11.09.2012
Reading Festival
Reading festival has to be one of my favourite festivals I have been to this Summer, not only because the line-up was awesome but because it is the one where a large majority of my friends go and the weather was the best it has ever been. The sun shined over the festival as we drank our way through what was a memorable weekend. There were so many amazing bands some of which I have seen before and others that were a new experience for me. 

On the first day of music I couldn't decide between The Cure and The Maccabees and I know some of you may think I am crazy but I am glad I decided to see The Maccabees as they completely blew me away. Their set was totally magical and I know that it is one that will be remembered for a long time. Earlier this day the bands that stood out to me were Cancer Bats, Touche Amore and Foster The People all of which managed to capture the crowd.

On the Saturday the headliner was Kasabian, I don't tend to listen to this band but my oh my they have totally turned me into a fan. I didn't realise but I actually knew every song of their set and it was just a great laugh to chill and dance away at the back and just really enjoy the moment. Mastodon were a great band to see that day, they just did their own thing and that is something I admire. 

However the most exciting part of this day was the secret set from Green Day. There had been a lot of rumours flying around and so therefore I thought I would play it safe and  try and be in the arena as soon as it opened. Little did I know that the set was to start at 11 and stupid me I was all the way in Reading town getting breakfast, luckily I had a phone call off a friend to let me know so I ran all the way back and made it just in time before they closed the gates.  Well what is there to say I mean a secret set of a band who would be more likely to headline this festival, of course it was going to be crazy. Billie Joe Armstrong knows exactly how to get a crowd jumping the whole way through a set, the NME tent was rammed with fans and it was just amazing.

The best of the festival was left to the Sunday, I mean Foo Fighters to end the weekend what more could you want? I literally cannot put into words how unbelievable and inspiring this band were, they have to be one of the greatest bands of our time. Dave Grohl interacted with the crowd telling stories and really making the show much more personal. Bringing the set to a close with Everlong and plenty of fireworks topped of my weekend and although Glastonbury is back next year I am sure I will definitely find money in order to attend Reading for my fourth year. 

At Reading this year there seemed to be a lot more brands linking Social Network sites and the festival together in order to promote themselves. An example is shown in the image above where we had our photo taken and then had to tag ourselves on Facebook in order to be entered into a competition. I thought this was quite cool because we were given props to dress up in making the photos look more fun.

05.08.2012

2000 Trees

So I thought I needed to do a post about 2000 Trees which I went to at the beginning of July. It is a festival which supports new and underground British music and is only down the road from where I live so I definitely had no excuse for missing out. Below is the line up which I thought was more than pretty decent for a small festival and also it included some of my favourite bands.

When we arrived on the Thursday the weather was perfect and the grass was green, but come on this was a British festival...as if it would have lasted.

There were amazing bands spread across 4 stages with 3 of them being in tents which is definitely what was needed as the weekend was wet to say the least. It was great to see Gallows for the first time with their new lead, Wade MacNeil, who I actually thought fitted in perfectly with the band. I took some photos of the amazing artists that I saw over the weekend. All of the bands embraced the mud especially The Computers who are known for wearing all white which within seconds had turned brown...

(Pulled Apart By Horses)

(Dry The River)

(The Computers)

(Lucy Rose)

(Turbowolf)

 

2000 Trees festivals had such a good vibe as it is only a small festival and really does represent new and underground British music well. They have themed fancy dress Friday and the photo above shows the best costume I came across. Its great because everyone gets involved which means that you can let loose and just  have a really great weekend. 

15.06.2012
DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2012

I have just come back from what has to be one of the muddiest however best weekends ever and I have Download Festival to thank for that. With headliners such as Metallica and Black Sabbath I was almost guaranteed an awesome time seeing some amazing live bands. This was my first year going to Download and after going to Sonisphere festival last year I wasn't expecting it to be as big as it was. Arriving and setting up camp in the pouring rain was not ideal but we were at freaking Download so made sure that the weather would not get in the way. Even though we were covered in mud from the minute we arrived the weather perked up over the couple of days resulting in me getting a rather sunburnt face on the last day.

