56 replies to this topic

[Dan R]

Leeds

Best: (in no particular order)
Arcade Fire were just amazing, I was on the barrier dancing and singing away. Was even more amazing than I expected it to be
Blink 182 were a childhood favourite and definitely didn't disappoint. Dammit was just too good
Weezer were so much better than I expected and I expected them to be brilliant. Was worried as the crowd seemed uncertain at first but they won over absolutely everyone
Queens of the Stone Age, just brilliant. Played a great setlist and more than made up for 08

Worst:
Guns N' Roses just left me cold. I was a massive fan and having seen them before, I expected better. I was just left cold by the set, and even the classics didn't even feel like it was their own songs (not starting the 'Tribute band' debate)
Paramore were just a bad booking. Shouldn't of been that high and it stood out how poor they were between brilliant sets by blink and weezer

Surprising:
The Libertines were a lot better than the trainwreck I was expecting. Definitely thought they pulled it off

Disappointing:
Guns N' Roses left me cold and ruined a few classics for me. I just don't think Axl's voice can pull it off anymore

Highlights:
Biffy Clyro when Simon Neil through the amp off the front of the stage. Didn't make a big deal of it but was brilliant
Weezer playing Teenage Dirtbag really was a genius idea, also made me question if I'd just made up Wheatus in my head...

[mattl]

Reading:

Best:
Weezer, Arcade Fire and Queens of the Stone Age. Three blistering sets from three brilliant bands, hard to say which of the three was the best but I'll opt for Weezer due to the enigmatic frontman Rivers Cuemo. Weezer's covers of MGMT and Wheatus were well done and hilarious to observe, the classics were superb and Rivers was on top form. Arcade Fire's sound is the best I've ever heard on the main stage, and the group proved they were deserved headliners long before the epic final four songs. QOTSA eclectic mix of Hits from earlier albums and the more experimental works from Era Vulgaris and Rated R blended perfectly to provide an excellent case for a future headlining slot, yes they were that good IMHO.

Worst:
Paramore, nothing clicked at all during their set; the crowd, the sound, the setlist, the banter, everything seemed wrong. Truthfully, even before they began I wasn't impressed they got priority booking over Weezer, even more so after the fantastic set they just produced. Yet I persevered with the help of a friend who loves the band and watched their set with an open mind. Both of us after their set were extremely disappointed. What struck me most during their set was how much they seemed like a middle of the day band pushed way out of their depth sub-headlining. If anyone can explain to me how they became sub-headliners I would be all ears, because on the evidence shown I have absolutely no idea.

Surprising:
The opening riff to 'The Decline' by NoFX in the lockup on Saturday left me genuinely gobsmacked, probably the only time I'll hear the epic song and I savoured every second. Apart from that epic moment, Tom Stade the Canadian comedian was on fire and quite possibvly the best Comedian I've ever.

Disappointing
Guns N' Roses turning up later than planned made me completely miss their set when I wanted to watch an hour before heading to Alkaline Trio. Kevin Bridges for being either late or MIA, making me endure 2 minutes of the utter crap that was Neil Hamburger. Even with an Ironic twist he was dreadful.

Highlights:
The guy in a wheelchair crowdsurfing at Gallows, Fantastic. The guy being bantered at by NoFX in the lock-up fighting back with a Mud missile, was just hilarious and probably justified, punk rock support at it's finest. the 'Final four' combination at Arcade Fire Ending a fantastic set. Managing to catch all the best songs of The Libertines in a fifteen minute period before NoFX. Travis Barkers upside down drum solo and Last, but by no means least, Rivers and the gang still giving us one hell of a show after so many years out of the country.

Unforgettable times one and all.

Edited by mattl, 01 September 2010 - 12:31 AM.

[scottt]

Leeds

Best
Weezer. What a guy. Rivers made my festival. Expecting bit of a shy, reserved nerd, but man, he went for it.
NoFX. Pretty much my lifes dream seeing them. Top setlist. Top banter. Top band. Decent crowd. Great band.
Limp Bizkit, Cypress Hill and Blink 182 joint third. All of them fantastic. Everyman needs to experience having a nice smoke at a cypress hill gig. One of the most chilled out moments of my life.

