Take Me Back: Reading Festival (Part Four)

Alas, at last I have arrived at what was one of the best days of my life. Sunday was Fall Out Boy day. Not on until about half six we had the day to fill with music, so first up was We Are The In Crowd. I've lost count the amount of times i've seen them live and although they aren't necessarily ground breaking stuff what they do, they do well. Their Reading debut last year in the Festival Republic tent was packed out with a crowd so enthusiastic it surprised me and their performance was truly amazing. Clearly the organizers agreed as this year the five piece were moved up the ranks to play the main stage. Being Sunday morning everyone's hangovers were at their worst and the days of festival camping made the crowd a tough one to crack, but with perseverance and catchy - sometimes cheesy, "Kiss Me Again," for example - pop-punk, we were soon won over. The newly released single "Attention" was chosen as their opener and although I liked the studio version I loved it live.

Wanting to beat the traffic the next day - and Elly being the most un-morning person I'd ever met - we decided we were going to leave that night so we headed back to our tent, took it all down and loaded up the car. Filling up the next few hours with food and alcohol we headed back down to the main arena to secure a spot for Fall Out Boy during The Lumineers' set. The Editors were a couple songs short of the end of their set so we parked ourselves by a gap on the barrier with ice lollies to keep us cool. The Lumineers were pleasant to watch albeit it got a bit boring but just as I was falling asleep an onslaught of people came surging towards us. Unsure as to what was happening, but seeing a perfect opportunity to get near the front for Fall Out Boy, we stood up and made our way to the now large gap near the barrier to find that frontman Wesley Schultz was stood, guitar in hand, directly in front of us to play their next song.

Now we were stood a couple rows back from the barrier and the fear that it's all a joke that Fall Out Boy were playing started to set in. Literally counting down the minutes and trying not to freak out, the cheers when their backdrop was put up were near enough deafening.

Then the opening of "Thriller" started to play and choked back what was about to be an all out sob-fest. This time the cheers were deafening, I had no idea how many people were behind me at the time as i'm short and I was barricaded in by wild giants. For a good ten/eleven years this is what I had been waiting for. It seemed only yesterday I was wishing and joking for them to come back from their hiatus and play Reading and now there they actually were. The dizzying mixture of emotions running through myself were no doubt matched by every other person stood there, so the outlet for us was to go crazy. We yelled back every line, jumped, screamed and cried. Playing crowd favourites meant not even the die-hard fans (how non-diehards even exist I don't know) were able to contain their enthusiasm. The beautiful Foxes came on and joined them for "Just One Yesterday" and simultaneously destroyed the self esteem of every single person stood there. As for Fall Out Boy themselves they played like there was no tomorrow - and if they kept up there wouldn't be for me, I swear I was going to explode - and proved to everybody exactly why they broke the internet when they came back, wedging themselves deeper into our hearts.
Since February, sat in the Costa Coffee on my college campus, crying over a laptop listening to "My Songs Know..." I said I need to hear it at Reading with the crowd doing the 'oh-ohhs,' at the time still only hoping they'd be playing the festival. Later that night Pete announced they'd be there, I cried some more (heck, I hadn't really stopped) and my countdown began. Then the song started and the crowd did it's part, raising goosebumps and making every hair on my body stand on end.

Sadly, it all had to end eventually so we made our way back to Elly by the barrier in a state of shock and briefly met a woman who had come all the way from America to see Biffy Clyro play a headline set.

 Pre-Fall Out Boy faces 

Fall Out Boy 

Post-Fall Out Boy faces 

We were hot, gasping for a drink, bruised all over and with Fall Out Boy gone the fact I missed City And Colour started to sink in. Sad, sad, sad. The NME stage filled up quickly for Disclosure and we sat outside and watched the synth stars' set. For ten minutes it's all good fun, but after a while it does become samey and the same goes for Azealia Banks. 

Back to main stage for Biffy Clyro, their pyrotechnics and Scottish rock Reading Festival 2013 was once again coming to an end. Another week of fantastic music, dodgy drunken dancers and unforgettable escapades was all being seen off with fire and uh more fire. Not wanting to miss Enter Shikari Sound System we left behind the Scots and the mass of mainstagers and headed towards the dubstep mash-up which proved to be a quite genius combination of your average dance music and songs from bands like Bring Me The Horizon. Of all the dance/dubstep acts i've seen Enter Shikari's take is by far my favourite.

