Reading Festival 2012

After my move to Barcelona, my TEFL course finishing, going to England to finish my thesis and moving out for good from my flat there, I was joined by my boyfriend and we spent a very interesting weekend at the Reading Festival (in Reading, UK). This was my experience: 



Thursday night, day zero:

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT camp in the green area unless you are 17 or under. We got ZERO sleep that night. I can understand people were excited that they were there, but screaming non-stop until 3 am is unnecessary. I also can't understand why you should bother other people, pass by their camp sites and scream, or sing, or just be rude. Also, it got crazy cold and we didn't have the proper camping equipment. A very bad experience in general. 

Friday, day 1:


Needless to say, that day we were knackered, and we had to wait for a friend of ours to arrive, which took him ages. I would like to invite you to take a look at the webpage of our other companion of the weekend: EdVill (in spanish, sorry), who came all the way from Venezuela and shared our good (and bad) times. 

Hadouken!: The first band of the day, it was really great, but the bad part was the sound, I really couldn't hear the voices at all, the guitar was also missing, sadly. Regardless, the put on a good show and it was loads of fun.

Coheed and Cambria: and amazing band, brilliant sound, these guys can play! I was waiting for  "a favor house atlantic", and they did play it, it was good fun. 

Angels and airwaves: I saw a little bit of them, not enough though. We were having lunch in the back at the time, I did feel it was a little like Blink 182, but without the funny bits. 

The Hives: One of the best acts of the weekend, seriously. I always liked them, but after this show, I adore them, if you have the chance to see them live, please do, its worth your time and money. In the mean time, check out part of their presentation at the festival here:

The Hives @ Reading Festival 2012

A Wilhelm scream: I just saw a couple of songs. I most say the lock up stage had rubbish sound. I've seen them live before in Birmingham, and that was amazing, these guys are really good. 

You and me at six: A band I've seen before at Leeds Festival 2010, I think they are ok, I love "Stay with me" and a couple of more songs, but that's about it. 

Bombay Bicycle club: this band has more fans than what I expected. I honestly thought it wasn't a band for a festival, but maybe to chill with some friends at your house... I was bored.

Paramore: Amazing as usual. It was pretty emotional for me, I love them so much. "The only exception" almost made me cry. It was a powerful gig. 

The Cure: As always, flawless, I love this people. Sadly, I was unable to stay the whole 3 hours, after 2 my body gave out and we had to go and try to sleep. 

The night was better this time. I guess people were tired and had to sleep a little, or it might have been the rain. 

Saturday, day 2:

It started better, we were well rested (or better rested), there was only one set of showers though for a BIG camping area, and it took a while to be able to take one, we almost missed the first presentation, which was unannounced and a surprise:

GREEN DAY!: Amazing as always, I had the privilege to be able to get into the tent (many people had to stay out), and it was great! they actually had to take them down, they didn't want to stop playing. It was a great surprise and one of the best moments of the weekend.

After the show (that was at 11am) we chilled for a while, went to town and had proper food, rested a little in the tent, and prepared ourselves for what was about to come:

Enter Shikari: the gig, was good? I don't know really, because we got smashed and had to get out. We were more focused on breathing and getting out of the mess we were in. Judge for yourselves:

Enter Shikari @ Reading 2012


Florence and the machine: Pouring down we managed to see this amazing band. It was great really, her vocals are flawless and the whole thing was amazing. 

At the Drive in: A band I used to listen to in the beginning of 2000, it was a real treat, this people can play! highly recommended. 

Sunday, day 3:

Another night of better sleep, a nice day out, sunny and warm, we were ready.

The cast of Cheers: a band just starting out, we saw it at the Festival Republic stage, very good, it reminded me of Bloc party, a great and fun sound. 

Eagles of Death metal: a great rock and roll band, a great sound and super fun. I was looking forward to seeing them and I wasn't disappointed. 