Worst
Paramore. Just so average. Bad crowd. No one over the age of 13. Shit set list. Late.

Surprising
Guns n Roses. They showed up for a start. Not even that late. And they were fantastic.
Weezer. Knew they'd be fantastic, but they were even better than i could've ever imagined.

Disappointing
Modest mouse. Missed out 2 of the biggest crowd pleasers (Float on and Florida) and they just never looked like they wanted to be there. Made me pretty pissed off.
Gaslight anthem. Nothing to do with them, but the sound quality was terrible. Something was badly wrong.

Strangest
Guns n Roses. Big weird stage. About 16 guitar solos. A big fat, plastic surgeried, ginger bloke playing the piano pretending to be Axl Rose. Explosions going on everywhere. The amount of costume changes. All added up into one giant, over the top, fantastic performance.

Whos album I'd buy
I didnt really see many bands whos albums i dont own, but as i only really have a few songs by Zebrahead, i guess it's gotta be them.  

highlight
Everything about Weezer, and the worlds greatest burrito

[stylishkids]

Leeds

Best
Blood Red Shoes. I thought the first song was relatively flat and I was wondering whether I should have seen Mumford but after that they were great. Amazing how much noise you can make with a guitar and drums.
Arcade Fire. Immense. The stage setting had to be the best I've ever seen and starting with ready to start and ending with wake up was a fabulous decision.
Phoenix. Fantastic light show.

Worst
I saw a few of Rolo Tomassi and they were dreadful so I'll say them. NOFX. Weren't a fan before and not a fan after.

Surprising
Frank Turner. I knew he'd be good but the atmosphere in the tent was incredible for the guy.

Disappointing
Slow Club. Just because they didn't play 'It doesn't have to be beautiful'.

Strangest
I'll agree with that mega lolz sign with Lostprophets. No idea why you'd have that any where near a gig.

Whos album I'd buy
Mystery Jets. Only heard a few tracks before but think I'll check out the new album.

highlight
Arcade Fire and wake up.

[choadus]

Best
Limp Bizkit, Kasiuss, Pendulum

Worst
Some BBC intro band that sounded like cats dying


Surprising
Guns N roses, actually sounded pretty good, and they made me laugh seeing as how the whole crowd hated DJ ashba.

Disappointing

A day to remember, really lookign forward to them and they just sucked live.

Highlight

Not queing more than 2 seconds to get in to the arena!

[choadus]

Best
Limp Bizkit, Kasiuss, Pendulum

Worst
Some BBC intro band that sounded like cats dying


Surprising
Guns N roses, actually sounded pretty good, and they made me laugh seeing as how the whole crowd hated DJ ashba.

Disappointing

A day to remember, really lookign forward to them and they just sucked live.

Highlight

Not queing more than 2 seconds to get in to the arena!

[Stylo92]

Vieuphoria, on 31 August 2010 - 10:53 PM, said:

Trolling.

But also... you are wrong.

saw them and thought they were good but nothing amazingly spectacular as many people would have you believe, saw many acts over the weekend that were far superior! So in my eyes they are overrated

[Lithium05]

Vieuphoria, on 31 August 2010 - 10:53 PM, said:

Trolling.

To a degree maybe. But the mentality that The Libertines and Dizzee Rascal were the only good acts on the bill was rife this year. The laddish football hooligan types seemed to be out in bigger numbers than usual, so much so you'd be forgiven to think Oasis or the like were on the bill. Massive shame if genuine music fans missed out on tickets in favour of these dicks.

[stylishkids]

Lithium05, on 02 September 2010 - 11:08 AM, said:

To a degree maybe. But the mentality that The Libertines and Dizzee Rascal were the only good acts on the bill was rife this year. The laddish football hooligan types seemed to be out in bigger numbers than usual, so much so you'd be forgiven to think Oasis or the like were on the bill. Massive shame if genuine music fans missed out on tickets in favour of these dicks.

There is no way any genuine music fans would have missed out in favour of these. Its just too easy to pick up a face value ticket or cheaper even if it sells out quick.

And tbh I'd prefer these types or the radio 1 types or whatever attending anyway. If not the festival would be no where near sell out capacity. Then they wouldn't have the funds to buy a top line up and then others would suffer. I'd rather have a great line up and people I'm not too fond off, then a poor line up. ffs I'm there for the music and not to be on my high horse in regards to my music taste compared to others.