Tenacious D, La Dispute, Soundgarden, Refused, Machine Head and Skindred are just a number of the bands which totally blew me away. I would say that anyone who is anyone needs to add seeing Tenacious D live to their bucket list because it was definitely something that I will remember for a long time. Refused and Soundgarden are 2 bands that have just got back together and made their debut appearances in the UK that weekend. I am so glad I was a part of it as these bands exceeded my expectations and I can't wait to see them again at their own gigs. All 3 headliners from the weekend were unbelievable and I didn't think Metallica could get any better after seeing them last year but oh my...The Black Album is just gold. I was so glad the Ozzy was on top form getting the crowd going crazy for Black Sabbath resulting in the perfect end to the weekend. 

(Soundgarden)

(Refused)

(Black Sabbath)

I will leave you with a video from the weekend...

  

02.05.2012

Hit The Deck Festival

As I am studying in Nottingham it means there is a hell of a lot going down when it comes to gigs. With venues like Rock City and Rescue Rooms there is definitely an opportunity for the City to host some great events. I had wanted to go to Hit The Deck last year however as I lived in Cheltenham I was unfortunately unable to attend. However now that I am studying in Nottingham this means that I had no excuse not to go! The festival was on Sunday 22nd April and sure as hell exceeded my expectations. Below is the line up which spread across 5 stages with plenty to offer from 12pm through to 11pm.

During the event graffiti artists were able to cover a cube with their work which I though was a great idea. It showed how talented the artists were as they drew freely and managed to bring art and music together. 

Imperial Leisure shown below are a band which I first witnessed on the streets in Gloucester town centre and to see them come this far was amazing. They managed to attract a great crowd in The Forum and really got the day going for me as the set was great fun with the fans letting lose and getting involved. I can't wait to see these again and I would definitely recommend them as a band to watch out for...

This was the first time I had seen Hildamay (image below) and they sure as hell did not let me down. Even though this band were early on in the day they still managed to create a great atmosphere.

I saw so many bands including Cancer Bats, Bat Sabbath, Heights, Don Broco and Polar, all were insane as expected. It was the 3rd time I had seen Lower Than Atlantis this year and every time I see them they get even better than before. At this festival the band had a massive following and seemed to be one of the most popular bands of the day which meant that crowd involvement was at a maximum. It was lovely however to end the night with Kids in Glass Houses; I used to be a big fan of these in my younger years and so enjoyed the fact that they used this opportunity to play some of their old tunes.

Over all I had an awesome time and will leave you with an epic moment from the Lower Than Atlantis set (1:25), bring on Hit The Deck 2013!

03.13.2012

Let The Good Times Role

Anyone who knows me well would back me up on the fact that I am a massive fan of Reading Festival. To me it's not just about the music, the atmosphere in general is something that I would quite happily max my overdraft for.  

I was so relieved to see that the line-up this year had the likes of Foo Fighters and The Cure headlining. In my eyes Dave Grohl is  a God and I believe this is going to be my highlight of the weekend. After the backlash of last year, Reading had a lot to do to win back their fans. I personally am very excited about this line-up as there is a lot of variety. There are bands which I have seen before but am excited to see again including Crystal Castles, Bombay Bicycle Club, Cancer Bats. Most of all I am intrigued to see how well Pulled Apart By Horses come across on the main stage. This is one of my favourite bands and I have only ever seen them in small venues or in a tent; however I am sure with their amazing stage presence that they will win over the crowd. The Gaslight Anthem, The Maccabees and Billy Talent are upon a few of the bands returning after 2 years and are definitely on my MUST see list as I missed them in 2010. As you can probably tell I am just a tad over excited for this years Reading, BRING ON THE SUMMER!