All time low: I really like this band, they were great fun, they cover of "Dammit" by Blink 182 was really good.

Good Riddance: I was looking forward to seeing this band, I used to love them in the beginning of 2000, but the sound was terrible, you couldn't understand anything that was going on so we went to see:

Bullet for my Valentine: I'm not particularly fond of their style, but they can play. My boyfriend really wanted to see them, so I humoured him. 

Kaiser Chiefs: We saw a little bit of their show, it was great.

The Black keys: A little boring for me, not my style, they had a lot of fans though. I was also very excited about:

FOO FIGHTERS!: a very emotional show, I cried many times in separate occasions, it was the end of their tour and they had their kids there. Dave Grohl dedicated a song to both his daughters, "Walk" to Violet and "Monkey Wrench" to the younger one (I don't remember her name), and also "These Days" to "those who couldn't be there, Kurt and Chris", I'm not a Nirvana fan, but I had my emotions on my sleeve, so that made me cry again, plus, I love that song. I found the whole show on youtube, enjoy:

Foo Fighters @ Reading Festival FULL!


We left when the encore started though, because we wanted to see:

Less than Jake: again, the sound! we couldn't hear the trombones, or anything for that matter, lock up stage: you need to work on the sound there!

That night was the worst, kids throwing thing at our camp (and everybody's camp for that matter), screaming, falling (on purpose) on our tent, it was really disrespectful. I understand that it is a festival, but, some people would like to rest, because they have been up all day, walking, standing, and some even drinking. 

My advice: If you are over 21 and want to be able to rest, don't camp in the green area! a friend of mine camped at the white one and told me it was ok, so, if I camp again there, which I will try not to do, I will go there. 

I was sad that I missed many bands, like the subways, two door cinema club, billy talent, the horrors, me first and the gimme gimmes, etc, but the reality is that in a festival you have to pick and chose the bands you want to see, you can't see them all. Next time, I guess. 

Leeds Festival 2010

After a long trip back from America (EEUU, USA, whatever you want to call it) I went to Leeds Festival. Due to jetlag amongst other things I missed day 1, so I couldn't see Arcade Fire (which I've seen before at the Hurricane festival), the Libertines, Frank Turner, 3OH!3, Bad Religion, etc, but I wouldn't have been able to endure a day there even if I really wanted to (I arrived that Friday to the UK, and that's what I keep telling myself to feel better). The good news is, I did go to day 2 and day 3, and this is my adventure:

Day 2:

I arrived a little late to the Festival grounds cause I was dead tired after my trip, I stayed in Leeds at a hotel (which was very crappy for the high price I paid) mostly cause I went to the festival by myself. The bands I had the pleasure to see are the following:

- All time Low: I had heard this band before (thanks to kerrang radio) and I quite like it. I really like the song "Weightless" and I think that was the highlight of the show, the gig was decent but nothing extremely amazing.

- You me at six: also a band I've heard of before courtesy of Kerrang radio, I adore "Stay with me" and I quite like "Underdog". The show was also pretty good.

- Limp Bizquit: A band I hated when I was in my early 20's, I hated Fred Durst with passion. I was very pleasantly surprised by them, the gig was AMAZING, the sound was incredible. I knew all the songs and I had a great time, I highly recommend them!

- Cypress Hill: I think festivals tend to be a little stuck in another decade, to make us remember our youth or something, this is another band that did that to me. I used to party with Cypress hill a lot when I was starting Uni, I'm not gonna say the year, hahaha... the gig was pretty fun, I had a great time. I was very surprised when they took out a joint and started smoking... that's just me being a traditional latin american girl.

