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Just saw Foals live. I haven’t been this happy in 18 months. I love every single thing about live music. The friends you make, the “I’m to old too old to be in this moshpit”, the terrible toilets. And Foals played Neptune ❤️ After the most horrible 18 months I felt like crying with joy just seeing everyone happy. Sorry for soppy post but it’s just great

Child 3 went to LV and loved it. Like you, his only issue was the sound volume. He said the sound on the main stage was superb (esp. for BBC). Sorry to report that he said the first 1.25h of Four Tet was spectacular! and he really enjoyed Avery b2b HAAi and Shanti. That's my boy. Ben

Despite having more bad luck than most on the bands dropping out, I ended up having a great time. I rolled my ticket over from 2020 but lost the main 5 bands I wanted to see when they announced the new 2021 line up. On the new line up I only had 9 band so wanted to see and a further 7 of those dropped out so was not looking forward to it as much as a normal year. Creeper and Fever333 dropping out seemed to be the final straw for me but it the fact that it so late on Thursday meant that,luckily for me as it turned out, it was more or less too late to not go myself. So glad I did go as it was a great weekend. 6 of us went and we stayed with friends who live in Reading so luckily missed all of the things that people have been talking about in the camp site and, speak as you find, it was a positive experience all round, everyone seemed to be having a fantastic time and I seem to have avoided all the idiots described on here. As I said, band wise was a bit dire for me and I only ‘properly’ watched 7 bands all weekend but sort of half watched a few more from the back or outside the tents as I was chatting. Friday- massive bonus for me with Frank Carter secret set. Frank was as amazing as always and this was a huge plus for the day for me. Loved Dinosaur Pile up too. I’ve seen them 6 or 7 times now without really trying between them playing Reading, Download and supporting other bands I’ve watched and they have been great every time. Saturday- this was the day with the only two remaining bands from my original list playing with Bob Vylan and Badflower. First time I’ve seen both and loved buth sets. Bob Vylan was excellent and was as fantastic as expected. He’s put out two great albums and released a new track over the weekend so I think we’ll be hearing more about him in the coming year. I’m seeing him again next month and this has whetted my appetite for that big time. Badflower were great and were miles better live than on record. Very impressed and a few people I talked to were converted. Watched half of Loathe from the side of the tent and they seemed ok and came back later for Waterparks but they just aren’t my sort of thing. The day was supposed to be one of my best days ever at Reading with two Fever333 sets, Bob Vylan, Badflower, Cleopatrick, Spiritbox,Ho99o9 and Creeper but it was not to be and unfortunately couldn’t be avoided. Affer Waterparks I headed into town to the Purple Turtle as the only option was Post Malone and I’m not a fan at all. Felt a bit wrong to be leaving the festival early but was surprised how many were in the Purple Turtle with festival wristbands on so we weren’t alone.Had a great night, was a good atmosphere and didn’t leave til gone 3.30am. Sunday- With my head banging from Saturday’s excesses and no bands on early that I wanted to see, I went into the arena a little later than normal. Had a few pints and a wander around before going to the BBC introducing stage to watch the excellent Stone and Yard Act. Both went down well with the crowd and I loved them. Had only heard the Yard Act songs on their EP but they played a few more and I suspect they’ll be playing bigger stages very soon. Then time for Biffy,the main act of the weekend for me. I was gutted with QOTSA dropping out but delighted with Biffy as a replacement as they are one of my favourite bands. They didn’t disappoint, they never do, and were absolutely brilliant. Already looking forward to seeing them at Download next year. Had another couple of pints in the covered bar with the beer garden tables (spent a lot of time there over the weekend, the place had a great atmosphere) before wandering over to catch the end of Liam Gallagher. Not a big fan but enjoyed the half a dozen or so Oasis songs which will always go down well with a belly full of beer and was a great end to the festival. Not sure what I’ll do next year, normally get the next years ticket straight away but may wait until the line up is announced and get a few day tickets. Have been every year since 2003 but can’t have another year without many bands to watch.This year was different as I was just happy to be out after lockdown but that novelty will (hopefully) be gone by next year and watching 7 bands all weekend obviously isn’t really viable. Either way, despite my frustration and disappointment at the band withdrawals (apologies for any whinging I’ve done on here)this year was a great weekend and I’ve nothing but positive things to say about it. I’m now totally broken on my sofa and can’t even be arsed to walk up the stairs to bed haha.

We were at the Isle of Wight festival one year. A very drunk lad came up to us early one morning staggering around looking confused. We asked him if he was ok. He said, I can’t find my tent. We asked him what it looked like. He said it’s a Union Jack tent. We said that’ll be easy to find, we’ll help you. Then he came out with the slayer line ‘but it’s still in its bag’ 🤣🤣🤣

we always toast the tents with vodka in metal shot glasses as soon as the tents are up. 'To the weekend, and all who sail in her'. Wallop back 50g of the finest Russian vodka and that's when the festivals officially begun.

