Reading festival - the inthenews.co.uk review
Thursday, 26 Jun 2008 17:46
Reading festival - the inthenews.co.uk review
The inthenews.co.uk review of Reading festival 2008 continues.
Day three
Late additions
Bring Me the Horizon - pushed onto the Main stage lineup after the injury-enforced withdrawal of Slipknot - are hilariously screamy for such an ungodly hour, though even they manage to be louder than the Killers, to their credit.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn pioneers
Yeasayer bring powerful vocals and a mix of African and Middle Eastern influences, coming off as how you imagine Vampire Weekend might sound if they'd listened to more Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. Their signature effort 2080 is faster and more shambolic than its recorded counterpart but remains captivating, yet with the foursome having come on ten minutes late and only completing four songs before their exit, it's difficult to ignore that feeling of being short-changed.
But you're downright stiffed with
Robots in Disguise, the electro duo comprised of Sue Denim (probably not her real name) and Dee Plume, better known as Noel Fielding's girlfriend. This is style over substance in its most irritating form, with dancing robots and glossy costumes failing to paper over the cracks in the severely limited music, which seems to be composed of drums too basic for Meg White, a three-note bassline and two shouty women doing impressions of their childhood tantrums. Steer clear.
The
Whip, however, are a far more interesting proposition, banging out dense, intricate soundscapes like a possessed Atari game. The Manchester quarter do indulge in a bit of extended jamming however, which might have gone down well at Gatecrasher and Creamfields, but with most of the Reading crowd indulging in liquid, rather than powdered chemicals, it's a little tiresome.
As is the staggering lyrical simplicity of
Plain White Tees but this can soon be ignored for the witticisms of
Lightspeed Champion, who is in energetic form for his final show of the year, using probably the only violin at the festival and offering up some truly gorgeous harmonies.
Dropkick Murphys smack of a comedy pirate band for much of their set, until a majestic I'm Shipping Up to Boston, while
Mindless Self-Indulgence - pushed far up the bill - show they belong back in 1999, meshing hip-hop beats with distorted riffage.
The
Music, on the other hand, are on cracking form, with blistering renditions of Take the Long Road and Walk It and Strength in Numbers, Rob Harvey overcoming his demons and getting his dancing shoes on new single The Spike and rousing the Sunday crowd from their stupor with a thundering Getaway. They've been away, but you'd never know it from the might of their live shows.
It's a by-the-numbers performance from
Feeder, though a bouncing Just the Day and a cover of Nirvana's Breed - the grunge greats' opening track when they played Reading in 1992 - help prepare the crowd for the rock majesty that awaits.
Tenacious D do their utmost to steal Metallica's thunder, with Jack Black clad in a wizard's costume while Kyle Gass is dressed as a green lizard, sparking a row in which Kyle 'quits' the band, allowing JB - as he shall be known henceforth - to offer heart-rending performances of the symbolic Dude, I Totally Miss You and Kyle Quit the Band. There's an unmistakeable excitement rippling through the crowd at being so close to a Hollywood star of JB's stature and even those previously impervious to the might of the D are impressed at their undeniable musical ability (especially in the case of Gass), culminating in a flawless live rendition of Beelzebub, the centrepiece from their 2006 movie.
Metallica merit their own review and will indeed be granted one on the hallowed pages of
inthenews.co.uk later this week. Sufficed to say, Hetfield and co left all of Reading with neck pain by making headbanging mandatory as they bounded through cult classics Creeping Death, Harvester of Sorrow and And Justice For All… before embarking on the 'greatest hits' half of the set, as well as showcasing new songs Cyanide and The Day That Never Comes. As far as the latter efforts are concerned, it's clear that St Anger was a momentary blip in the career trajectory of the greatest metal band ever.
And so to bed… Reading's a much more impassioned festival than V, with those in attendance at the site out of a deep, genuine love of music in all its forms, rather than the transient, fair-weather slant of the crowds at Chelmsford and Stafford. On the negative side, you're likely to feel pretty ancient if you're older than… well, 21, probably, and just as V suffers from being enclosed and limited, Reading's as equally hampered by offering nothing more than music. But as three days dedicated to indulging your basest instincts as you listen to the heaviest of the heavy, it can't be beaten.
Lewis Bazley
To read the start of the inthenews.co.uk review of Reading festival 2008, click here