Edited by stylishkids, 02 September 2010 - 11:49 AM.

[kev1664]

PurpleFire, on 30 August 2010 - 02:43 PM, said:

Suprising

Weezer!!! Loved his energy, got everybody involved and were actually very good and their music is cool. Even when he was reading the lyrics, which is a little embarrasing he still put on a great show! Kids in Glass Houses ran them close aswell!

You do know that he was taking the piss at that point because the were covering a 'WHEATUS' song in reference to people getting mixed up between the two in 2001?

Edited by kev1664, 02 September 2010 - 12:04 PM.

[Vieuphoria]

Lithium05, on 02 September 2010 - 11:08 AM, said:

To a degree maybe. But the mentality that The Libertines and Dizzee Rascal were the only good acts on the bill was rife this year. The laddish football hooligan types seemed to be out in bigger numbers than usual, so much so you'd be forgiven to think Oasis or the like were on the bill. Massive shame if genuine music fans missed out on tickets in favour of these dicks.

This is my exact feelings on the Blink-182 crowd. The Libs and Blink were the two most talked about bands on the lineup (and in my eyes only one delivered, which is a shame)... But it does piss me off when people give over the top credit where it is not deserved.... but the fact is the Libs put on a great show. There are a lot fo people who were unwilling to give them any credit before... and they could have put on the show of everyoen slioves and they'd still get negativity from these people.

But the fact is there were a f**k load of day ticket holders only there to see The Libertines... They are a p[opular band. Without these people the festival woulodn't exsist. Plus if you don't want to attract knobheads you may aswell not book The Prodigy, Pendulum, Enter Shikari etc etc etc because these acts attract more asshole fans than most.

[mrtourette]

Arcade Fire were epic, they really nailed it. Weezer were brilliant and put on the best show as well, closely followed by the Futureheads. QOTSA we very good without being mindblowing, Libertines we're good, it could have gone so wrong so fair play to them I guess.

The Big Pink continue to disappoint on a massive scale, musically GNR actually got better as the gig went on (it couldn't have got much worse after Welcome To The Jungle) but Axl's voice just fluctuated wildly. It sounded like he was constatnly out of breath. Blink sounded rubbish, really bad.

[zeppelin]

Reading

Best:

- Arcade Fire! Words cannot describe!

- Blink 182; knew they were going to be good but after the stories of how poor they used to be i was worried but an amazing set and perfect end to the weekend.

- Queens of the Stone Age; Opening with Feel Good Hit and just generally playing an amazing set, i don't even feel gutted i missed Mumford and Sons.

Worst:

- Guns n Roses; was a joke, thought if they'd been on time it could have been amazing but seriously, over an hour late?! the end was fun though  

Surprising:

- Arcade Fire; thought they'd be good but not THAT good, absolutely blew me away!

Disappointing:

- Magnetic Man; was expecting so much more after "I Need Air", just seemed like a very average Skream dj set, granted the stage was cool but i'm not nearly as excited about their album now.

Strangest:

- NOFX; had no idea what to expect but it was summed up with "ladies and gentelman this is probably the worst band you'll see all weekend" - brilliant! haha

Highlight:

- Probably "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire; me on my mates shoulders and vice versa at one point, perfect night.  But Frank Turner's new song "I Still Believe" was amazing; best crowd reaction to a new song I think i've ever seen.

[Tuffty747]

Best 3 Bands

1) Guns N' Roses - Been waiting to see them for like 6/7 years when I discovered them (I'm only 18) and they were so good! Can't believe how good Axl's voice still is...
2) Queens of the Stone Age - I saw TCV at Hammersmith last December, and so I know how good Josh Homme is live, but he just blew me away, they were so on form, and provided an excellent set.
3) Biffy Clyro (Ironic that the best 3 bands are the 1,2 and 3 of the Reading Friday...) I was kinda looking forward to them, as my Mrs is really really into them, but christ were they good. Although I thought they were TOO loud at times, they were excellent still

Worst

1) Paramore - I wasn't really let down by many performances, but I didn't really enjoy Paramore, didn't really do anything for me music wise, and I wasn't impressed by her voice, although I have been told repeatedly that Hayley had a 'cold'...
2) All Time Low - hung around for them because a friend wanted to see them... Wish I didn't, such typical modern 'nu rock' crap, really didn't enjoy it.
3) Can't really think of a 3rd, but there was a comedian that was bottled/booed off the alternative stage on the Saturday (Reading) who was awful, Neil Hamburger maybe? Don't know his name, was on before Jason Byrne.