PART ONE (ARRIVAL)

PART TWO (FRIDAY)

PART THREE (SATURDAY)

Take Me Back: Reading Festival (Part Three)

By Saturday we were beyond exhausted and our feet were a mess and so of course it was the perfect day to spend pretty much all of it on our feet in a crowd somewhere! Leaving Elly to her beauty sleep, myself and Megan took to the main arena to see Lower Than Atlantis. Having previously seen these guys twice before we knew we were in for a good set. Opening with "Love Someone Else" the crowd took straight to them, belting the lyrics right along with vocalist Mike Duce. Their ten song set list was made up of the very best of their blend of punk rock/melodic hardcore music that extracted the punk rock attitude from Duce, who told us he was going to smash up his guitar, but instead gave it to the crowd. Cue a mad dash and brawl between Jesus and several other large guys. He couldn't keep up the attitude for long though as he grabbed his acoustic and reduced the majority to near tears with hard hitting "Another Sad Song." Reunited with the rest of the band and a further three belters later, Lower Than Atlantis completed their main stage debut and after their fantastic performance and the eagerness of the crowd it's safe to say they'll be invited back again in the future.

Somewhere between Lower Than Atlantis finishing their set and The Blackout coming on, it decided to piss it down. Feet aching, we retreated to the barrier and sat in a puddle to watch the welsh tear up the stage like I knew they would. Again, i've seen them more times than I can even remember due to my dad (yes, my dad) being a super fan and completely in love with Sean Smith. In typical Blackout style they came on to an old hit, this time "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" before running out to "Start The Party" in enough rain for us to feel like we'd had a bath... if only we'd remembered shampoo. Blasting their way through hit after hit, "Higher And Higher" "The Storm," no one expected quite what was to come half way through their set when they claimed they were a "hip-hop" band and proceeded to play a hip-hop mash up of "Jump Around," "Paris" and "Fight For Your Right To Party." Possibly one of the most hilarious moments of my life I actually found myself a tiny bit disappointed when it finished and they went back to playing their own hits.

Still raining, we grabbed food and went to sit under a tree where we waited for Elly, and if it weren't for the fact we saw Russell Kane that afternoon, The Blackout would have won comedy title for sure. The Alternative tent filled up with people who left crying with laughter after his set. What makes a good comedian to me is someone who tells it true and can be self-deprecating too - making Russell Kane pretty much perfect. Running 20 minutes late we missed half of Twin Atlantic but made it in time for them to play their now mega famous single "Free." Sam McTrusty wore his bright orange raincoat adorably which matched their performance. Humbled to be even playing the festival, they entertained the main stage crowd with their Scottish charm and brilliant rock songs such as "What Is Light? Where Is Laughter?" and "Yes, I Was Drunk" but for me the stand out performance was of acoustic "Crash Land" which sounded even more beautiful with the crowd singing along.

Next up, we went to the NME stage which was packed to the point of over fill. People were spilling out the sides and all for Imagine Dragons. In a similar manner to Bastille there's something different about these guys and intense. Fantastic to listen too and to watch every single person seemed to be having a good time - whether they were being crushed in the tent or one of hundreds outside it. And, obviously, when they closed with chart topping "Radioactive" it was all the more wild. Future main stagers for sure.

Finishing off the exhausting day was Chase And Status and then rap legend himself, Eminem. As you can probably imagine - or if you were there, as you know - the amount of people gathered was somewhat insane. It came as no surprise when midway through C+S's set everything was unplugged and we were told to move back as their were A LOT of people passing out and getting pretty badly hurt. And this was before Eminem was even on. C+S well and truly warmed the crowd up for The Real Slim Shady who rapped - or did he? Rumours are he mimed... - his way to most people's best memories.

PART ONE (ARRIVAL)

PART TWO (FRIDAY)

Take Me Back: Reading Festival (Part Two)

Waking up Friday morning in chronic pain from the 'short walk to Tesco' I was relieved that we'd finally be getting to hear music. The sun was blazing, so we took cover in the NME tent and listened to 20 minutes of Dry The Rivers' set before deciding that sleepy music was not what we needed and instead joined the constant party in the Dance tent.
Turns out Lauren and Elly are not morning people. I don't consider myself a morning person - in fact i'm far from it - but there are certain situations where i'll drag myself out of bed and push through my tiredness because something cool is going on like at Reading. But apparently they just couldn't do it. Headed back to the tent me and Meg said we'd meet them there and queued to get over-18 wristbands and dropped my phone off to the Vodafone truck when New Found Glory were due on.
Having seen them more times than I can remember I knew exactly what to expect and wasn't disappointed by their energetic pop-punk performance and was more than ecstatic at the news they'd be playing Sticks And Stones in it's entirety. Churning out anthem after anthem it kept the not so die-hard fans entertained as well as offering songs not often played live for those of us who'd seen them before.
Having been gone for nearly 2 hours we were feeling a bit guilty at having left Lauren and Elly in the tent and decided not to stay for Bring Me The Horizon despite every fiber of our beings telling us to do otherwise. (Note: we should definitely have stayed and I will spend the rest of my life kicking myself for not having done so).

