Saturday 1st to Sunday 2nd August 2009 Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, SG1 2AX,
EnglandMAP £132.50 for both days, £157.50 with camping; parking £10, day tix £67.50
Daily capacity: 60,000
For such a melodic band, Feeder seem to have something of an affinity with heavier festivals, having headlined Download a few years back. As the most poppy band on the bill this weekend (excluding Bjorn Again), they stick out like a sore thumb in an unabashedly American line-up. Sandwiched between Machine Head and Limp Bizkit today, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Newport veterans would have their work cut out for them.
Thankfully, such fears are liquidated in the first moments, as Grant Nicholas and the boys tear full-throttle into a rousing 'Pushing the Senses'. What follows is a set bursting with hits, with a few cheeky curveballs thrown in. Wisely ballads are left on the shelf in favour of punchier numbers, such as rarity 'Godzilla' and 24-carat singalong 'Feeling the Moment'. After a morning of punishing, balls-out metal, the crowd seem grateful for Feeder's soothing antidote, their numbers swelling steadily as the set progresses. And there's something uniquely touching about seeing a 20 stone man-mountain in a Lamb of God cut-off waving his tattooed hands along blissfully, like some kind of metal Buddha. Such is the power of Feeder's musical alka-seltzer.
In spite of the throng's appreciation, Nicholas seems a little surly this afternoon, making a tongue in cheek dedication to Limp Bizkit at one point but otherwise keeping crowd interaction to a minimum. "I think it's time for some pop music", he declares, before launching into a crowd-delighting 'Buck Rogers'. Despite having some of the most god-awful lyrics this side of a Cheeky Girls anthology, it's so jubilant live that you can't help but bob along like an utter moron.
'Just the Way I'm Feeling' and 'Lost and Found' carry the good vibes even further, before something really special; a cover of Nirvana's 'Breed' that's a carbon copy of the original, in a nod to Feeder's grunge roots. Suffice to say it's an outstanding addition to an already impressive set, generating a fair bit of energy down the front. Wrapping things up with a triumphant 'Just a Day', the band deliver the final blow to an already smitten crowd, leaving no doubt that theyre a welcome addition to any festival.
