The fireworks went bang, Matt Bellamy said Bye, and thats it for alliteration. Reading is over, reflection begins. I hate indie music. I hate pretentious bands. Its all about getting down and dirty.
After the lineup from last year, i swore to myself i would not taint the memory by going this year, but 14 hours chilling with my friends putting wristbands on a few caravan Glampers for a £200 ticket, why not? (They really weren’t glamping, they were mostly middle aged or whipped couples to prude to bang in a field.)
Im not going to lie, on Friday i wussed out, i slept in, and didn’t even touch the dance stage, although i here Sub Focus and Nero packed out the tent. I missed The Vaccines which is a piss-take, cos i convinced myself they were on Sunday. So it was main stage all round.
Rise against; after pining to go to one of their shows for years, i finally got to see them, well half of their set. But the half i saw was mesmerising. Tim McIlrath’s voice, truly is one of distinct intent, he means every thing he’s singing. No make-up, no fancy pyrotechnics, just them and the crowd, music lovers, loving music and that is all.
30 Seconds to Mars are a difficult call, after knowing some things about this band that i cannot disclose and generally not liking Jared Leto much as a ‘rockstar’ i still have to give kudos to them for the crowd participation. The crowd were more into it than they were and regardless of the sound from stage not being great, the Echelon could probably be heard right down the river.
My Chemical Romance as always pulled out all of the stops, they were on form after announcing their nerves in an interview with Kerrang, they looked sufficiently comfortable and even shocked at the reception they were receiving. Despite the boos, and the ‘My Chemical Romance are f**king s**t!’ i got for being a loyal fan, there were no bottles of piss, and smiles on stage with mini-Killjoys creaming over the Way brothers.
The set was aimed mainly at the newer fans, much to my dismay, they only played Im Not Okay and Helena from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, and not even ‘Our Lady of Sorrows’ from Album number 1 that they have been bringing back into their set on their recent tour, but we all still sang. From a slightly heartfelt, S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W and Summertime, to everyone dancing to Planetary, GO! What was left to come.
Brian May.
Thats what.
Do Do Doo, Do do Doo… hand clapping, what the fuck is going on?!
But the looks of confusion i got for screaming ‘ITS BRIAN FUCKING MAY FROM QUEEN’ then Gerard Way confirming this, no-one tore their eyes away from the stage. Getting through a verse of We Will Rock You and the whole of Welcome to the Black Parade, the legend that is Mr May has not lost any pazaz, i sobbed, and was proud to be wearing my Queen t-shirt.
