Bad jokes aside and despite the punters getting younger every year, Reading never ever fails to disappoint. Last year after dealing with the numerous pranks of fellow campers, I vowed never to attend Reading again. Fast forward to a week before Reading 2014 and I've bought a ticket for quite a silly price from someone onTwitter. Why oh why was I surprised that it had sold out this year? 2014's line up, on the face of it, seemed quite disappointing, but on a closer inspection some festival exclusives just could not be missed!
Normally I head up on the Wednesday with an Early Bird ticket, but after Green Man I don't think I could have so quickly managed a stint on cold hard ground with kids shouting ALAN and STEVE and that new Spurs chant until 4am - so up on Thursday we went. This, for me, proved a lot more successful as on the Friday I felt a lot more refreshed than if I'd camped early. "Refreshed" might be a bit strong. I already stank of campfire smoke and mud.
Friday began with a Reading veteran of some sorts in the return of Gerard Way and his new band, The Hormones. I think I listened to three songs before heading over to the Lock Up stage for The Muncie Girls. Mr Way just... bored me a little. Having never listened to The Muncie Girls I was quite disheartened that I never had, especially given that I'd had many opportunities to see them live in the past. The NME stage was an absolute feast with La Dispute who I'd been waiting a good while to see (and I was very very pleased!) and Drenge, dressed rather fancily in jersey dresses. I'd been looking forward to seeing Eagulls after their triumphant self-titled release in March and they certainly did not disappoint at the Lock Up, bringing some well-needed post-punk to even out the shit "punk" bands (I'm naming no names). Deaf Havana moved up the mainstage bill and performed much much more solidly than I'd ever seen them before. Twin Atlantic, a band who I've seen grow at Reading, returned with songs from latest release Great Divide, but I was glad to hear old favourites "Crash Land", "Free" and "Make a Beast of Myself" towards the end of their set. Sadly no guitars were smashed on stage, as was the case in 2012. The main stage seems to be the home of Enter Shikari even though they've not released a full length since before the birth of Christ and I always complain until I'm being smashed around on the borders of a mosh pit clapping to "Sorry You're Not A Winner". I ain't sorry. By the time Warpaint graced the NME stage I was suitably oiled for their set. Performing the best from their latest release, I was able to sort of.. sway a bit. At 7:30pm we began to flit between the "secret" Jamie T set (why does everyone love him???) and Jimmy Eat World at the Lock Up stage, who performed Futures in full. 2004 flashbacks. Even though I've seen Paramore a few times, I couldn't wait for a mainstage set, knowing full well there'd be a plethora of hits ranging from All We Know Is Falling to their latest self-titled. Despite a rather annoying sound cut half way through, Hayley & co. managed to break my heart with an acoustic version of "The Only Exception" to which I definitely obliterated my voicebox. Hayley was looking gorgeous, her voice is still gorgeous and I wish they played "Hallelujah", but you can't have it all...
Now. Apologies might be needed for I admit, I do not know one Queens of the Stone Age song. Apart from that one that everyone knows... and I can't even name it. When I try to hum it I end up humming "Chelsea Dagger" by The Fratellis. We stayed for about half an hour, got offered MDMA at Netsky, refused and spent the rest of the evening at the silent disco. Great fun.
So... Saturday. I didn't even get up till 12, which is unheard of me at a festival. Despite a late start walking into the arena to catch Lower Than Atlantis at 3pm, Saturday was a day for new discoveries as well as finally seeing some of my favourite bands. 'The Pit' (for some reason the Lock Up stage with a different name), was RAMMED for Basement. Back from a relatively short-lived hiatus, they blew me away with songs ranging from their earliest to newest EPs as well their two full lengths. I found myself bellowing to "Covet" and "Pine" like a sad seventeen year old. Thank goodness I was there alone. Wolf Alice were particularly impressive, rocking the Festival Republic stage into the afternoon before I rather ashamedly made my way to Don Broco's set. It was to hear one song, okay?! I've gotta say, it was as if they Topman sale had moved its way into the NME tent. Vom. Circa Waves certainly impressed back at Festival Republic with a conventional indie sound with cans being chucked at shoulder-sitters (to which I REJOICED). My weekend highlight followed with The Amazing Snakeheads. Boy, what a band. What a set. I had no idea what to expect from a band from whom I'd never heard but all possible expectations were blown away by Scottish, angry, topless punk. Imagine Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting, Johnny Rotten, The Addams Family and psychedelic basslines. AMAZING. I caught the end of CHVRCHES before preparing to get smushed at Bombay Bicycle Club, who I knew would deliver; and of course they did. "Luna" was spellbinding and the atmosphere for "Shuffle" and "Feel" was incredible. The NME tent is just perfect for songs to which everyone knows the lyrics.