- WEEZER: the band I was waiting for! One of my favourite bands EVER. They didn't dissapoint me at all... I even ran out of battery on my camera after their gig, it was so amazing! Rivers ran all around the stage, climbed a barrier while singing (don't believe me?), and many other things, and he's pushing 40! I was very happy about this gig, and think they were worth all the money I paid for the whole entire weekend! My only issue was that they didn't play "Keep fishin'" which is my favourite song by them, they didn't play "in the garage", also one of my fav. Their set list was the following:

Hash Pipe
Undone - The Sweater Song
Surf Wax America
Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus cover)
Say It Ain't So
Memories
Island In the Sun
My Name Is Jonas
Beverly Hills
Pork and Beans
Kids - Poker Face (MGMT- Lady Gaga cover)
(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
Buddy Holly

- Paramore: Another band I was very much looking forward to, I really like them and I have a girl crush on Hayley Williams. It was another great gig worth my money. They sound very good live and it was a lot of fun, felt very short though... (and I still have my girl crush)

- Blink 182: I was almost smashed against the back barrier of the front part and I was hit by a half full beer can (maybe it was almost full) on the head (leaving me a bump) - why would someone throw a full beer, it's beyond me! - I was also very tired, but this band was a big part of my Uni years, and one of the first punk bands (or maybe pop-punk?) I listened to and liked. The gig was really good, a lot of people were bitching about Tom's voice that day, but it sounded ok to me, and they were very funny and engaged with the fans a lot.

I left to the hotel that night, tired and kind of cold. I was woken up like at 3am by a party in the room next to mine! (and nobody from the hotel did anything). In the beginning the noise just mixed with my dream, but at 4 am, it woke me up and I told them to shut up basically, which they never did until they went to bed at 5am. I was very tired the next day, I planned to get up at 10 am, but that didn't happen. I was at the festival again a little late.

Day 3:

- Billy Talent: sadly, when I got to the festival, Billy Talent was almost finishing. I wanted to see them live, I had missed them many times before. What I heard was very good, but I only heard a couple of songs.

- Gogol Bordello: I heard about this guys before, but had never heard a single song by them. I enjoyed the gig very much. They are supposed to be gipsy-punk or something, I thought about Mano negra a lot while watching them live. I will do as Gogol says and will start wearing purple :) (Oh, I already do!)

- NOFX: Another band I really wanted to see! I even got mad at a friend of mine cause he saw them live before I did. This band was another one that reminded me of my early Uni years and that I really like to date. They were very funny and very good, even though Fat Mike said many times he was hung over and hadn't slept in like 30 hours. He also said Billy Talent woke him up because of their screams. A lot of jokes (mexican and jewish jokes, mainly) and a lot of good tunes made my afternoon.

- Lostprophets: I had seen them live in 2006 in Hamburg, and they were brilliant. This time, I wasn't disappointed either. An amazing gig by a great band with gorgeous men. What else can I ask for?

- Biffy Clyro: A band I also knew thanks to kerrang, I didn't know them by name, but I knew all their songs! (I realized I knew who they were without knowing their name). The gig was amazing, this guys are great live. I would recommend "Mountain", "Many of horror" and "Bubbles" to those of you that don't know this band.

- Queens of the stone age: Second time is the charm, I guess, I had seen this band live at the hurricane festival, and it was epic. This time they were as good, the only difference was that I didn't know most of the new songs and I didn't have such a great time, only when they played the old stuff. Still very good live!

- Guns and Roses: After more than an hour and a half of wait in the cold (it was getting extremely cold for the clothes I had, and most of the people there), guns came out on stage. I am a fan, I must say, I hated them throughout my adolescence, and I started to like them around 5 years ago, that day I had a Guns and Roses T-shirt (that yielded a lot of high fives by random festival goers), and I had a great time. They opened the show with "Welcome to the jungle" and "It's so easy" came second. I heard most of my favourite songs and had an amazing time, despite of the cold.

In conclusion: I had a great time, will I go to a Festival alone again? I hope not, it wasn't that bad of an experience, but it's better if you can share the experience with friends. Will I go again to Leeds? maybe, who knows, next year I'll try to go to Reading or to a Festival in Belgium, I want to go with my sister and that might be easier for her, it all depends as well on the line up.