What a weekend reading was this year – two amazing headliners (NO not the killers – they sucked) – metallica and rage against the machine.
The latter of the two did feel a bit dissapointing for some reason. It was nothing to do with the attitude of the band or the music – something lacked. It may have been due to the fact that all of the bands this year were unbelievably quiet (except for metallica who rather awsomely payed a £10,000 fine to have their set louder). Serioulsy, festival republic need to address the issue because there were some amazing acts, but the sound was so bad it made them unaudible. You could hear the subwoofers over the main speakers, and that should say it all really, nevermind though…
The acts this year were far better than seen at reading last year (which was an aweful year – razorshite can take their ‘music’ and stick it up their…), with two legendary bands being the main attraction. Metallica were awesome and they played a truely thunderous set of classics and showcased some new material. The only song that was left out that would have made the set perfect was battery. However the bands actual performance demonstrated why they are so highly acclaimed. Rage were rage – no other way to put it. They came on in a controvertial manner (dressed as P.O.Ws) and made political comments left right and center – but the music was amazing, the renegades lived up to much of their hype and proved that they are still as relevant today as they were 10 years ago.
Another highlight was that of bullet for my valentine who put on an amazing show – and screamed their way through songs that would scare smallish children and make your grandfather shout: ‘TURN IT DOWN YOU YOUNG WHIPPERSNAPPERS’. Great stuff.
All in all a great weekend.