Headliners: Arctic Monkeys. It's no secret that I previously thought that AM are the world's most overrated band. I don't know if I still hold that opinion. AM performed a set of songs to which I could either relate or sing along and it kinds of excited me. Alex Turner on the other hand was tripping either on some incredibly noxious narcotic, or his massive ego. I could be all cliché and go "ohh they've come far, those lads. They're not just lads from Sheffield anymore blah blah". It's probably true.
An early start was needed for Sunday. Tight schedules; with The Story So Far up first to try and impress at the main stage. Quite sad actually since TSSF manage to rile up small crowds but could only manage a handful singing along on the Reading mainstage. If TSSF had started at Lock Up, I think the crowd as well as the band would have enjoyed more. This didn't really stop me from belting out "Daughters" from about 100m away. We managed to catch Flyte, an upcoming and even now underrated fourtet who I'd previously seen support Bombay Bicycle Club. Still gorgeous harmonies... they need to just get famous already! Canadians Pup blew away the Lock Up stage with gloriously chanty punk akin to I Am The Avalanche's "Holy Fuck". Now, it's about to get chavvy all up in here - or so you may think. If I'm completely honest, Clean Bandit were one of my "must-see" acts of the weekend, given that New Eyes has been played a vast number of times in my bedroom over the summer. "Rather Be" absolutely erupted in the NME tent, as well as "Come Over" and "Extraordinary". An unexpected cover of Steve Angello's "Show Me Love" became a chorus of voices in one of the most fun and energetic Reading performances I've ever attended. I sort of... endured A Day To Remember's set, vaguely remembering lyrics from their mid 2000s stuff and wondering whether Jeremy was really trying to scream. After flat out refusing to see You Me At Six I was fed a rather delicious performance by Sivu and his new electric line-up. He played to a disappointingly small audience but it didn't seem to matter. Since first listening to him I've been drawn in by his almost biblical lyrics, which are even more captivating live. In the break before the next band I caught You Me At Six's "Stay With Me" (the only song I know) and The Wonder Years' "Came Out Swinging" (the other only song I know). After this break came a well awaited performance by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Goodness me. I think I smiled all the way through. Seriously, watch out for this band. They've been praised by like... Ellie Goulding or something so if I can't tell you, a Brit Award winner can. I then caught three or four letlive. tunes before trying to find my friends for The 1975. They'd plagued me all weekend in trying to get me to see them... and now would have been my chance to avoid their set, right? Instead I stood sourly at the back, expecting a crap show. How wrong was I? I cried, for goodness' sake. I wasn't even drunk. Hazy eyed, perhaps - but a gorgeous lightshow and incredible atmosphere illuminated Healy's emotional performance. I didn't even know how to feel myself. Whatever. I'll try to write it off as a moment of madness.
Okay. Blink 182. It's been over a week now and people are STILL banging on about how bad and awful it was and that Tom's voice is gone forever. Bull. They had fun, I had fun. They threw at us their greatest hits and more in two hours, and everyone sang along, probably shitfaced. I was glad to hear "Always" and "Feeling This", despite the odd eye-rolling addition of words like "handjobs" in what would otherwise be quite sad songs. That was my only qualm, really. With a burger in hand I returned to the tent, not quite hit with the fact that Reading was over for yet another year. It ended far too quickly.
I PROMISE I WON'T GO NEXT YEAR. (I probably will.)