When we eventually headed back to the arena we caught the end of Frank Turner's fun set. With his happy blend of folksy music and The Sleeping Souls backing him up it was a fun affair for all there to witness. With Elly finally awake and Lauren still asleep but waiting for someone we joined the crowd for Bastille. Having catapulted themselves to stardom with "Pompeii" the crowd was a large one, radiating heat similar to Two Door Cinema Club last year. Hell, there was even a guy peeing into a cup behind us. Deja Vu everywhere. Coming out to title track "Bad Blood" it was immediately apparent that the quartet are some of the most talented out there in today's industry. There's nothing easy about playing their songs live and yet they make it work so fantastically. Opportunities for crowd participation are everywhere in their songs and the festival set list was no different with them playing popular tracks like "Weight Of Living, Pt II" and "Icarus" as well as their version of "What Would You Do?" and "Of The Night." Closing their set with "Flaws" and of course "Pompeii" they finished on a high after putting on a truly incredible performance.

Knackered from all the walking around and the intensity of Bastille's set we found a patch of grass outside the Dance tent and watched Fenech- Soler who gained three new fans after we saw their brilliant combination of electro dance music with pop-rock sounding songs.

Finishing the night were punk legends Green Day. After their surprise appearance last year the anticipation was high in the arena and the crowd gathered. The child in me was gleeful and desperate for the trio to hurry on stage so I could live out a childhood dream and let me tell you - they didn't let me down. And the addition of a fan on stage for "Know Your Enemy" who took one look at the crowd and exclaimed 'oh fuck me' even added a comedy element to their punk extravaganza. "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" was goosebump performance of the day as 90,000 people sung the song in perfect harmony with Billie on his knees, stunned. Much was the same with "Wake Me Up When September Ends" which led into the beginning of the entirety of Dookie. Admittedly it did leave us a bit lost in the middle with a set so laden with political punk rants but favourites such as "Basket Case" and "Minority" lightened it up. Typically, "American Idiot" set everything off in the crowd and my tired feet thanked the fact we were on the outskirts. One of my favourite set endings came from them too with Friday being closed with "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" which was beautifully fitting.

Top Tunes: August

Panic! At The Disco - This Is Gospel 

Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know... 

Fall Out Boy - Sugar We're Goin' Down 

Green Day - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

Imagine Dragons - Radioactive

Twin Atlantic - Make A Beast Of Myself

Bastille - Laura Palmer

New Found Glory - Head On Collision

YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

Take Me Back: Reading Festival (Part One)

Leaving Reading Festival last year was a real low point for myself and Meg. We had embraced the mud, the toilets, the overall grossness of festival camping and were not quite ready to let it go for another year. Alas, the rules meant we had to leave and spend the next year counting down the days until we could return. The line-up didn't even bother us - it could have been the worst line-up ever and we'd still go. Half way through the year though, Fall Out Boy came back from the murky hell of hiatus and like I had been joking about for quite sometime announced they were playing Reading Festival.

Our countdown was with a new sense of complete and utter fangirl level excitedness.

As per usual I left everything until last minute which meant a mad dash to find my clothes and haphazardly shoving them in my bag. Climbing into a car that was bigger than I expected but still too small, we were off up the giant hill out of my village trying to convince Elly that Reading's not really THAT bad. Then we hit the motorway. And the car just couldn't take it. There was little to no acceleration. Trundling along until we could turn off and head back the other way we lost an hour of travel time heading back to Elly's house to steal her dad's Galaxy. A mob attack from her two adorable Labradors and eventually we were away - again, and this time with enough room to spread out.
At around 8 that night we parked the car and loaded up with our stuff to trek and find a place to camp. Having had a good spot last year just 5 minutes walk from the arena, we couldn't help but be a little annoyed at Elly and Lauren's lack of stamina and ending up just under the bridge - which for anyone who has been before you know is miles away from the arena. Sigh. Coming a day early meant there was only us and two other groups of people in our field which seemed bizarre but it didn't stop us from getting reasonably drunk and putting sugar on our chips instead of salt.

The next day plan was to do the 'short walk' to Tesco to stock up on food and good ol' vodka so leaving Lauren behind we set off on Thursday morning to discover it was not a short walk. Reading Festival website tells lies. It took us an hour to walk there in the blazing heat with green car park campers going towards Reading and early birds like us trying to walk away from it to get to Tesco. It was a beautiful moment when we could see the front doors and we took to the shelves like we had been starved for months not a mere 15 hours. Exhausted we stopped at the cafe and I wolfed down chips, beans and a mango Costa iced drink before beginning the dreaded walk back. With bags that weighed about the same as us it took 2 and half hours to get back and I popped a vein in my finger thus resulting in a dead finger (it's still dead fyi).

We arrived back in more pain than I think ever before and spent the rest of the day lying around half dead from the pain, half dead from the level of alcohol consumption that followed the trip from hell. It was to our amusement every time we heard other people say things like 'we're just gonna pop to Tesco.' No, sir. I don't think you are.