Telling his mum, in front of everyone, who REALLY threw up in her fireplace after a house party at theirs when we were teenagers landed pretty well. (He told her it was me and I covered for him for years)

Top acts of the weekend: Biffy Clyro - They just did a Biffy and turned up and smashed it. As always. They’re never anything less than outstanding. Pulled a decent crowd (not big by any means) and the people who were there were fully committed. Such a shame they had such a short set. They should be playing for 2 hours. The new stuff got just as good a reception as the older material, with Cop Syrup being a standout. KennyHoopla - He’s going to be something, isn’t he? He was brilliant. His energy throughout was huge and the crowd he pulled was super into it. I can see him getting an early Main Stage slot next year. Beabadoobee - 90s af. Her music sounded glorious on that Main Stage and people were really into it. At times, one of the heaviest acts to play on the Main Stages all weekend sonically. Wolf Alice - I wish they had a longer set. The sun was shining and there were a few big old singalongs. Don’t Delete The Kisses was one of the highlights of the weekend. I thought they would have pulled a bigger crowd, though, which was a shame. They deserved to be playing to more people. Ashnikko - Pulled the biggest crowd of the weekend in the Pit/Lock Up and was high energy throughout. She’s definitely unique and is another act I can see getting a Main Stage slot next year. Becky Hill - Biggest surprise of the weekend. I’m not a fan at all but my partner wanted to see her and I was thoroughly impressed. Full live band, genuine emotion on stage and great energy. That kind of music will never be for me but credit where credit is due, she turned in a great performance. Lowlights included: Russ Millions - The single worst thing I’ve seen on the Main Stage at this festival in 11 years. For the first 10/15 minutes of his set, he wasn’t even on stage. It was some bored af looking DJ playing his songs over the PA with some guy who looked like his uncle just shouting at the crowd. It was embarrassing. Ghetts - Not for his performance. He was excellent but the crowd he pulled was absolutely tiny. The guy is a legend and should be playing to a packed audience. I guess even straight up grime isn’t revered by the R&L audience now. Slowthai - I just thought he was really poor. Low energy, was clearly hungover (he said so) and seemed like he couldn’t be that arsed. Compared to his R1/NME tent set in 2019, it was like watching a different guy. Really disappointing. Arizona Zervas - The guy was just up there doing karaoke. Embarrassing stuff (the same for The Kid Laroi who I’ve watched on iPlayer).

No Boman, no cry.

My advice would be get as fucked as possible, eat momos and see what happens

At least one of the days, just relax at the early sessions at the Garden Stage. Sit down and do not move. Let it spill over you as you recover from the previous night.

Got it completely wrong on likelihood of free tickets for this year and sorry for being an argumentative dick about it.

I was at Green Man last weekend. I'm 69, double jabbed and had a negative lateral flow the day before. I treated the weekend in exactly the same way as I had done festivals before; I hugged my friends, I was in a packed Chai Wallahs tent on the Thursday, I was down at the front for Snapped Ankles and in the middle a bouncing crowd for Do Nothing. I've done 3 lateral flows since I got home (last one this morning) - all negative. Now I appreciate that some may regard my attitude as reckless, and I know people of a similar age who were far more cautious but who still enjoyed their weekend, but I'd thought it was worth sharing my experience. Yes, you stand an increased risk of catching Covid compared to staying at home but the risk - even at a festival, is still small, possibly smaller than the risk of an accident on the drive down. See you Thursday - can't wait.

This is probably going to sound like a really weird request, but wondered if anyone knows if there's any kind of AA/NA presence at EOTR as I know there is at some other fests? Last few years I've been a (sometimes barely) functioning alcoholic, festivals have always been one of the few times I could get pretty wasted for several days at a time and daytime drink without anyone judging me 😁 Won't bore you with the details, but now I'm a recovering alcoholic attending AA meetings and have been sober for 7 months. EOTR is going to be my first ever sober festival 🥳I'm not too worried about it (OK, slight lie), and I've got the best mates in the world who I'm coming with that all know the score so I've a bit of support there, but I don't want to be a downer for my mates either so having somewhere I can go for a nice cup of tea (living the dream etc) and get away from any boozey temptation for a bit would be welcome. Failing that, on the off chance that someone else in recovery reads this and is going then feel free to DM.

Line up this week!

Bout 30/45 mins from what I can remember from 2019

It's a specialist club, trust me. They're all masked up. And have been for years.

Been to the dentist?

Yes, with the minor caveat that at other festivals so far although they've all said "within the past 48 hours" on their web sites, at the gates that's generally been interpreted as "same day or the day before" for the sake of simplicity, so I'd suggest doing another one Tomorrow or Thursday.

I thought SMS or Email was what was needed but after reading information again looks like NHS app

he had the full set times for every act, including mentioning the secret sets (blur, the smile and a prince hologram)

He started with the weather but it quickly turned into a diatribe of racial abuse followed by a list of his favourite crisps.

A blert in his room saying theres a good chance of some light rain at the arse end of the fest.

You're not allowed a beer until my tent is up as well, and seeing as it's the first time I've done it on my own it might take a while!

I forgot The Pixies are about next year, they would be a top booking and probably around the right size.

