I don't think any opening song out of the whole festival hit me like 'Is This It', in The Strokes. There's something so compelling about that song. The guitar sounds like the twinkling of Christmas lights on a cold winter's night on Oxford Street, tired people flocking to some subway or another. There was a moment when my hands and face were raised to the heavens and it felt just like that song says everything I love and hate about life. Oh Reading. How could I ever have doubted you? Just like last year, I left Reading having completely expelled all the shit from the year in my head and with an even bigger crush on Alice Glass and Julian Casablancas.
So, not only did I survive Reading Festival 2K11 (as it was written on our campsite flag), but actually came back in a relatively healthy state. That kind of disappointed me, but it was still nice not to feel like shit on the car journey home. My feet were clean and everything. Still have no voice though. And you know what, I also feel like I looked...acceptable this year at Reading...I know, it's weird...But on the whole, this year's Reading was so much more of a success than last year. I had thought the line up was worse for me but I found that it worked when I was there, and was potentially better than last year. I mean, my main complaint was that I wasn't getting my money's worth because I'd already paid to see so many of the bands live, but the fact that they were my favourite bands and I knew their material off by heart ended up completely overshadowing that fact. I looked better, felt better, did not lose or damage ONE thing. I think I generally did everything right - saw the right amount of bands, spent the right amount of money. When Bring Me The Horizon hollered 'Party till you pass out, drink till you're dead, dance all night till you can't feel your legs' on Friday morning, I could holler along with conviction, and came back with two disposable cameras' worth of proof of that. Top marks to Reading '11, best three days of the year without a doubt. It's nice to be able to say that because it's an affirmation of where my priorities lie, it clears a few things up - no matter what I spend most of my time doing, music is my life.
Top three sets? The headliners, with Crystal Castles a very close fourth. And I couldn't choose between the headliners. They were all equivalent to nothing short of ecstasy. I like to think that this, instead of displaying prioritisation of pyrotechnics over music, is testament to the wideness of my taste in music - I happen to be a megafan of all three headliners. There was a pretty big division this year concerning the Main Stage at Reading - you liked Friday, or you liked Saturday and Sunday. Completely fair, it was Friday pop-punk new blood against Saturday and Sunday's old indie legends of classic Reading suitability. However, I can safely say I loved every day. I mean Friday morning was a bit of a shocker but I'm glad it was. It would be a damned lie if I said I didn't fucking love the whole thing and everything in it.
When the night is young and you're in a crowd of tens of thousands of people, screaming things like 'I'm not Okay', 'We'll carry on', 'We are the kids from yesterday' and 'I am not afraid to keep on living' can not really fail to do something a bit like complete you. My Chemical Romance were just on top form and could not have been better if they tried. They're one of my favourite bands anyway. SNM. OK, I'll say it anyway. They opened with 'Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)', followed by 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)', continued to play a pretty much perfect set, of which 'Helena', 'S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W' and 'Famous Last Words' were my highlights, Gerard got on the floor and writhed around alluringly, Mikey and his hair were there (nuff' said), the camera showed a close-up of Gerard's crotch which was, to say the least, unforgettable, Brian May got on stage to help them cover 'We Will Rock You', they closed with 'Welcome To The Black Parade', and they had fireworks. In every way. I <3 you MCR.
I went to Reading thinking it would be infinitely better if the bands on Friday were on Sunday instead, seeing the weekend off with a bang, and if it weren't for Muse I still might, but that one band turned it all around and made Sunday night one truly worthy of the last night of Reading. I can't believe I ever thought that Muse wouldn't blow my mind. My first experience of seeing them, at Wembley, should've been enough to convince me that they would. I'm not sure if they would have had it not been the Origin Of Symmetry anniversary gig, because I'm not a fan of their latest album, but as it was it made it the perfect Muse gig for me, OoS being my favourite Muse album. It was the definition of gratification - seeing one of your favourite albums played in whole, front-to-back, in the optimum gigging environment. Highlights: 'New Born', 'Space Dementia', 'Citizen Erased', 'Screenager', 'Supermassive Black Hole', 'Time is Running out'.
I'm hearing feedback for The Strokes' performance at Reading and Leeds and people seem cynical. This is understandable, they didn't put anywhere near as much effort into their set as My Chemical Romance or Muse. Brian May did not accompany them on stage. It is generally understandable why people wouldn't like The Strokes. They're a band formulated of image, hype (in spades) and good music - in a case such as this, the former two components of the outfit can often seem to outshadow the good music. It doesn't change the fact that if the world went collectively into a killer coma and God went round trying to find something that could wake them up, he'd find that millions of people would only awaken, thrashing and pumping fists, to the sound of anything from 'Is This It'. I'm not saying that MCR or Muse don't have eqivalent power at their fingertips, just that maybe The Strokes have a particular kind of raw power that electrifies you for no apparant reason. Or it's just me. Even now with 'The Modern Age' blaring on my stereo, it feels like Reading-glitter is raining down on me, like a lovely but saddening festival phantom...DON'T WANT YOU HERE RIGHT NOW, LET ME GO! DARLING LET ME! LET ME GO! In Julian's own immortal words.
'Someday', 'You Only Live Once', 'NYC Cops' and 'Under Cover Of Darkness' were sublime. I'd have loved to hear 'Soma', 'On The Other Side' and 'Heart in a Cage' but how the set left me wanting more only made it better. Besides, for every Strokes favourites missed, a new favourite was discovered - 'What Ever Happened', 'Take it or Leave it'. After the mild disappointment that was 'Angles', they'd better come out with a corker of a fifth album, which I will faithfully await with baited breath.
Other lifelong memories:
- 'No Self Esteem' and 'Why Don't You Get a Job?' at The Offspring.
- 'Back To School' at Deftones, who didn't play much of their latest album which pissed me right off.
- 'Save Our Selves' and 'Higher and Higher' at The Blackout.
- The Blackout banter.
- Awkwardness of Patrick Wolf's banter.
- 'The Middle', 'Coffee and Cigarettes' and 'Hear You Me' at Jimmy Eat World.
- 'Wings Of a Dove' and 'It Must Be Love' at Madness.
- 'Romantic Type' and 'Take Her Back' at The Pigeon Detectives.
- 'No Sssweat' at Enter Shikari.
- 'The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage', 'Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met)' and 'Hurricane' at Panic! At The Disco.
- 'Boyfriend', 'I Want To' and 'When I'm With You' at Best Coast.
- 'Young Blood' at The Naked and Famous.
- 'Ain't No Rest For The Wicked' and 'Shake Me Down' at Cage The Elephant.
- The massive sex appeal of Brendon Urie, Sean Smith, Oli Sykes and Bethany Cosentino.
Now Listening To: Everything related to Reading Festival. Rock on Summer 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment