, he is a comedian but don’t let that fool you. Bill Bailey is an incredible multi-instrumentalist and has a musical mind that many would kill for. His own sideways look on the music today is second to none. If you’ve never seen a Bill Bailey comedy show, he has been known to play Scarborough Fair in the style of Rammstein. If that’s not enough, he also drops the BBC news theme in the style of an apocalyptic rave. It will be funny, but with a musical edge, a perfect break and a chance to do something different with your festival.
Saturday
Playing second on the Main Stage on Saturday morning is Pulled Apart By Horses the Leeds quintet are the perfect cure for the previous nights ill informed campsite decisions packing an early morning punch, expect it to be audaciously loud, and completely bonkers. Especially if you are in Leeds where the band are hometown favourites. One to watch, and my pick to climb up the festival bill in coming years.
The Hives are also playing the same stage Saturday afternoon. Very few bands that weekend will have songs that even come close to the madness that Tick, Tick, Boom and Hate To Say I Told You So will bring. It’s as if theY found the necronomicon on how to write a song for a festival. Having seen them at both Download and Reading The Hives are an effortless activity in how to bring a set packed with hits, blow minds and then leave.
One of the more obvious acts to see at the weekend is Nero, much maligned in some circles there’s few people that can argue that Nero bring universally enjoyable music. They’ve played sets all around the world and when they descend upon Reading and Leeds they will bring all that experience to deliver 90 minutes of fast paced electronic fun. Anyone who saw Skrillex last year will tell you that Dance music very much has a place at the top of the bigger stages.
Going completely in a different direction, playing The Pit stage is The Hell. The anonymous Metal band have been causing a stir in the world of Heavy music thanks to their special brew of heavier than heavy metal, and in your face songwriting style. ‘It’s The Mother Fucking Hell You Dick’ and ‘Everyone Dies’ aren’t your classic festival anthem, but damn they sound fresh and frankly they should be. Expect pits, crowd surfing and Bandanna clad madness, why not add an extra kick to the set by taking a drink every time someone swears?
While She Sleeps are back at Reading and Leeds after what was unanimously agreed to be one of the best opening sets Reading has ever seen last year. Whilst perhaps not the biggest band from Leicester to be playing that day WSS will still bring their own blend of anthemic metal to The Pit. After seeing them lay absolute waste to the main stage at 11AM on Friday morning last year, lord only knows what they are going to do in front of a rowdy crowd on a Saturday night. While She Sleeps has every chance of being the band to beat.
I couldn’t talk about the Saturday this year without mentioning Beardyman playing early on alternative stage, expect him to absolutely pack out the tent. Beardyman brings so little to his show, and yet he brings so much. For the uninitiated he is a beatboxer that uses a loop station to create fully expansive, and utterly mesmerizing songs. On top of this he is one of the funniest acts on the Alternative stage bill, with his unique view of the music world and all this whilst improvising on the spot. If not for the clear musical prowess, go just for the spectacle of seeing thousands dancing to a man making funny noises into a microphone.
The last band that deserves a mention on Saturday is Royal Blood. Whether or not you believe the hype is your choice. Frankly their ascension has been incredible, rising from up and coming band to Radio 1 favourites in no time at all. After proving themselves in front of a monolithic crowd at Glastonbury it would seem that they know how to live up to the comparisons that would have crushed many a lesser band. The stage is set and if Royal Blood are to take this summer and make it their own, Reading and Leeds will prove to be a larger of the many hurdles they will have to overcome.
Sunday
Lets face it, by Sunday you look like shit, smell like shit, and feel like shit. Even if you’ve stopped giving a shit, you need a shit, and that presents it’s own series of problems. Why not alleviate all this by going to see Papa Roach on the mainstage. I know what you’re thinking Papa Roach?! As in Papa Roach from 2001 who did Last Resort. Yes that’s exactly who, for what many people don’t realise about them is that they actually are a very good festival band. You might not know many of the songs but my god you will think you do. A true Beer drinkers band expect the most classic festival fun. Just when you think that you’re done with Papa Roach the ring of “CUT MY LIFE IN TWO PIECES, THIS IS MY LAST RESORT” will ring across the site and for 4 minutes you will be doing backflips.
Disclosure are heading up the second stage on Sunday, as a way to close out your festival they are the perfect act. The Lawrence brothers have been smashing out hit after hit in the last couple of years and their live show is the antithesis of this. Those who saw their Glastonbury set will tell you that their show is a rotating belt of guests slots, with a light show to match and a back catalogue of songs which every last person will be able to throw mad shapes too it’s going to be a perfectly executed spectacle.
Playing The Pit earlier on Sunday are Baby Godzilla, they are probably not a band you know much about, yet. What Baby Godzilla bring is one of the most furious adrenaline fueled sets, night in night out. No two sets are ever the same when every single member throws themselves around the stage with no concern for their own health. We’ve all seen singers jump in to the crowd, some of us have even seen guitars played from inside a pit. Baby Godzilla play drums from in the pit. This is all fine, but really means nothing if the songs don’t back it up, fortunately the songs are equally as ferocious, like a big old kick in the balls. Of everyone playing Sunday they are the one band I beg you do not miss.
If Baby Godzilla are the young fresh upstarts of the chaotic live show circuit Every Time I Die are the grizzled veterans. Whilst they might not throw themselves around the stage like a ballerina in a minefield, the fans do. Last time I saw them at Reading they opened up a pit that was only a few feet shy of being the circumference of the tent, and you could see they clearly loved it. The songs are written to be played live, fast and totally uncompromising, they are the perfect accompaniment to the reactions they invoke in a festival crowd. There just isn’t enough goodwill for them. At a time when Metallica at Glastonbury is the talking point of the metal world it’s good to see a band that is able to prove that it’s not all about being at the top. Sometimes you just have to smash a 40 minute set and fuck off.
Reading will always have a special place in my heart, it gives you just enough of everything, and yet still has the power to leave you wanting more. There’s something for everyone on the lineup and sometimes it’s best not to plant yourself in front of the mainstage. Adventure out to the smaller things and you might find the next headliner, or a maniac shouting into a loop station.
Nevermind 