Surprising

I think I'm going to have to go with Weezer like most others. Wasn't really expecting much, but they were really really good, frontman was really eccentric, and the guitarist doing 'Eruption' by VH was pretty cool!

Dissapointing

Guns N' Roses late show, and the fact they didn't play Knockin' On Heaven's Door/Paradise City like I thought they would... Ah well, still an excellent set!

Strangest

Gotta be NOFX's set, full of jokes, not taking themselves seriously, but a good performances nontheless

Who's Album Would You Now Buy, Which You Didnt Own Before Festival!

Definitely Weezer, gotta get some of their music!
Frank Turner as well, caught him before Serj, and he was really good

Highlight of your Festival 2010

Trooping around Orange campsite, blasting out 'Bad Touch' - Bloodhound Gang and getting everyone mod walking and building human pyramids, was excellent...

[j-j-j-j-joe!]

Biggest surprise for me was Delphic, who i only saw by accident! Damn, they were good!

[Vieuphoria]

One would assume Weezer have boosted their sales every record they have this year in the UK

[fishman17]

Best 3 Bands

1) Queens of the Stone Age - Only band on the line-up that had no reason to be there, and they dropped a f**king a-bomb on the festival. Friday night was Josh's night, bled out the rock n' roll from every orifice.

2) Biffy Clyro - Best crowd of the festival for me, loved the circle pits of people getting down low then jumping up in unison. Great to see a band make people change effortlessly from heavy moshing to beautiful singalongs.

3) Pendulum - Jesus f**king christ their sound was good! best sound of any band at the festival by a country mile. Crowd was mental from start to finish. I respect Arcade Fire and love Bad Religion, but I just wanted to get hot, sweaty and have a f**king rave, and I did, so snobby fanboys can f**k off.

Worst

1) Paramore - I have no idea how all of a sudden this dreadfully boring band has commanded such a high slot at the festival. Their sound was terrible, and the crowd was even worse. Only crowd of the weekend where I saw people falling on the floor, but no one near them helping them up. Full of 15-year-old screaming girls. A real come down after Weezer (who I will come onto later )

2) The Maccabees - Me and a friend were bored to tears by this bland, cliched band. We had to actually leave to seek sanctuary. All your trademarks of a Indie-By-Numbers band; over-exaggerated regional accent vocals, songs about how working class they are, and image over music. Crap. Modest Mouse on before them showed how to be the perfect band for a relaxing Saturday afternoon, but they obviously didn't take note.

Suprising

1) WEEZER! - How f**king good were they?! I thought they'd suffice as a nice little singalong in the waiting to blink-182, but they stole the whole day! The frontman showed almost every other band on before them how to show some passion. Oh, and Josh Freese . Awesome band.

2) Frank Turner - I have never been so impressed by an artist's performance of whom I knew none of their stuff before the gig. Well done sir.

3) Crystal Castles - Ok, I thought this would be a long 50 minute wait for Shikari, but their sound was awesome! and I really enjoyed their music! Very catchy :S

Dissapointing

Enter Shikari - Thought them and Pendulum would be a hot, sweaty, raving double act. But they were off. I saw them a few weeks ago in Oxford and they were shit hot! I dunno what happened. It might be that I was in a very rough part of the crowd where I was at times more concerned about my safety than the band, but I really didn't enjoy them as much as I thought I would

Strangest

Wes Borland, LEGEND, it was awesome to see him in person

Who's Album Would You Now Buy, Which You Didnt Own Before Festival!

Every Weezer album, and I'll check out Frank Turner.

Highlight of your Festival 2010

Josh Homme owning Friday Night. QOTSA 1 - 0 Guns N' Roses

Edited by fishman17, 04 September 2010 - 06:24 PM.