Yeah I think Blondie would be a good shout. I doubt that they would get all those 😂 it would be chaos. Also they tend to have a younger/newer act as well, something more dancey. I was thinking maybe the Pixies may be a shout as they’re doing a European festival in 2022.

I thought it was busy this year, imagine how packed it would be with Muse, The Killers & The Cure. That would be some event. I think your suggestion of Blondie would tick a lot of boxes for the older mixed crowd that it seems to attract.

My #1 must see at EOTR. Why she's subbing King Krule is a mystery???

In my own reality you've only heard the Trapboy Freddie album. It was OK, but you're convinced there are two better albums out there this month so you guessed #1 and #2.

1. The Killers - Pressure Machine 2. Benny The Butcher - Pyrex Picasso 3. Trapboy Freddie - Distractions (There's no truth in the rumour I've only heard one of these).

Very highly! Sounds a very similar vibe to SGP - people heavily dosed up early doors, every day! 4th year i've been now and ill be booking my 5th as soon as early birds are released.

hehe. I've got very few rules in life, but pretty much my only hard won bit of wisdom, from 30+ years in the game, is 'Never start drinking before the tent is up'. That way lies disaster. New thing you know, it's 2am, you're hammered and just lying there, under the stars, wrapped in the groundsheet, tent pegs scattered around and the rest of the kit still in the bag.

Imagine waiting until the tent is erect to crack open the first beer and not have one or two in the wristband queue...

That was a genuine contender for the opening line. Made a crack about there being an alternative version of the speech that can only be heard later…

I think it states at the top of the ticket you can do this

Not normally one to care too much about sound especially when I’ve had a few beverages but the sound was absolutely atrocious. Was down the middle near the sound desk and gave up during Spanish Sahara and went to stand by the side near the bars where it was marginally better. Really shocking, couldn’t get into any of the songs, very frustrating. On another note I did see Nikolaj Coster Waldau there, pretty sure it was him anyway.

Also apologies didn't realise I'd written almost a full essay lol

Yeah, Stone and Yard Act were great discoveries.

I gave up on Foals after a couple of songs, was down the right hand side and it sounded like I was listening to them through a £5 speaker from Home Bargains. I was very near the front for Caribou and I thought the sound was really good for them, so perhaps I just was just in a bad spot for Foals (not that I was too bothered about seeing them). Anyone see Swim School? They gained a fair amount of new fans today...a very confident young band, not really my cup of tea overall although enjoyable enough and will keep an eye on them.

Just got back from Reading, the crowd this year was absolutely fucking awful. Security came up to us in Saturday to keep an eye out for a bloke who's going around sexually assaulting girls, tents and god knows what being chucked. The queueing for early bird Wednesday was the worst I have ever seen, took nearly six hours to get in. Music itself was very good highlights we're Biffy Clyro, Don Broco, Holding Absence and Kenny Hoopla. Shame a few sets got cut short (Frank Carter and Boston Manor) but overall the music I saw was pretty decent. The two main stages is such a terrible idea though, acts like Nothing But Thieves were drowned out due to the sheer size, get the radio one tent back. Next year think me and my mates are considering going elsewhere, for the first time ever I felt too old to be somewhere (I'm only 21!) think it's very much lineup dependent but wouldn't shock me if I just did day tickets at Reading now.

I know I can share with you guys - I'm tired, another long weekend working, I'm missing home (back on Wednesday yay) and I'm working on BH monday .... anyway a mail just dropped in asking if still available for Bin painting in 2022 - you bet I am ... my place is confirmed, I am so flippin happy 🙂 onsite from 4th June , holiday booked - I may have shed a little tear at my desk - there is light for my soul at the end of a very long tunnel 🙂

Spent well over £100 at the bars but didn't have any food or water, kept falling asleep on the arena floor, missed my last train home by about 2 minutes and had to spend £60 on a taxi home... I feel bad today.

The problem with the covid checks is you're ultimately relying on low paid employees who have to deal with thousands of people to carry out the checks. They're not paid enough to make stringent checking really worth their while.

I went to SGP one year. There was a miserly allowance on the amount of alcohol that you could bring in to the festival. No wonder it was the most serious hard core drugs festival that I have ever been to. Mind you, I did manage to smuggle in 7 litres of red wine - and they checked my rucksack thoroughly!

So sorry to hear that ZMG, sounds like this just came out of nowhere. Not much else I can add really. If you decide to go to therapy I hope it gives you whatever it is you need to start feeling better.x

So, so sorry. Please take things at your own pace and it’s so important to take your time to grieve.

You have my sincere condolences. I lost my dad just before Christmas last year. Well, I didn't actually lose him - he went and died. Which is fairly handy because we buried him on the 29th December! I am now caring for my mother 4 days a week and she's got the onset of dementia. Some days I just burst into tears. Not for my dad, but for my mom. She's not and never will be again the same person that I knew as my mom. Life can be a brute at times, but then it can / is the most wondrous gift too. I don't know, but am sure that your mom would want you to err more towards being happy than being sad. All the best.

Wishing you all the love and support you can muster.

Sending love to forum users going through hard times xx . Grateful this forum has been a little escape for me through a range of emotions.